coding-ethos

Projects that follow the best practices below can voluntarily self-certify and show that they've achieved an Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) best practices badge.

There is no set of practices that can guarantee that software will never have defects or vulnerabilities; even formal methods can fail if the specifications or assumptions are wrong. Nor is there any set of practices that can guarantee that a project will sustain a healthy and well-functioning development community. However, following best practices can help improve the results of projects. For example, some practices enable multi-person review before release, which can both help find otherwise hard-to-find technical vulnerabilities and help build trust and a desire for repeated interaction among developers from different companies. To earn a badge, all MUST and MUST NOT criteria must be met, all SHOULD criteria must be met OR be unmet with justification, and all SUGGESTED criteria must be met OR unmet (we want them considered at least). If you want to enter justification text as a generic comment, instead of being a rationale that the situation is acceptable, start the text block with '//' followed by a space. Feedback is welcome via the GitHub site as issues or pull requests There is also a mailing list for general discussion.

We gladly provide the information in several locales, however, if there is any conflict or inconsistency between the translations, the English version is the authoritative version.
If this is your project, please show your badge status on your project page! The badge status looks like this: Badge level for project 12737 is silver Here is how to embed it:
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These are the Silver level criteria. You can also view the Passing or Gold level criteria.

Baseline Series: Baseline Level 1 Baseline Level 2 Baseline Level 3

        

 Basics 17/17 ●

  • General

    Note that other projects may use the same name.

    Policy-as-code enforcement for AI agents: MCP server, CEL policies, git hooks, SARIF, and static analysis guardrails.

    Please use SPDX license expression format; examples include "Apache-2.0", "BSD-2-Clause", "BSD-3-Clause", "GPL-2.0+", "LGPL-3.0+", "MIT", and "(BSD-2-Clause OR Ruby)". Do not include single quotes or double quotes.
    If there is more than one language, list them as comma-separated values (spaces optional) and sort them from most to least used. If there is a long list, please list at least the first three most common ones. If there is no language (e.g., this is a documentation-only or test-only project), use the single character "-". Please use a conventional capitalization for each language, e.g., "JavaScript".
    The Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) is a structured naming scheme for information technology systems, software, and packages. It is used in a number of systems and databases when reporting vulnerabilities.

    coding-ethos is an AI-agent policy-as-code and defense-in-depth project for repository enforcement. It generates agent instructions, managed static-analysis configuration, Git hooks, MCP server settings, CEL policies, SARIF output, supply-chain attestations, and trust documentation from a shared ETHOS contract. The project heavily dogfoods its own controls across Codex, Claude Code, and Gemini CLI while developing the repository.

  • Prerequisites


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST achieve a passing level badge. [achieve_passing]

  • Basic project website content


    Enough for a badge!

    The information on how to contribute MUST include the requirements for acceptable contributions (e.g., a reference to any required coding standard). (URL required) [contribution_requirements]

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#quality-bar


  • Project oversight


    Enough for a badge!

    The project SHOULD have a legal mechanism where all developers of non-trivial amounts of project software assert that they are legally authorized to make these contributions. The most common and easily-implemented approach for doing this is by using a Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO), where users add "signed-off-by" in their commits and the project links to the DCO website. However, this MAY be implemented as a Contributor License Agreement (CLA), or other legal mechanism. (URL required) [dco]
    The DCO is the recommended mechanism because it's easy to implement, tracked in the source code, and git directly supports a "signed-off" feature using "commit -s". To be most effective it is best if the project documentation explains what "signed-off" means for that project. A CLA is a legal agreement that defines the terms under which intellectual works have been licensed to an organization or project. A contributor assignment agreement (CAA) is a legal agreement that transfers rights in an intellectual work to another party; projects are not required to have CAAs, since having CAA increases the risk that potential contributors will not contribute, especially if the receiver is a for-profit organization. The Apache Software Foundation CLAs (the individual contributor license and the corporate CLA) are examples of CLAs, for projects which determine that the risks of these kinds of CLAs to the project are less than their benefits.

    Yes. The project uses a Contributor License Agreement enforced through CLA Assistant. Contributors are directed from CONTRIBUTING.md to the project CLA, and pull requests require contributors to complete the CLA Assistant check when
    prompted. The CLA requires contributors to confirm that they have the right to submit their contributions and grants the project the rights needed to use and redistribute them.

