[Initiative] CLI-First Platform Management (Admin Optional)

[juliuskrah]

Summary

Establish a CLI-first platform management model for GitStore. The CLI becomes the primary interface for developers and AI agents to manage platform/runtime operations, while Admin remains an optional convenience layer built on top of API capabilities.

This aligns with the roadmap principle in docs/ideas.md: favor automation-friendly workflows and make UI optional rather than mandatory.

Scope

In Scope

• Define the canonical management surface for GitStore as CLI commands backed by stable API contracts.
• Identify and prioritize core platform operations that must be available via CLI first (bootstrap, namespace/repository lifecycle, publish/release flows, health/diagnostics, configuration introspection).
• Define CLI UX conventions: command taxonomy, input/output format, machine-readable output (json), idempotent operations, and non-interactive mode for CI/agents.
• Ensure each new platform-management capability ships with a CLI path; Admin paths are optional overlays.
• Document integration patterns for automation tools and AI agents.

Out of Scope

• Removing the AdminI.
• Designing or implementing vendor-specific external Admin UIs.
• Replacing API contracts with CLI-only behavior.

Acceptance Criteria

• A documented CLI-first policy exists describing required management operations and conventions.
• Core management flows are available through CLI without requiring Admin access.
• CLI supports non-interactive and machine-readable output for automation use cases.
• Documentation clearly positions Admin as optional and API/CLI as the primary operational interface.
• At least one end-to-end automation scenario (CI or agent-driven) is documented using CLI-only operations.

Implementation Notes

• CLI-first does not diminish API importance; the CLI should be a reliable, composable client of API/gRPC contracts.
• Favor deterministic outputs and explicit exit codes to maximize scriptability and agent interoperability.
• Keep Admin as a consumer of the same API contracts to avoid capability divergence.
• Vendors can build their own UI layers while retaining compatibility with the same API/CLI management model.

Tracking

• Milestone: TBD