From 03e2a8c8d718ee4c1fdd00da546a0e22d387a3dd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ramesh Padmanabhaiah Date: Sun, 12 Apr 2026 00:54:21 -0700 Subject: [PATCH] Add initial README for the project --- README.md | 205 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 205 insertions(+) create mode 100644 README.md diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..969809c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,205 @@ +# Banyan Labs + +> Infrastructure, tooling, and DevOps scaffolding for small to medium enterprises — built to scale from zero to ~600 engineers. + +--- + +## What is Banyan Labs? + +Banyan Labs is an open, opinionated infrastructure and DevOps framework designed to help engineering teams — from solo founders to mid-size companies — bootstrap, manage, and scale their technical stack with consistency and confidence. + +It is not a SaaS product. It is a living repository of patterns, tools, scripts, and services that teams can adopt, fork, and extend. + +--- + +## Vision + +The goal is to give small and medium engineering teams the same infrastructure discipline that large companies have, without the overhead of building it all from scratch. + +**Target scale:** Teams up to ~2,000 people, ~600 engineers. +**Not intended for:** Hyperscalers like Google, Apple, or Oracle. + +--- + +## Roadmap + +### Phase 1 — Foundation (Months 1–3) +- Set up project structure, tooling wrappers, and documentation +- Implement Bash bootstrapping layer +- Implement Python setup and CLI layer +- Define YAML manifest-based dependency management +- Build core Bash standard library (logging, error handling) +- Build Python virtual environment management +- Daily progress tracked via GitHub Issues + +### Phase 2 — Collaboration +- Onboard ex-colleagues and contributors +- Expand multi-repo support +- Formalize contribution guidelines + +### Phase 3 — Public Launch +- Announce to the broader DevOps and engineering community +- Gather feedback and iterate + +### Phase 4 — Commercial Viability +- Explore sustainable monetization models +- Build partnerships with cloud providers and tooling vendors + +--- + +## Tech Stack + +| Layer | Technology | +|---|---| +| Bootstrapping | Bash | +| Scripting & Glue | Python | +| CLIs (performance-critical) | Go | +| Services (learning & production) | Go, Java | +| Infrastructure as Code | Terraform | +| Configuration formats | YAML, HCL (HashiCorp), JSON | +| Package/dependency manifest | Custom YAML manifest | +| Version control | Git (GitHub) | +| Issue tracking | GitHub Issues | + +--- + +## Architecture Overview + +### Two-Layer Setup System + +Setup is intentionally split into two layers: + +**Layer 1 — Bash Bootstrap** +- Ensures Homebrew is installed +- Installs Python via Homebrew +- Installs any system-level prerequisites (e.g. Xcode CLI tools) +- Hands off to the Python layer once the environment is ready + +**Layer 2 — Python Setup** +- Reads a YAML manifest that defines all tools, packages, and services to install +- Manages installation order (respecting inter-package dependencies) +- Manages Python virtual environments per project +- Handles cloning of additional repositories required for a company's full stack + +### Wrapper Pattern + +Every CLI — whether Bash or Python — is invoked through a wrapper, not directly. This avoids boilerplate repetition and enforces consistency. + +**Bash Wrapper** +- Sources the Bash standard library (logging, error handling, utilities) +- Sets up common environment variables +- Discovers and invokes the target Bash script + +**Python Wrapper** +- Activates the correct Python virtual environment +- Discovers the target Python CLI by convention +- Passes arguments through cleanly + +### CLI Structure Convention + +Every Python CLI is a directory (package), not a standalone file. Each CLI directory contains: + +``` +my-cli/ + __init__.py + main.py + README.md + tests/ + submodules/ +``` + +### YAML Manifest + +All dependencies — Python packages, system tools, CLIs, services — are declared in a single YAML manifest. There is no `requirements.txt` or `setup.py`. The Python setup layer reads the manifest and handles installation. + +This keeps configuration unified, readable, and language-agnostic. + +--- + +## Multi-Repo Design + +Banyan Labs is designed to be the **onboarding and bootstrapping layer** for an entire company's technical ecosystem. It is not a monorepo. + +- Banyan Labs itself is the entry point +- The YAML manifest can reference and clone additional repositories +- Each product team, service, or tooling area lives in its own repo +- Banyan Labs orchestrates the setup of the full environment in one step + +--- + +## Repository Structure + +``` +banyan-labs/ + README.md + docs/ + 01-vision.md + 02-architecture.md + 03-setup-strategy.md + 04-multi-repo-design.md + 05-tech-stack.md + 06-cli-conventions.md + 07-yaml-manifest-spec.md + scripts/ + wrapper.sh # Bash wrapper + wrapper.py # Python wrapper + bootstrap.sh # Layer 1 setup + lib/ + stdlib.sh # Bash standard library + setup/ + setup.py # Layer 2 Python setup entrypoint + manifest.yaml # Dependency manifest + services/ + url-shortener/ # Example Go service (learning project) + infra/ + terraform/ + .github/ + ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ +``` + +--- + +## Git Workflow + +- All work is done on feature branches, never directly on `main` +- Branch naming convention: `---` + - Example: `pd-0411-bash-stdlib-12` +- Every branch is backed by a GitHub Issue +- PRs are opened against `main` and merged after self-review +- Branches are deleted after merge + +--- + +## Dependency Philosophy + +- No `requirements.txt` +- No `setup.py` +- All Python dependencies are declared in `manifest.yaml` +- The Python setup layer installs them in the declared order +- This project is not distributed as a pip-installable package — it is used directly from the repo + +--- + +## Documentation + +All architecture decisions, design rationale, and implementation notes are documented in `/docs`. Markdown files are numbered to indicate reading order. The main `README.md` links to all docs. + +When sharing project context with other tools (e.g. OpenAI Codex), paste the relevant docs to provide architectural grounding. + +--- + +## Status + +**Current phase:** Phase 1 — active development started April 2025. + +Progress is tracked daily via [GitHub Issues](../../issues). + +--- + +## Contributing + +Collaboration opens in Phase 2. If you are one of the initial collaborators, reach out directly. Public contributions will be welcomed in Phase 3 after the initial structure is stable. + +--- + +*Banyan Labs — Infrastructure that grows with you.*