    URL:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#contributor-license-agreement


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST clearly define and document its project governance model (the way it makes decisions, including key roles). (URL required) [governance]
    There needs to be some well-established documented way to make decisions and resolve disputes. In small projects, this may be as simple as "the project owner and lead makes all final decisions". There are various governance models, including benevolent dictator and formal meritocracy; for more details, see Governance models. Both centralized (e.g., single-maintainer) and decentralized (e.g., group maintainers) approaches have been successfully used in projects. The governance information does not need to document the possibility of creating a project fork, since that is always possible for FLOSS projects.

    Yes. The project governance model is documented in the contributing guide. coding-ethos is maintained by Blackcat Informatics Inc.; CODEOWNERS identifies the project owners, pull requests are reviewed through GitHub, and maintainers
    make final decisions based on the documented project ethos, quality bar, security policy, and release process.

    URL:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#contributing-to-coding-ethos


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST adopt a code of conduct and post it in a standard location. (URL required) [code_of_conduct]
    Projects may be able to improve the civility of their community and to set expectations about acceptable conduct by adopting a code of conduct. This can help avoid problems before they occur and make the project a more welcoming place to encourage contributions. This should focus only on behavior within the community/workplace of the project. Example codes of conduct are the Linux kernel code of conduct, the Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct, the Debian Code of Conduct, the Ubuntu Code of Conduct, the Fedora Code of Conduct, the GNOME Code Of Conduct, the KDE Community Code of Conduct, the Python Community Code of Conduct, The Ruby Community Conduct Guideline, and The Rust Code of Conduct.

    Yes. The project has adopted a Code of Conduct and stores it at the repository root in the standard CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md location.

    URL:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST clearly define and publicly document the key roles in the project and their responsibilities, including any tasks those roles must perform. It MUST be clear who has which role(s), though this might not be documented in the same way. (URL required) [roles_responsibilities]
    The documentation for governance and roles and responsibilities may be in one place.

    Yes. The project is maintained under Blackcat Informatics Inc., not only by an individual maintainer. Repository ownership and review responsibility are shared through CODEOWNERS, which names both @paudley and @ErinAudley as project
    owners. This provides continuity for issue handling, pull request review, repository administration, and release decisions if one maintainer becomes unavailable.

    URL:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/.github/CODEOWNERS


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST be able to continue with minimal interruption if any one person dies, is incapacitated, or is otherwise unable or unwilling to continue support of the project. In particular, the project MUST be able to create and close issues, accept proposed changes, and release versions of software, within a week of confirmation of the loss of support from any one individual. This MAY be done by ensuring someone else has any necessary keys, passwords, and legal rights to continue the project. Individuals who run a FLOSS project MAY do this by providing keys in a lockbox and a will providing any needed legal rights (e.g., for DNS names). (URL required) [access_continuity]

    Yes. The project continuity model is documented in the contributing guide. coding-ethos is maintained by Blackcat Informatics Inc., and .github/CODEOWNERS lists both @paudley and @ErinAudley as project owners. Both are directors of
    Blackcat Informatics Inc. and have authority to administer the repository for the company. If either owner becomes unavailable, the other can continue issue triage, pull request review, repository administration, and release
    management.

    URL:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#governance-and-continuity


    Enough for a badge!

    The project SHOULD have a "bus factor" of 2 or more. (URL required) [bus_factor]
    A "bus factor" (aka "truck factor") is the minimum number of project members that have to suddenly disappear from a project ("hit by a bus") before the project stalls due to lack of knowledgeable or competent personnel. The truck-factor tool can estimate this for projects on GitHub. For more information, see Assessing the Bus Factor of Git Repositories by Cosentino et al.

    Yes. The project has a bus factor of at least 2. The governance and continuity documentation identifies two project owners, @paudley and @ErinAudley, both listed in CODEOWNERS and authorized to administer the repository for Blackcat
    Informatics Inc. Either owner can continue issue triage, pull request review, repository administration, and release management if the other becomes unavailable.

    URL:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#governance-and-continuity


  • Documentation


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST have a documented roadmap that describes what the project intends to do and not do for at least the next year. (URL required) [documentation_roadmap]
    The project might not achieve the roadmap, and that's fine; the purpose of the roadmap is to help potential users and contributors understand the intended direction of the project. It need not be detailed.

