[Phase 1] Create petry-projects/repo-template as a flagged template repository

[github-actions]

Story

As a org admin,
I want create an empty petry-projects/repo-template repository and flag it as a GitHub template repository with the standard general settings applied,
so that new repos can be scaffolded with one "Use this template" click instead of a manual copy-from-standards runbook.

Acceptance Criteria

1. petry-projects/repo-template exists and gh repo view petry-projects/repo-template --json isTemplate returns isTemplate: true.
2. The repo has a default main branch and the standard general settings applied (squash-only merge with merge/rebase disabled, delete-branch-on-merge, auto-merge enabled) — because a template click copies files only, not settings.
3. The repo is empty of product scaffold content (the verbatim scaffold lands in the Phase 1 scaffold story); only an initial commit / placeholder README is present.
4. Repo creation and the is_template flag are set with an org-admin classic PAT (not the Actions GITHUB_TOKEN), and the who/when of the action is recorded for auditability.
5. No activation label (e.g. initiative:auto) is applied to the repo or this work.

Tasks / Subtasks

• Create the repo (gh repo create petry-projects/repo-template at the org default visibility) and set is_template via gh api -X PATCH repos/petry-projects/repo-template -f is_template=true. (AC: test issue from agent #1)
• Apply baseline general settings by running scripts/apply-repo-settings.sh petry-projects/repo-template so the template repo itself is compliant. (AC: Go-live improvements for PR review agent #2)
• Confirm the empty/placeholder state and leave content seeding to the scaffold story. (AC: Add @claude delegation, auto-merge, and rebase handling #3)
• Record the creation (operator + token identity + timestamp) in the epic/discussion thread. (AC: Optimize review: small-PR and incremental fast paths #4, feat: add Copilot engine support via REVIEW_ENGINE toggle #5)

Dev Notes

• Hands-off: creating an org repo and setting is_template requires org-admin and a classic PAT; the Actions GITHUB_TOKEN / dev-lead cannot create org repos or change security_and_analysis. scripts/apply-repo-settings.sh documents that a classic PAT with repo scope is required and OAuth app tokens are rejected by the check-suites API.
• GitHub template repos copy files + (optionally) branches with UNRELATED history only — they do NOT carry settings, branch protection, rulesets, required checks, labels, secrets, or security config. That non-file gap is closed by the Phase 2 bootstrap, not here.
• Pick the org default visibility and note it; do not apply initiative:auto or any activation label (apply-plan.sh enforces this for issues, and the same inert-by-default discipline applies to the new repo).

Project Structure Notes

This story operates on a new external repo, not on files in .github-private. Settings are applied by reusing the existing scripts/apply-repo-settings.sh against the new target.

References

• scripts/apply-repo-settings.sh
• https://github.com/petry-projects/.github/blob/main/standards/github-settings.md
• discussion Create a GitHub template repository to scaffold new petry-projects repos with org standards #962

Likely target surface

• scripts/apply-repo-settings.sh

Story prepared by the BMAD Scrum Master (Bob) for epic #964. Status: ready-for-dev.

[don-petry]

✅ Template repo created (AC #4 audit record)

Repo: https://github.com/petry-projects/repo-template
Operator: don-petry (org-admin)
Token: gh CLI token, scopes admin:org, repo (OAuth gho_, not a classic PAT)
When: 2026-06-28T01:41:12Z

Acceptance criteria

• AC#1 — repo exists, isTemplate=true. ✅
• AC#2 — default branch main; general settings applied: squash-only (merge & rebase disabled), delete-branch-on-merge, auto-merge enabled. ✅ (set via PATCH /repos/{owner}/{repo})
• AC#3 — empty of product scaffold; only a placeholder README.md from the initial commit. ✅ (verbatim scaffold lands in [Phase 1] Seed the verbatim file scaffold into repo-template #966)
• AC#4 — recorded above. ✅
• AC#5 — no initiative:auto/activation label applied to the repo or this work. ✅
• Visibility: public (org default — every existing petry-projects repo is public).

⚠️ Follow-up (not in #965's AC, flagged for honesty)

scripts/apply-repo-settings.sh could not apply the check-suite auto-trigger prefs (disable Claude/CodeRabbit auto-trigger): the check-suites API rejects the OAuth token (could not read check-suite preferences). This needs an org-admin classic PAT with repo scope. Re-run GH_TOKEN=<classic-PAT> bash scripts/apply-repo-settings.sh petry-projects/repo-template when one is available. For repos created from the template this is covered by the Phase 2 bootstrap (#967, merged).

Closing as done — this unblocks #966 (seed scaffold) → #969 → #970.

[don-petry]

✅ Check-suite follow-up completed (2026-06-28T02:11:27Z)

Applied with an org-admin classic PAT (ghp_, provided out-of-band and shredded immediately after use — never written to disk in-repo or printed).

Disabled auto-trigger on petry-projects/repo-template for the apps that queue check suites they never complete (the auto-merge blockers):

• Claude (app 1236702) → setting=false ✓
• CodeRabbit (app 347564) → setting=false ✓
• SonarQubeCloud (12526) and Cursor (1210556) left enabled (they complete their suites).

Verified via the API read-back of PATCH /repos/petry-projects/repo-template/check-suites/preferences.

Minor note / latent bug: scripts/apply-repo-settings.sh could not apply this via its normal path even with a valid classic PAT — its check-suite read precheck emits could not read check-suite preferences and bails before writing. I applied the write directly via gh api. Worth a follow-up issue to fix the script's precheck so the standard path works. The general settings and is_template from the earlier comment remain in place; repo-template's day-0 compliance for the check-suite dimension is now satisfied.