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Project direction and next steps – GitHub migration and branch model

list Bruno Manzoni
Fri, 16 Jan 2026 07:42:59 +0100
Message-Id: <user-b1ce669ff82e@xymon.invalid>

Hi All,

Below is a structured summary of the current status following recent discussions and actions around the Xymon project, together with proposed next steps. Feedback from everyone is explicitly requested.

PEOPLE – ROLES AND SKILLS
(inferred from the latest email exchanges only; non-exhaustive and not limiting)

- Bruno Manzoni – coordination; project management, workflow organization
- Nicola – contributor; development support, automation
- Stef Coene – contributor; development support, testing
- Scot Kreienkamp – contributor; build and release automation
- Ralph Mitchell – contributor; build and platform support
- Mark Felder – contributor; technical guidance, system-level development
- Matthew Goebel – contributor; platform support
- Jeremy Laidman – contributor; deployment and lifecycle support
- Kris Springer – contributor; interface customization

- All listed participants have been invited and currently have owner access to the repository.

GLOBAL SUMMARY – WHAT IS PROPOSED

- Migrate source control from SVN/SourceForge to GitHub as the primary workflow.
- Establish a clean, shared Git workflow with clear governance.
- Treat 4.3 as the stable production line; keep 4.4 experimental.
- Incorporate pending patches and publish a new 4.3.x release.
- Enable GitHub Actions for tagging, releases, and CI/CD.
- Improve packaging pipelines (RPM, tarballs, possibly DEB) while preserving existing ecosystems.
- Address technical debt (PCRE2 migration, build warnings, compatibility issues).
- Modernize networking and encryption incrementally (libcurl, HTTPS reporting).
- Improve testing, documentation, and UI without breaking Xymon identity.

PROJECT CONTEXT – RELEVANT CONSTRAINTS AND DEPENDENCIES
- Existing packaging and repositories (e.g. Terabithia) are part of current production deployments and must be preserved or transitioned carefully.
- Development momentum depends on early establishment of:
- a source repository
- a CI/build pipeline
- a lightweight review and decision process
- Multiple pending patches and enhancements are already available and can be integrated early to deliver visible progress.

STEPS COMPLETED
- Archived the historical repository `xymon-svn-mirror` to preserve the full SVN lineage as a read-only reference.
- Created a new active Git repository `xymon` under xymon-monitoring, cloned from `xymon-svn-mirror` with full history intact.
- Set `main` to track the stable 4.3.x line (anchored at Release 4.3.30).
- Kept `4.x-master` as the ongoing development branch for 4.4.
- Changed the default branch to `main` to align with production usage.

FEEDBACK AND INITIATIVES REQUESTED
- Does the current branch model (`main` = 4.3.x stable, `4.x-master` = 4.4 development) make sense?
- Are there objections or improvements to the proposed Git workflow and governance?
- What should be prioritized next: patch integration, CI/CD setup, packaging, testing, or documentation?
- If you would like to take initiative, feel free to:
   - pick any area that interests you,
   - propose or start any concrete action (issue, patch, CI setup, documentation, release work, experimentation, etc.),
   - work independently or coordinate with others, as you prefer.
- Opening issues, suggesting plans, or submitting early or draft PRs is explicitly encouraged.
- Short replies and concrete input are perfectly fine.

Thanks,
Bruno