    Yes. The project maintains a documented strategic roadmap covering planned work and explicit boundaries for MCP, CEL policy expansion, SARIF/code-scanning, runtime sandboxing, code intelligence, centralized ETHOS registry work, and
    agent remediation loops. The roadmap describes both intended development directions and non-goals/limits for the project.

    URL:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/STRATEGIC_ROADMAP.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST include documentation of the architecture (aka high-level design) of the software produced by the project. If the project does not produce software, select "not applicable" (N/A). (URL required) [documentation_architecture]
    A software architecture explains a program's fundamental structures, i.e., the program's major components, the relationships among them, and the key properties of these components and relationships.

    Yes. The project documents its high-level architecture in the repository analysis and AST/CEL/SARIF architecture documents. These describe the source-of-truth model, generated artifacts, policy compilation, hook/runtime enforcement,
    MCP surface, SARIF output, code-intelligence storage, and the preferred source-aware policy pipeline.

    URLs:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/REPOSITORY_ANALYSIS.md

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/AST_CEL_SARIF_ARCHITECTURE.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST document what the user can and cannot expect in terms of security from the software produced by the project (its "security requirements"). (URL required) [documentation_security]
    These are the security requirements that the software is intended to meet.

    Yes. The project documents its security expectations and limits in its threat model and runtime sandboxing documentation. These describe protected assets, actors, trust boundaries, expected defenses, enforcement limits, sandbox
    guarantees, and explicit out-of-scope claims.

    URLs:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/THREAT_MODEL.md

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/RUNTIME_SANDBOXING.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST provide a "quick start" guide for new users to help them quickly do something with the software. (URL required) [documentation_quick_start]
    The idea is to show users how to get started and make the software do anything at all. This is critically important for potential users to get started.

    Yes. The README includes a “30-Second Start” quick start that shows how to install coding-ethos, initialize it in a repository, run validation, install hooks, and start the local MCP server.

    URL:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/README.md#30-second-start


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST make an effort to keep the documentation consistent with the current version of the project results (including software produced by the project). Any known documentation defects making it inconsistent MUST be fixed. If the documentation is generally current, but erroneously includes some older information that is no longer true, just treat that as a defect, then track and fix as usual. [documentation_current]
    The documentation MAY include information about differences or changes between versions of the software and/or link to older versions of the documentation. The intent of this criterion is that an effort is made to keep the documentation consistent, not that the documentation must be perfect.

    Yes. Documentation is maintained as part of the release and contribution process. The contribution guide requires documentation updates when outputs, flags, workflow behavior, generated config behavior, hooks, or public interfaces
    change. The roadmap also requires every landed roadmap item to update the roadmap or linked design document in the same branch. This branch refreshed stale roadmap content and updated docs for the current AST/CEL/SARIF, MCP, code-
    intelligence, SARIF, trust, CLA, and governance state.

    URLs:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#project-specific-guidance

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/STRATEGIC_ROADMAP.md#maintenance-rules


    Enough for a badge!

    The project repository front page and/or website MUST identify and hyperlink to any achievements, including this best practices badge, within 48 hours of public recognition that the achievement has been attained. (URL required) [documentation_achievements]
    An achievement is any set of external criteria that the project has specifically worked to meet, including some badges. This information does not need to be on the project website front page. A project using GitHub can put achievements on the repository front page by adding them to the README file.

    Yes. The repository front page links to public achievement and trust badges, including OpenSSF Scorecard, OpenSSF Best Practices, CI, CodeQL, OSV-Scanner, Zizmor, release trust, PyPI, documentation, and project license badges. The
    trust documentation also tracks public trust signals and the OpenSSF Best Practices badge state.

    URLs:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos#coding-ethos

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/TRUST_SIGNALS.md#openssf-best-practices-badge


  • Accessibility and internationalization


    Enough for a badge!

