Files
ngit-grasp/docs/how-to
DanConwayDev 5d2ba5462e feat(security): support scoped integrity validation
Motivation:
Production release-candidate validation must be able to exercise the new storage and event-authorization checker on selected identifier families without immediately sweeping thousands of repositories. The existing manual command also covered storage only, which made its name and operator workflow misleading.

Approach:
Apply one validated startup identifier scope to both background passes, with an empty scope retaining the secure all-family default and unmatched names counted as failures. Extend durable manual requests so check-only mode compares refs without mutation and --repair applies the same safe authorization reconciliation after storage repair. Expose the scope consistently through CLI/env, the NixOS module, examples, operator docs, architecture notes, and the v3 security warning.

Correctness assumptions:
Accepted State, PR, and PR Update events remain authoritative, active precisely-scoped purgatory entries remain valid in-flight exceptions, and unexplained PR refs remain preserved for manual inspection. A scoped pass proves only the named identifiers; full v3 assurance still requires removing the scope and completing the default sweep.

Excluded scope:
This does not tag v3, alter migration behavior, update the production deployment, or delete unexplained refs. It also does not make the manual request synchronous; the live worker continues to consume durable requests.

Validation:
- cargo clippy --all-targets --locked -- -D warnings
- cargo test --lib --locked (895 passed)
- focused scoped-selection and non-mutating reconciliation tests
- resource-safe NixOS module evaluation of startupIntegrityIdentifiers
2026-08-20 07:57:57 +00:00
..
2025-11-04 10:25:53 +00:00

How-To Guides

Task-oriented documentation - Practical solutions to common problems.


What Are How-To Guides?

How-to guides are recipes that show you how to solve specific problems or accomplish particular tasks.

Characteristics:

  • ✅ Task-oriented (solve a problem)
  • ✅ Practical (actionable steps)
  • ✅ Assume basic knowledge
  • ✅ Focus on results
  • ✅ Can be followed in any order

Not how-to guides:

  • ❌ Complete lessons for beginners (those are Tutorials)
  • ❌ Technical specifications (those are Reference)
  • ❌ Conceptual discussions (those are Explanation)

Available How-To Guides

Upgrade from v2 to v3 Git family storage

Problem: Perform the one-way identifier-family storage migration safely Difficulty: Advanced

You'll learn:

  • Prepare capacity and a snapshot-based rollback point
  • Run the automatic crash-safe v3 launch migration
  • Interpret migration and integrity summary logs
  • Restore v2 safely when a release rollback is required

Configure Nix Flakes

Problem: Set up reproducible development environment
Difficulty: Intermediate

You'll learn:

  • Enable Nix flakes
  • Enter development environment
  • Work with subprojects
  • Troubleshoot common issues

Test Sync Against Production Data

Problem: Debug and improve sync using real-world data
Difficulty: Intermediate

You'll learn:

  • Run sync against production relays
  • Sanitize logs for LLM analysis
  • Identify common issues and patterns
  • Iteratively improve sync behavior

Planned How-To Guides

Deploy ngit-grasp

Status: 🔜 Planned (waiting for main server)

Problem: Deploy to production
You'll learn:

  • Server requirements
  • Reverse proxy setup (nginx/Caddy)
  • SSL/TLS configuration
  • Monitoring and logging

Run Compliance Tests

Status: 🔜 Planned

Problem: Test GRASP compliance
You'll learn:

  • Set up test relay
  • Run integration tests
  • Interpret results
  • Add custom tests

Upgrade nostr-sdk

Status: 🔜 Planned

Problem: Handle breaking changes in nostr-sdk
You'll learn:

  • Check for breaking changes
  • Update dependencies
  • Fix compilation errors
  • Test after upgrade

Configure Authentication

Status: 🔜 Planned (feature not yet implemented)

Problem: Secure your relay
You'll learn:

  • Enable authentication
  • Configure allowed users
  • Set up rate limiting
  • Monitor access

Backup and Restore

Status: 🔜 Planned

Problem: Protect your data
You'll learn:

  • Backup Git repositories
  • Backup Nostr events
  • Restore from backup
  • Automate backups

How to Use How-To Guides

  1. Find your problem - Browse or search for what you need
  2. Check prerequisites - Make sure you have required knowledge
  3. Follow the steps - Adapt to your specific situation
  4. Solve and move on - No need to read everything

Not sure if this is what you need?


Contributing How-To Guides

When writing a how-to guide:

DO:

  • ✅ Start with the problem/goal
  • ✅ List prerequisites clearly
  • ✅ Provide concrete steps
  • ✅ Include troubleshooting
  • ✅ Show examples
  • ✅ Link to related docs

DON'T:

  • ❌ Teach basics (link to Tutorials)
  • ❌ Explain every concept (link to Explanation)
  • ❌ List all options (link to Reference)
  • ❌ Make it a tutorial (stay focused on the task)

Template:

# How-To: [Task/Problem]

**Problem:** [What you're trying to accomplish]  
**Difficulty:** [Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced]  
**Time:** [Estimated time]

## Prerequisites
- [Required knowledge/tools]

## Solution

### Step 1: [Action]
[Instructions]

### Step 2: [Action]
[Instructions]

## Troubleshooting

### [Common problem]
**Solution:** [How to fix]

## Related Documentation
- [Links to relevant docs]

See Diátaxis: How-To Guides for detailed guidance.


Part of the ngit-grasp documentation using the Diátaxis framework.