Automating patch pushes to trunk via the bot
RFC to enable a bot to automatically merge approved patches to the GCC trunk, inspired by OpenJDK's Skara bot.
This RFC proposes automating patch merges to the GCC trunk using a bot, similar to OpenJDK’s Skara bot workflow. The goal is to streamline the process, as currently, approved patches require manual CLI pushes. While acknowledging technical challenges, the discussion also touches upon the non-technical hurdles in adopting such automation.
- proposer
Suggests enabling a bot to automatically merge approved patches to the GCC trunk, citing OpenJDK's Skara bot as a precedent for a more streamlined workflow.
“I am wondering if we could enable the bot account to push/merge patches on our behalf. A good precedent for this is OpenJDK's workflow, which uses the Skara bot (open-sourced at https://github.com/openjdk/skara).”
- contributor
Reiterates the need for automation, noting that using a web-based forge system only to manually merge patches defeats the purpose and suggests that merging via a single command or click would add significant value.
“This is IMO one of the main reasons why more people are not engaging with the forge. It makes little sense to use a web based system only to then have to manually merge the patches on the git repo.”
- reviewer
Acknowledges the proposal and asks for feedback on the current forge-to-mailing-list integration, suggesting that if there are issues, they should be addressed first.
“In the past year me and others tried to bridge contributions on the forge with the mailing list by making sure that everything done on the forge gets emailed. Some hiccups occurred but it seems to me that the process has been working well enough for a while now. I'd love to get feedback that this is not the case so I can address it BTW.”
Technical Tradeoffs
- Increased automation streamlines the contribution process but requires robust bot infrastructure and careful conflict resolution.
- Reliance on a bot for merges could introduce new failure modes or security concerns if not implemented securely.
- Balancing the convenience of automated merges with the need for human oversight and review.
In Details
This discussion explores automating patch merging in GCC via a bot. Currently, contributions merged on the forge require manual CLI pushes. The RFC proposes a bot-driven merge, inspired by OpenJDK's Skara, to simplify this. The core technical challenge lies in integrating the forge's CI/review system with the Git repository for automated, conflict-aware merges, while also considering non-technical adoption barriers.
- RFC
- Request For Comments. A document asking for feedback on a proposed change or idea.
- forge
- A platform for software development, typically including version control, issue tracking, and code review (e.g., SourceHut, GitHub, GitLab).
- CI
- Continuous Integration. The practice of frequently merging code changes from multiple developers into a central repository, followed by automated builds and tests.
- trunk
- The main development branch in a version control system, representing the latest integrated code.
- Skara bot
- An automation tool used in the OpenJDK project for managing pull requests and integrating changes.