    The project (both project sites and project results) SHOULD follow accessibility best practices so that persons with disabilities can still participate in the project and use the project results where it is reasonable to do so. [accessibility_best_practices]
    For web applications, see the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) and its supporting document Understanding WCAG 2.0; see also W3C accessibility information. For GUI applications, consider using the environment-specific accessibility guidelines (such as Gnome, KDE, XFCE, Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows). Some TUI applications (e.g. `ncurses` programs) can do certain things to make themselves more accessible (such as `alpine`'s `force-arrow-cursor` setting). Most command-line applications are fairly accessible as-is. This criterion is often N/A, e.g., for program libraries. Here are some examples of actions to take or issues to consider:
    • Provide text alternatives for any non-text content so that it can be changed into other forms people need, such as large print, braille, speech, symbols or simpler language ( WCAG 2.0 guideline 1.1)
    • Color is not used as the only visual means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element. ( WCAG 2.0 guideline 1.4.1)
    • The visual presentation of text and images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, except for large text, incidental text, and logotypes ( WCAG 2.0 guideline 1.4.3)
    • Make all functionality available from a keyboard (WCAG guideline 2.1)
    • A GUI or web-based project SHOULD test with at least one screen-reader on the target platform(s) (e.g. NVDA, Jaws, or WindowEyes on Windows; VoiceOver on Mac & iOS; Orca on Linux/BSD; TalkBack on Android). TUI programs MAY work to reduce overdraw to prevent redundant reading by screen-readers.

    Yes. The project is primarily text-based and CLI-based, which keeps the main project results usable with screen readers, terminals, text editors, and assistive tooling. Documentation is written in Markdown, the GitHub Pages site is generated from the same text documentation, images in the README include alt text, and contribution, issue, security, and release workflows are available through GitHub’s accessible web interface and plain-text repository files. Where visual assets are used, they are supplemental rather than required to use the software.


    Enough for a badge!

    The software produced by the project SHOULD be internationalized to enable easy localization for the target audience's culture, region, or language. If internationalization (i18n) does not apply (e.g., the software doesn't generate text intended for end-users and doesn't sort human-readable text), select "not applicable" (N/A). [internationalization]
    Localization "refers to the adaptation of a product, application or document content to meet the language, cultural and other requirements of a specific target market (a locale)." Internationalization is the "design and development of a product, application or document content that enables easy localization for target audiences that vary in culture, region, or language." (See W3C's "Localization vs. Internationalization".) Software meets this criterion simply by being internationalized. No localization for another specific language is required, since once software has been internationalized it's possible for others to work on localization.

    Not applicable / intentionally not internationalized at this stage. coding-ethos is developer-facing policy, hook, CI, MCP, and agent-enforcement tooling whose target audience currently works in English. The project’s ETHOS contract, generated agent instructions, policy explanations, remediation advice, contribution process, and security reporting process are all maintained in English. The software does not currently provide locale-sensitive formatting, regional behavior, or a translated end-user application UI. If the project later targets non-English contributor communities, localization would need to be treated as a product feature and added deliberately.


  • Other


    Enough for a badge!

    If the project sites (website, repository, and download URLs) store passwords for authentication of external users, the passwords MUST be stored as iterated hashes with a per-user salt by using a key stretching (iterated) algorithm (e.g., Argon2id, Bcrypt, Scrypt, or PBKDF2). If the project sites do not store passwords for this purpose, select "not applicable" (N/A). [sites_password_security]
    Note that the use of GitHub meets this criterion. This criterion only applies to passwords used for authentication of external users into the project sites (aka inbound authentication). If the project sites must log in to other sites (aka outbound authentication), they may need to store authorization tokens for that purpose differently (since storing a hash would be useless). This applies criterion crypto_password_storage to the project sites, similar to sites_https.

    We do not store passwords.


 Change Control 1/1 ●

  • Previous versions


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST maintain the most often used older versions of the product or provide an upgrade path to newer versions. If the upgrade path is difficult, the project MUST document how to perform the upgrade (e.g., the interfaces that have changed and detailed suggested steps to help upgrade). [maintenance_or_update]

    Yes. The project documents its support and upgrade policy in the release process. coding-ethos provides an upgrade path to newer supported releases rather than maintaining long-lived older release branches. Patch releases preserve
    supported behavior, minor releases should remain backward-compatible unless migration notes are documented, and major releases may change compatibility. Release notes must describe the supported upgrade path and migration steps when
    interfaces change.

    URL:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/RELEASE.md#support-and-upgrade-policy


 Reporting 3/3 ●

  • Bug-reporting process


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST use an issue tracker for tracking individual issues. [report_tracker]

    We use github issues: https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/issues


  • Vulnerability report process


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST give credit to the reporter(s) of all vulnerability reports resolved in the last 12 months, except for the reporter(s) who request anonymity. If there have been no vulnerabilities resolved in the last 12 months, select "not applicable" (N/A). (URL required) [vulnerability_report_credit]

    N/A. There are currently no publicly disclosed coding-ethos vulnerabilities resolved in the last 12 months. The project security policy documents that future release notes or security advisories should credit reporters of resolved
    vulnerability reports unless they request anonymity or private handling.

