Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Copier and not a GitHub template repository?

A GitHub template repository is a one-off copy, which is how our earlier projects drifted apart. Copier records the template version, and copier update brings later fixes in as a reviewable PR (Updating from the Template).

Why release-please and not a bump script?

The version and changelog then come from the commits on main, through a PR a human reviews. Nobody runs a script or pushes a tag, so they can't be forgotten, duplicated or done from the wrong branch (Release Process).

Why is the wiki in the repository instead of the GitHub wiki?

So it's reviewed with the code, checked by CI, and visible to AI assistants as context. The GitHub wiki is still where people read it: it's published from docs/wiki/ (Project Wiki Standard).

Can a project skip a required wiki page?

No. Write a short honest page instead. "No HTTP authentication: bind to a private network only" is a valid Security section. If a page truly doesn't apply to a kind of project, make it conditional in .standard.toml upstream.

Can I use a different AI assistant than the ones listed?

Yes. Most read AGENTS.md. For any other, point it at AGENTS.md, or paste the chat context prompt from docs/ai/prompts.md.

Does it support languages other than Python?

Yes: TypeScript on Node.js (language: typescript), and any other language with language: none, which gives the core without a toolchain. The core is language-agnostic, and a new layer is a copy of an existing one (Contributing to the Template).

Where is the front-end (web app) kind?

kind: web, with language: typescript: a Vite + React single-page app with React Router in data mode, served from an nginx image. It is a kind, not a layer, because it uses the TypeScript toolchain (design 0009). Its settings come from /config.json at run time, never VITE_* at build time, so one image runs in every environment, and it calls its API at same-origin /api (design 0014). A back end that also serves the files is a service.

Why no Helm chart?

Our clusters use Flux with kustomize overlays, and the kustomize base is consumed directly. A chart would be a second packaging to maintain.