Script Governance

Standards, taxonomy, and JSDoc requirements for all scripts in this repository — classification rules, header format, enforcement tiers, and how to write a new script.

Script Governance

This page is the canonical governance reference for all scripts in this repository. It defines the three-tier taxonomy, JSDoc header standard, enforcement tiers, and the process for adding a new script.

The full script inventory lives in the auto-generated catalog: Scripts Catalog.

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Taxonomy — the three-tier model

Every script in operations/scripts/ is placed at a path following this structure:

operations/scripts/<type>/<concern>/<niche>/script-name.js

This hierarchy is enforced — a script placed in the wrong folder will fail classification validation.

Layer 1 — Type

What the script does.

Type folder	What it does	@type value	Typical @mode
audits/	Read-only scan, measure, report. Never modifies files. Produces reports and metrics.	audit	read-only
generators/	Produces new files from source-of-truth data. Creates artefacts (JSON, MDX, indexes, registries).	generator	write, generate
validators/	Enforces rules with a pass/fail gate. Exits 0 (pass) or non-zero (fail).	validator	read-only
remediators/	Bulk-fixes existing files in place. Modifies source content to bring it into compliance.	remediator	edit
dispatch/	Dispatches work to other scripts or agents. Genuine orchestrators that spawn child processes.	dispatch	execute
automations/	End-to-end automated workflows — translation, data fetching, transforms.	automation	write, execute

Key distinctions:

• If the script only reads → audit or validator (validator exits non-zero on failure; audit just reports)
• If the script only creates new files → generator
• If the script edits existing files → remediator
• If the script runs other scripts → dispatch
• A script that does NOT spawn other scripts is NOT a dispatch

Layer 2 — Concern

What domain the script operates on. The same four concerns appear under every type folder.

Concern	What it covers
content/	Docs pages, copy, SEO, veracity, quality, reference, reconciliation
components/	Component library, registry, CSS, naming, documentation
governance/	Scripts about scripts, repo structure, agent docs, manifests, catalogs
ai/	LLM files, agent packaging, skills sync, Codex operations

Layer 3 — Niche

The specific sub-concern within the domain. Examples: quality, veracity, structure, copy, grammar, catalogs, compliance, pr, codex, repair, style, scaffold, llm.

Full niche reference: see script-framework.md section 2.

Classification decision tree

1. Does the script SPAWN other scripts or coordinate a multi-script pipeline?
   YES → dispatch/
   NO  → continue

2. Does the script only READ files and produce reports/metrics (no file modifications)?
   YES → Does it enforce a pass/fail gate (exit 0/1)?
         YES → validators/
         NO  → audits/
   NO  → continue

3. Does the script CREATE new files from source-of-truth data?
   YES → generators/
   NO  → continue

4. Does the script MODIFY existing files in place to fix/repair them?
   YES → remediators/
   NO  → continue

5. Is the script an end-to-end automated workflow (translation, data fetching, transforms)?
   YES → automations/

For concern:

- Operates on docs pages, MDX, copy, SEO, frontmatter? → content/
- Operates on components, registry, CSS, naming?        → components/
- Operates on scripts, repo structure, agent docs?      → governance/
- Operates on LLM files, agent packs, skills, Codex?   → ai/

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JSDoc Header Standard

Every script MUST include a JSDoc header block as the first block comment in the file (or hash-comment equivalent for .sh and .py files). The pre-commit hook and CI validate header presence and tag format.

Required tags (enforced by --strict)

#	Tag	Required	What it captures	Allowed values / format
1	@script	Yes	Script identity	Filename without extension. Example: lint-copy
2	@type	Yes	Layer 1 — what the script does	audit | generator | validator | remediator | dispatch | automation
3	@concern	Yes	Layer 2 — domain	content | components | governance | ai
4	@niche	Yes	Layer 3 — specific sub-concern	See niche reference in section 2 above
5	@purpose	Yes	Functional category	Namespaced string: qa:content-quality, governance:repo-health, tooling:dev-tools, etc.
6	@description	Yes	One-line human-readable description	Plain English. No line breaks.
7	@mode	Yes	How the script affects the system	read-only | write | edit | generate | execute
8	@pipeline	Yes	Flow declaration	Arrow notation: trigger → inputs → outputs
9	@scope	Yes	What files/directories it operates on	Comma-separated paths, patterns, or keywords
10	@usage	Yes	CLI invocation example	Full command with flags
11	@policy	If applicable	Governance traceability	Requirement IDs: E-R1, R-R11

The required minimum validated by --strict is tags 1–10. @policy is expected but not blocked on by default.

@mode values

Value	Meaning
read-only	Inspects and reports only — no file changes. Used by audits and validators.
write	Creates new files. Used by generators and automations.
edit	Modifies existing files in place. Used by remediators.
generate	Produces artefacts (JSON, MDX, indexes, registries). Used by generators.
execute	Runs external commands, dispatches work to other scripts or agents. Used by dispatch.