    URL:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/SECURITY.md#reporter-credit


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST have a documented process for responding to vulnerability reports. (URL required) [vulnerability_response_process]
    This is strongly related to vulnerability_report_process, which requires that there be a documented way to report vulnerabilities. It also related to vulnerability_report_response, which requires response to vulnerability reports within a certain time frame.

    Yes. The project security policy documents the vulnerability reporting and response process, including private reporting instructions, expected acknowledgment and triage timelines, responsible disclosure steps, remediation, advisory/
    release preparation, public disclosure, and reporter credit.

    URL:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/SECURITY.md#responsible-disclosure-process


 Quality 19/19 ●

  • Coding standards


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST identify the specific coding style guides for the primary languages it uses, and require that contributions generally comply with it. (URL required) [coding_standards]
    In most cases this is done by referring to some existing style guide(s), possibly listing differences. These style guides can include ways to improve readability and ways to reduce the likelihood of defects (including vulnerabilities). Many programming languages have one or more widely-used style guides. Examples of style guides include Google's style guides and SEI CERT Coding Standards.

    Yes. The project contribution guide identifies the coding style guides for the primary languages and configuration formats. Python follows PEP 8 plus project Ruff/mypy/Pyright/Pylint rules. Go follows gofmt, go vet, Effective Go, and
    Go Code Review Comments. Shell follows ShellCheck and shfmt. YAML, TOML, SQL, GitHub Actions, and container/config files follow the generated yamllint, Tombi, SQLFluff, actionlint, and hadolint configurations. Contributions must pass
    the managed style and lint tools.

    URL:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#coding-style


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST automatically enforce its selected coding style(s) if there is at least one FLOSS tool that can do so in the selected language(s). [coding_standards_enforced]
    This MAY be implemented using static analysis tool(s) and/or by forcing the code through code reformatters. In many cases the tool configuration is included in the project's repository (since different projects may choose different configurations). Projects MAY allow style exceptions (and typically will); where exceptions occur, they MUST be rare and documented in the code at their locations, so that these exceptions can be reviewed and so that tools can automatically handle them in the future. Examples of such tools include ESLint (JavaScript), Rubocop (Ruby), and devtools check (R).

    Yes. The project automatically enforces its selected coding styles with FLOSS tools through local checks, generated configuration, hooks, and CI. Python style and quality are enforced with Ruff, mypy, Pyright, and Pylint
    configuration. Go style is enforced with gofmt, go vet, Go tests, and golangci-lint. Shell and workflow/config style are enforced with ShellCheck, shfmt, actionlint, yamllint, Tombi, SQLFluff, and hadolint. The contribution guide
    requires make check, and CI runs the project gate plus workflow and code-scanning checks.

    URLs:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#coding-style

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/actions/workflows/ci.yml


  • Working build system


    Enough for a badge!

    Build systems for native binaries MUST honor the relevant compiler and linker (environment) variables passed in to them (e.g., CC, CFLAGS, CXX, CXXFLAGS, and LDFLAGS) and pass them to compiler and linker invocations. A build system MAY extend them with additional flags; it MUST NOT simply replace provided values with its own. If no native binaries are being generated, select "not applicable" (N/A). [build_standard_variables]
    It should be easy to enable special build features like Address Sanitizer (ASAN), or to comply with distribution hardening best practices (e.g., by easily turning on compiler flags to do so).

    N/A. The project currently builds Go command-line helper binaries using the Go toolchain and Python package artifacts using uv build; it does not build C/C++ native binaries with CC, CFLAGS, CXX, CXXFLAGS, or LDFLAGS. The generated Go binaries are built through Go module commands and are not C/C++ compiler/linker builds.


    Enough for a badge!

    The build and installation system SHOULD preserve debugging information if they are requested in the relevant flags (e.g., "install -s" is not used). If there is no build or installation system (e.g., typical JavaScript libraries), select "not applicable" (N/A). [build_preserve_debug]
    E.G., setting CFLAGS (C) or CXXFLAGS (C++) should create the relevant debugging information if those languages are used, and they should not be stripped during installation. Debugging information is needed for support and analysis, and also useful for measuring the presence of hardening features in the compiled binaries.

