feat(safety): add board approval scope section

Reviewed-on: groombook/org#9

skills/devops/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+---
+name: devops
+description: >
+  Infrastructure lifecycle for GroomBook. Governs work on the
+  groombook/infra repo: single-branch main strategy, the infra PR review
+  pipeline, Flux GitOps reconciliation, OpenTofu controller workflow,
+  cluster topology, and the Flux image-automation policy. For application
+  code, see the sdlc skill.
+---
+
+# DevOps Practices
+
+This skill governs work on **`groombook/infra`**. For application code lifecycle, see the `sdlc` skill. For PR/test discipline and the `cc @cpfarhood` visibility rule, see `coding-standards`. For non-negotiable safety rules (no direct `tofu`, no `kubectl apply` to production, SealedSecrets), see `safety`.
+
+## Gitea authentication
+
+Use the `GITEA_TOKEN` environment variable for all Gitea operations — it is already set in the agent environment. Use the **`tea`** CLI for all Gitea/Git operations (e.g., `tea issue list`, `tea pr create`). Gitea is the primary source of truth.
+
+## Branch strategy
+
+`groombook/infra` uses a single long-lived branch: **`main`**. Engineers target `main` directly via feature branches named `<agent-name>/<short-description>`.
+
+## Pipeline
+
+1. **Engineer** branches from `main`, writes code.
+2. **Engineer** opens a PR against `main`.
+3. **CI** fail → back to **Engineer**.
+4. **CI** pass → **QA** performs code review.
+5. **QA** rejected → back to **Engineer**.
+6. **QA** approved → **CTO** performs code review.
+7. **CTO** rejected → back to **Engineer**.
+8. **CTO** approved → **Engineer** merges PR → **Flux** reconciles automatically.
+
+```bash
+tea pr create --base main --title "..." --body "... cc @cpfarhood"
+```
+
+Gitea branch protection requires CI checks to pass. See `coding-standards` for the no-self-merge contract and the `cc @cpfarhood` rule.
+
+## Infrastructure topology
+
+* **Production:** namespace `groombook`, FQDN `demo.groombook.dev`
+* **UAT:** namespace `groombook-uat`, FQDN `uat.groombook.dev`
+* **Dev:** namespace `groombook-dev`, FQDN `dev.groombook.dev`
+* **Cluster:** Kubernetes — cluster-wide read; read/write on `groombook-dev` and `groombook-uat`; read-only on `groombook` (production).
+* **Gateways:** `istio-external` (public) and `istio-internal` (internal) in `gateway-system`.
+* **Container registry:** `git.farh.net/groombook/<service>` only.
+
+## GitOps (Flux)
+
+Flux watches `groombook/infra` as the **target** GitRepository — it is **not** a Flux bootstrap/cluster repo and must never be treated as one.
+
+Reconciles Kustomize overlays:
+- `apps/overlays/dev` → `groombook-dev`
+- `apps/overlays/uat` → `groombook-uat`
+- `apps/overlays/prod` → `groombook`
+
+Images currently use `:latest` with `imagePullPolicy: Always`; pin to a CalVer tag in the infra overlay when stabilizing a release.
+
+**Policy — Flux Image Tag Automation is DENIED.** Do NOT use `ImageRepository`, `ImagePolicy`, or `ImageUpdateAutomation` Flux resources. Image tag updates must be made intentionally via a PR to `groombook/infra` — typically as the final step of the `sdlc` application pipeline (Phase 5).
+
+## Infrastructure as Code
+
+Terraform (OpenTofu) is deployed via the **Flux OpenTofu Controller** in a GitOps fashion. Submit Terraform configurations via a PR to `groombook/infra` — the tofu controller reconciles them on merge. See `safety` for the prohibition on running `tofu` directly and on `kubectl apply` against production.
+
+## Infra-only tools
+
+These are the operators and controllers the infra repo installs and manages. Alternatives are policy violations:
+
+* **GitOps:** Flux CD (managed externally; reconciles `groombook/infra`).
+* **IaC:** Flux OpenTofu Controller.
+* **Secret management:** Bitnami Sealed Secrets Controller — encrypt with `kubeseal`, commit `SealedSecret` resources to `groombook/infra`. No plain Kubernetes secrets.
+* **Database operator:** CloudNativePG (Postgres).
+* **Cache / pub-sub operator:** DragonflyDB.
+
+For application-level tool policy (Renovate, Playwright, registry, CalVer) see `coding-standards` and `sdlc`.

skills/safety/SKILL.md

@@ -29,3 +29,23 @@ The following rules apply to every GroomBook agent without exception.
 ## If you are unsure
 