@pipeline format

Single-line flow declaration using arrow notation:

@pipeline   trigger → inputs → outputs [→ dependants]

Examples:

@pipeline   pre-commit → staged .mdx files → stdout:report
@pipeline   manual → docs.json, v2 frontmatter → docs-index.json → scripts-catalog
@pipeline   cron:weekly → full v2 tree → governance-repair PR
@pipeline   pr-workflow → changed .mdx files → exit-code, stdout:violations

Example header — JavaScript

/**
 * @script      lint-copy
 * @type        validator
 * @concern     content
 * @niche       copy
 * @purpose     qa:content-quality
 * @description Enforce banned word and phrase rules on MDX content files.
 * @mode        read-only
 * @pipeline    pr-workflow → staged .mdx files → exit-code, stdout:violations
 * @scope       staged, changed, v2-content, single-file
 * @usage       node operations/scripts/validators/content/copy/lint-copy.js [file or glob] [flags]
 * @policy      E-R1, R-R11
 */

Example header — shell / Python (hash-comment style)

# @script            pre-commit
# @type              dispatch
# @concern           governance
# @niche             pipelines
# @purpose           infrastructure:pipeline-orchestration
# @description       Pre-commit hook — hard gates only.
# @mode              execute
# @pipeline          P1 → git index → exit-code
# @scope             .githooks
# @usage             bash .githooks/pre-commit [flags]
# @policy            R-R29

Removed tags — MUST NOT appear

These tags were used in earlier versions and must not appear in new scripts:

Removed tag	Replaced by
@owner	Removed — ownerless governance model
@category	@type
@dualmode	Not replaced — scripts should have one purpose
@purpose-statement	@description
@needs	@policy
@domain	@concern

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Enforcement Tiers

Scripts are assigned to one of three tiers. Tier assignment belongs in @pipeline.

Tier	Gate type	Runs where	What it means
Hard gate	Blocks commit or merge	Pre-commit hook + required GitHub Actions status check	Must pass. Violations block the commit.
Soft gate	Warns in PR, does not block merge	GitHub Actions check (non-required)	Violations surface in PR UI but do not prevent merge.
Self-heal	No gate — auto-fixes on schedule	Cron workflow with auto-PR	Runs periodically and opens a PR with corrections.

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File Structure Standard

Every script MUST follow this section order:

1. Shebang line          #!/usr/bin/env node  (or bash, python3)
2. JSDoc header block    All 11 tags in declared order
3. 'use strict'          JS only — recommended
4. Requires / imports    const fs = require('fs'); etc.
5. Constants / config    REPO_ROOT, paths, thresholds — ALL in first ~30 lines after imports
6. Helper functions      Small, focused utilities
7. Main function         Primary logic
8. Exports / execution   module.exports or main() call

REPO_ROOT pattern

// Correct — repo root from process.cwd()
const REPO_ROOT = process.cwd();

// Wrong — fragile, breaks if script is moved
const REPO_ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, '../../../../..');

__dirname-relative paths are acceptable only for reaching sibling files or shared libraries within the scripts tree (e.g., require('../../../../lib/docs-index-utils')).

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How to Write a New Script

1. Classify it first

   Use the decision tree above to determine type, concern, and niche. Place the file at operations/scripts/<type>/<concern>/<niche>/<script-name>.js.

2. Write the JSDoc header

   Copy the example header above. Fill all 11 tags. Do not leave placeholder values. Run node operations/scripts/validators/governance/compliance/review-governance-repair-checklist.js --staged to validate.

3. Follow the file structure

   Shebang → JSDoc header → 'use strict' → imports → constants/config at top → helpers → main() → export/execute.

4. Use process.cwd() for REPO_ROOT

   Never traverse up with __dirname to reach the repo root. Use process.cwd() or a shared getRepoRoot() utility.

5. Support --dry-run if the script writes files

   Any script that writes or modifies files SHOULD support --dry-run to show what would change without making changes.

6. Assign an enforcement tier

   Set @pipeline to indicate where the script runs. Hard gates go in pre-commit or required CI; soft gates in non-required CI; self-heals in cron.

7. Add to the registry

   Run node operations/scripts/generators/governance/catalogs/generate-script-registry.js to update tools/config/registry/script-registry.json. The catalog is regenerated automatically from the registry.

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Source of Truth

Resource	Where
This governance spec	docs-guide/policies/script-governance.mdx (you are here)
Full technical spec	workspace/plan/active/SCRIPT-GOVERNANCE/script-framework.md
Script registry (derived index)	tools/config/registry/script-registry.json
Script catalog (auto-generated)	docs-guide/catalog/scripts-catalog
Registry generator	operations/scripts/generators/governance/catalogs/generate-script-registry.js