    N/A. The project currently builds Go command-line helper binaries using the Go toolchain and Python package artifacts using uv build; it does not build C/C++ native binaries with CC, CFLAGS, CXX, CXXFLAGS, or LDFLAGS. The generated Go binaries are built through Go module commands and are not C/C++ compiler/linker builds.


    Enough for a badge!

    The build system for the software produced by the project MUST NOT recursively build subdirectories if there are cross-dependencies in the subdirectories. If there is no build or installation system (e.g., typical JavaScript libraries), select "not applicable" (N/A). [build_non_recursive]
    The project build system's internal dependency information needs to be accurate, otherwise, changes to the project may not build correctly. Incorrect builds can lead to defects (including vulnerabilities). A common mistake in large build systems is to use a "recursive build" or "recursive make", that is, a hierarchy of subdirectories containing source files, where each subdirectory is independently built. Unless each subdirectory is fully independent, this is a mistake, because the dependency information is incorrect.

    Yes. The project has a build system, but it does not recursively build subdirectories with cross-dependencies.

    coding-ethos uses a top-level Makefile as the build orchestrator. It invokes Python packaging through uv and invokes Go builds/tests at the owning Go module boundaries, such as go/ and pre-commit/hooks/go-hooks/. Go package traversal
    like go test ./... is handled by the Go toolchain inside a module, not by recursive subdirectory Make builds.

    Reference: https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/Makefile


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST be able to repeat the process of generating information from source files and get exactly the same bit-for-bit result. If no building occurs (e.g., scripting languages where the source code is used directly instead of being compiled), select "not applicable" (N/A). [build_repeatable]
    GCC and clang users may find the -frandom-seed option useful; in some cases, this can be resolved by forcing some sort order. More suggestions can be found at the reproducible build site.

    The build uses checked-in lock files, generated-config drift checks, deterministic policy bundle generation, and reproducible Go build flags. See https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/BUILD_REPRODUCIBILITY.md


  • Installation system


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST provide a way to easily install and uninstall the software produced by the project using a commonly-used convention. [installation_common]
    Examples include using a package manager (at the system or language level), "make install/uninstall" (supporting DESTDIR), a container in a standard format, or a virtual machine image in a standard format. The installation and uninstallation process (e.g., its packaging) MAY be implemented by a third party as long as it is FLOSS.

    The project supports installation through standard Python packaging from PyPI using pip/uv, and uninstall through the matching package-manager uninstall command. Development installs are also supported with make install.

    Install:

    pip install coding-ethos

    Uninstall:

    pip uninstall coding-ethos

    Project docs: https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos#installation


    Enough for a badge!

    The installation system for end-users MUST honor standard conventions for selecting the location where built artifacts are written to at installation time. For example, if it installs files on a POSIX system it MUST honor the DESTDIR environment variable. If there is no installation system or no standard convention, select "not applicable" (N/A). [installation_standard_variables]

    Yes. End-user installation uses standard Python packaging conventions through pip/uv; install locations are selected using standard package-manager mechanisms such as virtual environments, --user, --prefix, and --target. The project does not use a custom installer that bypasses these conventions.


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST provide a way for potential developers to quickly install all the project results and support environment necessary to make changes, including the tests and test environment. This MUST be performed with a commonly-used convention. [installation_development_quick]
    This MAY be implemented using a generated container and/or installation script(s). External dependencies would typically be installed by invoking system and/or language package manager(s), per external_dependencies.

    The project provides a standard developer setup through make install, which uses the repository’s locked Python/Go toolchain setup and installs the support environment needed to build, test, lint, and regenerate project artifacts.
    Tests can then be run with make test or the broader make check.

    Developer setup:

    git clone https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos.git
    cd coding-ethos
    make install
    make check

    Documentation: https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#development-setup


  • Externally-maintained components


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST list external dependencies in a computer-processable way. (URL required) [external_dependencies]
    Typically this is done using the conventions of package manager and/or build system. Note that this helps implement installation_development_quick.

    The project lists dependencies in standard machine-readable manifests, including pyproject.toml and uv.lock for Python, go.mod/go.sum files for Go modules, and workflow YAML files for GitHub Actions dependencies.