 If you are unsure whether an action is safe, **stop**. Post a comment on the Paperclip issue explaining what you are about to do and why you are uncertain, set the issue to `blocked`, and escalate to your manager. Do not guess.
+
+## Board approval scope
+
+Board approval (`request_board_approval`) is reserved for one-way-door decisions:
+
+* **Actions requiring a human operator** in a third-party portal (e.g. Gitea Owners team config, external vendor consoles).
+* **Genuinely destructive, irreversible operations** beyond what the destructive-action rule above already covers.
+* **Out-of-scope decisions** that exceed the agent's mandate.
+* **New spend or resource authorizations.**
+* **Issues with `originKind: "gitea"`** — per the `sdlc` skill, these require board approval before work begins.
+
+Board approval is **never** used for routine SDLC pipeline steps:
+
+* QA handoffs, UAT promotion, security review hand-off.
+* Returning a failing PR to the engineer or CTO.
+* Clearing task blockers, PR reviews, or merge decisions within the agent's SDLC role.
+* Feature triage decisions (Accepted / Backlogged / Denied).
+* Any standard dev → uat → prod progression.
+
+When board approval IS required, use the Paperclip `request_board_approval` API (see the `paperclip` skill) and set the source issue to `blocked` until the approval resolves.

skills/sdlc/SKILL.md

@@ -1,29 +1,30 @@
 ---
 name: sdlc
 description: >
-  Software development lifecycle for GroomBook. Covers Gitea authentication,
-  branch strategy across Dev/UAT/Prod, the SDLC pipeline phases,
-  PR review and merge policy, infrastructure layout, the Gitea-origin issue
-  board-approval gate, the cc-cpfarhood visibility rule,
-  and delegation model tier policy.
+  Software development lifecycle for GroomBook application repos. Covers
+  Gitea authentication, the 3-branch dev/uat/main strategy, the SDLC
+  pipeline phases 1-5, the Stage 1 CI image build, the authentication
+  framework, and application-tool policy. For infrastructure
+  (groombook/infra), see the devops skill.
 ---
 
 # Software Development Lifecycle
 
+This skill governs **application code repos**. For infrastructure (`groombook/infra`), see the `devops` skill. For PR/test discipline and the `cc @cpfarhood` visibility rule, see `coding-standards`. For non-negotiable safety rules, see `safety`.
+
 ## Gitea authentication
 
 **Use the `GITEA_TOKEN`** environment variable for all Gitea operations. It is already set in the agent environment. Use the **`tea`** CLI for all Gitea/Git operations (e.g., `tea issue list`, `tea pr create`). The token expires when the environment variable is rotated — re-invoke any Gitea operation if you get a 401.
 
 Gitea is the **primary source of truth**. Every Paperclip issue must have a corresponding Gitea issue (create one if missing). Both stay open until the work is completed, reviewed, approved, merged, and QA-verified.
 
-
 ## Branch strategy
 
 Three long-lived branches map to the three deployment environments:
 
 | Branch | Environment | Who merges | Prerequisites for merge |
 |--------|-------------|-----------|-----------|
-| `dev`  | Dev         | Engineer | None (self-merges after CI passes) |
+| `dev`  | Dev         | Engineer | CI passes |
 | `uat`  | UAT         | Engineer | QA code review approval |
 | `main` | Production  | Engineer | UAT validation & CTO code review |
 
@@ -32,14 +33,12 @@ Three long-lived branches map to the three deployment environments:
 
 ## Pull requests
 
-All changes happen via pull request. Always include `cc @cpfarhood` at the bottom of the PR body for visibility — never as a reviewer.
+All changes happen via pull request. Gitea branch protection requires CI checks to pass. See `coding-standards` for the no-self-merge contract and the `cc @cpfarhood` visibility rule.
 
 ```bash
 tea pr create --base dev --title "..." --body "... cc @cpfarhood"
 ```
 
-Gitea branch protection requires CI checks to pass.
-
 ## SDLC pipeline
 
 ### Phase 1 — Dev
@@ -65,76 +64,46 @@ Gitea branch protection requires CI checks to pass.
 2. **UAT** fail → back to **Engineer** (return to Phase 1).
 3. **UAT** pass → **Security Engineer** performs a security code review of the changes.
 4. **Security** fail → back to **Engineer** (return to Phase 1).
-5. **Security** pass → **Engineer** opens a PR from `uat` to `main`.
+5. **Security** pass → Begin Phase 4.
+
+### Phase 4 — Production Promotion
+
+1. **Engineer** opens a PR from `uat` to `main`.
+2. **CI** fail → back to **Engineer** (return to Phase 1).
+3. **CI** pass → **CTO** performs code review.
+4. **CTO** rejected → back to **Engineer** (return to Phase 1).
+5. **CTO** approved → **Engineer** merges PR.
 6. **CI** fail → back to **Engineer** (return to Phase 1).
-7. **CI** pass → Begin Phase 4.
+7. **CI** pass → Begin Phase 5.
 
-### Phase 4 — Production
+### Phase 5 — Production Deployment
 
-1. **CTO** performs code review.
-2. **CTO** approved → **Engineer** merges PR.
-3. **CTO** rejected → back to **Engineer** (return to Phase 1).
-4. **CI** deploys automatically to Production (`https://demo.groombook.dev`).
+The **Engineer** opens a PR against `groombook/infra` to update the relevant Kustomize overlay with the new image tag. From this point the work follows the **`devops` skill pipeline** end-to-end — review, merge, and Flux reconciliation are all owned there. On merge, Flux rolls out the updated pods to production (`https://demo.groombook.dev`).
 
