bootc/AUTOMATION-SETUP.md

bootc CentOS Stream Automation - Setup Guide

This guide covers the steps needed to activate the automated release process.

✅ What's Been Created

The following automation infrastructure is ready:

• .gitlab-ci.yml - GitLab CI pipeline configuration
• scripts/check-upstream-release.sh - GitHub API poller
• scripts/create-release-mr.sh - Main automation orchestrator
• scripts/update-spec.py - Spec file updater
• scripts/create-jira.sh - JIRA API client
• scripts/README.md - Complete documentation

🧪 Testing the Workflow

Before setting up production automation, you can test locally:

# Test release detection and spec update (safe, no changes)
./scripts/test-workflow.sh

# Test in GitLab CI with TEST_MODE (stops before git push)
# 1. Push this branch to GitLab
# 2. Go to CI/CD → Pipelines → Run Pipeline
# 3. Add variable: TEST_MODE=true
# 4. Watch the pipeline execute and stop before making changes

Note: This automation is currently configured for c10s only. To enable for c9s:

1. Create a separate branch from c9s: git checkout c9s && git checkout -b c9s-add-release-automation
2. Merge or cherry-pick these changes
3. Update .gitlab-ci.yml to set BASE_BRANCH: c9s
4. Set up a separate scheduled pipeline for c9s

🔧 Required Setup Steps

1. Bot Account Creation

Create bootc-release-bot account (similar to imagebuilder-bot):

GitLab Account:

• Email: bootc-release-bot@redhat.com
• Add as Developer to: gitlab.com/redhat/centos-stream/rpms/bootc

JIRA Account:

• Same email: bootc-release-bot@redhat.com
• Request permissions to create issues in RHEL project

2. Generate Credentials

GitLab API Token:

1. Log in as bootc-release-bot
2. Go to User Settings → Access Tokens
3. Create token with scopes:
   • api
   • write_repository
4. Save the token securely

GitLab SSH Key (for centpkg):

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "bootc-release-bot@redhat.com" -f ~/.ssh/bootc-bot
# Add public key to GitLab: Settings → SSH Keys
# Save private key for GitLab CI variable

JIRA API Token:

1. Log in to https://issues.redhat.com as bootc-release-bot
2. Go to Account Settings → Security → API Tokens
3. Create new token
4. Save the token securely

3. Configure GitLab CI/CD Variables

In the bootc GitLab project, go to Settings → CI/CD → Variables and add:

Variable Name	Value	Type	Masked	Protected
JIRA_API_TOKEN	(JIRA token from step 2)	Variable	✅	❌
GITLAB_API_TOKEN	(GitLab token from step 2)	Variable	✅	❌
CENTOS_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY	(SSH private key from step 2)	File	✅	❌
BOT_EMAIL	bootc-release-bot@redhat.com	Variable	❌	❌
ASSIGNEE_USER_ID	(Your GitLab user ID)	Variable	❌	❌

To find your GitLab user ID:

# Using GitLab API
curl "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/users?username=YOUR_USERNAME" | jq '.[0].id'

# Or check your profile URL: gitlab.com/YOUR_USERNAME
# The numeric ID is shown in the API response

4. Set Up Scheduled Pipeline

1. Go to Settings → CI/CD → Schedules
2. Click New schedule
3. Fill in:
   • Description: Check for new bootc releases
   • Interval Pattern: Custom
   • Cron: 0 */6 * * * (every 6 hours)
   • Cron timezone: UTC
   • Target branch: c10s
   • Active: ✅
4. Save schedule

5. Commit Automation to Repository

git add .gitlab-ci.yml scripts/
git commit -m "Add automated release pipeline

Implements weekly upstream rebase cadence automation:
- Polls GitHub every 6 hours for new releases
- Creates JIRA tickets automatically
- Updates spec file and creates MRs
- Leverages OSCI Bot for auto-merge

Resolves: #RHEL-XXXXX"

git push origin c9s

6. Test the Automation

Dry Run Test:

1. Go to CI/CD → Pipelines
2. Click Run pipeline
3. Select branch: c10s
4. Click Run pipeline
5. Watch the pipeline execute
6. Verify it detects the current version correctly

Live Test (when next release happens):

1. Wait for next upstream bootc release
2. Within 6 hours, check for automated MR
3. Verify MR has:
   • Correct version in title and spec
   • JIRA ticket created and referenced
   • Assignee set for notifications
4. Monitor OSCI Bot checks
5. Confirm auto-merge if tests pass

📋 Checklist

Before going live, ensure:

• bootc-release-bot account created
• Bot added as Developer to GitLab project
• Bot has JIRA issue creation permissions
• GitLab API token generated
• SSH key generated and added
• JIRA API token generated
• All 5 CI/CD variables configured
• Scheduled pipeline created
• Automation code committed to c9s
• Dry run pipeline executed successfully
• Team notified about new automation

🎯 Expected Behavior

Once active:

1. Every 6 hours: Pipeline checks for new releases
2. When new release found:
   • JIRA ticket created automatically
   • Tarballs downloaded from GitHub
   • Spec file updated with changelog
   • MR created and assigned
3. OSCI Bot workflow:
   • Runs all required tests
   • Auto-approves if tests pass
   • Auto-merges with Red Hat approval
4. If tests fail:
   • Assignee gets email notification
   • Manual intervention required

🆘 Rollback Plan

If automation causes issues:

1. Disable schedule:

   • Go to Settings → CI/CD → Schedules
   • Toggle schedule to inactive

2. Revert code:

   git revert <commit-hash>
   git push origin c9s
   

3. Return to manual process (documented in scripts/README.md)

📞 Support Contacts

• GitLab permissions: (Your GitLab admin contact)
• JIRA permissions: (Your JIRA admin contact)
• Bot account setup: (Your IT/identity management contact)

🔍 Monitoring

Track automation health:

• Pipeline success rate: Settings → CI/CD → Pipelines
• MR auto-merge rate: Check recent MRs for OSCI Bot approvals
• Missed releases: Compare GitHub releases vs CentOS Stream versions weekly

Target metrics:

• Pipeline success rate: >95%
• Auto-merge rate: >90%
• Release detection latency: <6 hours

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Questions or issues? See scripts/README.md for troubleshooting guide.