Company: Protocol Labs
Protocol Labs is a research, development, and deployment lab for network protocols. They aim to develop protocols, systems, and tools to improve how information is shared and enable the creation of more open, resilient, and collaborative networks.
Goals of the project
The goal of the Github As Code project was to improve maintainers' lives by creating a specialized tool for managing GitHub organizations. The project aimed to address issues such as access management, visibility into organization structure, and enforcing best practices across repositories.
Rough Timeline
The project started in April 2022 during a labweek event, where many people were complaining about access management issues. IPDX researched how big players manage their organizations and adapted those solutions to the open-source world. The tool was initially implemented for small organizations like multiformats and gradually distributed to larger ones, including IPFS and private organizations.
IPDX Special Expertise Benefits
IPDX's expertise in open-source collaboration and decentralized systems was crucial in developing a flexible and efficient solution that fostered collaboration and decentralized decision-making. We where able to build a simple solution, reusing off-the-shelf components, which allowed us to focus on usability and user’s feedbacks.
The Results
The Github As Code tool has been successfully deployed to more than ten organizations, demonstrating its value in managing large numbers of repositories and facilitating collaboration.
The tool has helped organizations save money by helping with seat checks and has provided administrators with powerful auditing capabilities.
By making the tool work alongside existing processes, IPDX ensured a smooth transition for organizations and their members.
The Deliverables
- A specialized tool for managing GitHub organizations
- Automated enforcement of best practices across repositories
- Two-way synchronization with existing processes for seamless integration
- Improved visibility into organization structure and member activities
- Cost savings through automated seat checks
Links and references
- Github As Code Repository
- GitHub libp2p Audit Example - The tool made it possible to audit the memberships and administrative rights hundred of collaborators, which allowed us to lower our attack surface area by A LOT. This discussion with more than 70 comments would not have been possible without a similar tool.
- Piotr’s Conference at IPFS Thing 2022
This tool is part of our Maintain Package Offering.