-## Infrastructure
+## Stage 1 CI — Image build
 
-* **Production:** namespace `groombook`, FQDN `demo.groombook.dev`
-* **UAT:** namespace `groombook-uat`, FQDN `uat.groombook.dev`
-* **Dev:** namespace `groombook-dev`, FQDN `dev.groombook.dev`
-* **Cluster:** Kubernetes — cluster-wide read; read/write on `groombook-dev` and `groombook-uat`; read-only on `groombook` (production).
-* **Gateways:** `istio-external` (public) and `istio-internal` (internal) in `gateway-system`.
-* **Container registry:** `git.farh.net/groombook/<service>` only.
+Triggered automatically on every merge to `main` in an application repo:
+- Builds and tags the Docker image: CalVer (`YYYY.MM.DD[.N]`), `latest`, and `sha-<hash>`
+- Pushes tagged images to `git.farh.net/groombook/<service>` (see `coding-standards` for the registry and CalVer policy)
+- Creates a CalVer git tag in the source repo
+
+Stage 2 (Flux GitOps deployment) is owned by `devops`.
 
 ## Authentication
 
 * **Framework:** Better-Auth.
-* **OAuth Providers:** GroomBook (Authentik), Google and Apple.
+* **OAuth Providers:** GroomBook (Authentik), Google, and Apple.
 * **SSO:** Authentik OIDC at `https://auth.farh.net` (credentials in `authentik-credentials` secret).
 * **Never build custom authentication.**
 
-## Deployment — 2-stage Flux GitOps
+## Application tools (canonical, not alternatives)
 
-**Stage 1 — CI (runs in each application repo):**
-- Triggered automatically on every merge to `main`
-- Builds and tags the Docker image: CalVer (`YYYY.MM.DD[.N]`), `latest`, and `sha-<hash>`
-- Pushes tagged images to `git.farh.net/groombook/<service>`
-- Creates a CalVer git tag in the source repo
+These are application-level dependency choices. Alternatives are policy violations:
 
-**Stage 2 — GitOps (Flux, managed externally):**
-- Flux watches `groombook/infra` as the **target** GitRepository — it is **not** a Flux bootstrap/cluster repo and must never be treated as one.
-- Reconciles Kustomize overlays: `apps/overlays/dev` → `groombook-dev`, `apps/overlays/uat` → `groombook-uat`, `apps/overlays/prod` → `groombook`.
-- Images currently use `:latest` with `imagePullPolicy: Always`; pin to a CalVer tag in the infra overlay when stabilizing a release.
-
-**Policy — Flux Image Tag Automation is DENIED.** Do NOT use `ImageRepository`, `ImagePolicy`, or `ImageUpdateAutomation` Flux resources. Image tag updates must be made intentionally via a PR to `groombook/infra`.
-
-**To deploy a change:**
-1. Merge code to `main` in the app repo — CI builds and pushes a new image automatically.
-2. Open a PR against `groombook/infra` to update the relevant overlay; merge after kustomize CI passes.
-3. Flux reconciles `groombook/infra` on merge and rolls out the updated pods.
-
-**To force a rollout without a manifest change:**
-```bash
-kubectl rollout restart deployment/<name> -n <namespace>
-```
-
-## Infrastructure as Code
-
-Terraform (OpenTofu) is deployed via the **Flux OpenTofu Controller** in a GitOps fashion. Submit Terraform configurations via a PR to `groombook/infra` — the tofu controller reconciles them on merge.
-
-**Never run `tofu` directly.** Never `kubectl apply` against production. Production changes go through Flux only. The `groombook-dev` and `groombook-uat` namespaces permit direct kubectl use for troubleshooting and iteration.
-
-## Tools (canonical, not alternatives)
-
-These are the only acceptable choices — alternatives are policy violations:
-
-* **Secret management:** Bitnami Sealed Secrets Controller — no plain Kubernetes secrets.
-* **Database:** CloudNativePG Operator (Postgres) — no SQLite, MariaDB, or MySQL.
-* **Cache / pub-sub:** DragonflyDB Operator — no Redis.
-* **Authentication:** Better-Auth + Google + Apple + Authentik (see Authentication section). Never build custom auth.
+* **Database:** CloudNativePG-managed Postgres — no SQLite, MariaDB, or MySQL.
+* **Cache / pub-sub:** DragonflyDB — no Redis.
+* **Authentication:** Better-Auth + Google + Apple + Authentik (see Authentication above).
 * **Dependency updates:** Mend Renovate. **Dependabot is not used and will not be used.** Do not configure it.
-* **Container registry:** `git.farh.net/groombook/<service>` — no Docker Hub for first-party images.
 * **Browser automation:** the `playwright` MCP server (`http://playwright:8931/mcp`). Target dev only — never test production.
 
-## External communication
-
-When communicating in any context visible outside the GroomBook agent team (external users, human reviewers, non-agent entities), include `cc @cpfarhood` for visibility — never as a reviewer.
+For the container registry, CalVer versioning, and general PR/test discipline, see `coding-standards`. For the operator install side (CNPG, Dragonfly, Sealed Secrets), see `devops`.