    Enough for a badge!

    Projects MUST monitor or periodically check their external dependencies (including convenience copies) to detect known vulnerabilities, and fix exploitable vulnerabilities or verify them as unexploitable. [dependency_monitoring]
    This can be done using an origin analyzer / dependency checking tool / software composition analysis tool such as OWASP's Dependency-Check, Sonatype's Nexus Auditor, Synopsys' Black Duck Software Composition Analysis, and Bundler-audit (for Ruby). Some package managers include mechanisms to do this. It is acceptable if the components' vulnerability cannot be exploited, but this analysis is difficult and it is sometimes easier to simply update or fix the part.

    The project monitors dependencies with Dependabot, OSV-Scanner, GitHub dependency review, CodeQL/code scanning, and OpenSSF Scorecard. Dependency vulnerabilities are tracked through GitHub Security alerts and addressed through normal
    pull requests or documented as unexploitable when applicable.

    Useful URLs:


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST either:
    1. make it easy to identify and update reused externally-maintained components; or
    2. use the standard components provided by the system or programming language.
    Then, if a vulnerability is found in a reused component, it will be easy to update that component. [updateable_reused_components]
    A typical way to meet this criterion is to use system and programming language package management systems. Many FLOSS programs are distributed with "convenience libraries" that are local copies of standard libraries (possibly forked). By itself, that's fine. However, if the program *must* use these local (forked) copies, then updating the "standard" libraries as a security update will leave these additional copies still vulnerable. This is especially an issue for cloud-based systems; if the cloud provider updates their "standard" libraries but the program won't use them, then the updates don't actually help. See, e.g., "Chromium: Why it isn't in Fedora yet as a proper package" by Tom Callaway.

    The project uses standard Python, Go, and GitHub Actions dependency mechanisms so externally maintained components are easy to identify and update. Python dependencies are declared in pyproject.toml and locked in uv.lock; Go dependen
    cies are declared in go.mod/go.sum; GitHub Actions dependencies are declared in workflow YAML. Dependabot is configured to open update pull requests for supported ecosystems.

    URLs:


    Enough for a badge!

    The project SHOULD avoid using deprecated or obsolete functions and APIs where FLOSS alternatives are available in the set of technology it uses (its "technology stack") and to a supermajority of the users the project supports (so that users have ready access to the alternative). [interfaces_current]

    The project avoids deprecated APIs through enforced static analysis and dependency maintenance. Python code is checked with Ruff, Pyright, mypy, Pylint, and pyupgrade-oriented configuration; Go code is checked with go test, go vet-
    style tooling through golangci-lint, CodeQL, and dependency scanning. Deprecated dependency and action updates are tracked through Dependabot.

    URLs:


  • Automated test suite


    Enough for a badge!

    An automated test suite MUST be applied on each check-in to a shared repository for at least one branch. This test suite MUST produce a report on test success or failure. [automated_integration_testing]
    This requirement can be viewed as a subset of test_continuous_integration, but focused on just testing, without requiring continuous integration.

    The project runs automated tests and quality gates on pull requests and pushes to main through GitHub Actions. The CI workflow reports pass/fail status for the test and lint jobs directly on commits and pull requests.

    URLs:


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST add regression tests to an automated test suite for at least 50% of the bugs fixed within the last six months. [regression_tests_added50]

    The project’s normal bug-fix practice is to add or update focused automated tests with bug fixes, especially for hook behavior, CEL policy evaluation, SARIF output, MCP behavior, generated config drift, and code-intelligence storage/
    query regressions. Recent bug fixes in those areas have included Go or Python regression tests before merge.

    Evidence URLs:


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST have FLOSS automated test suite(s) that provide at least 80% statement coverage if there is at least one FLOSS tool that can measure this criterion in the selected language. [test_statement_coverage80]
    Many FLOSS tools are available to measure test coverage, including gcov/lcov, Blanket.js, Istanbul, JCov, and covr (R). Note that meeting this criterion is not a guarantee that the test suite is thorough, instead, failing to meet this criterion is a strong indicator of a poor test suite.

    The project enforces at least 80% statement coverage for its FLOSS automated test suites. Python coverage is measured with coverage.py over coding_ethos and enforced by make python-coverage using coverage report --fail-under=80.
    Go coverage is measured with the standard Go coverage tooling for both shared Go tools and the bundled hook runner, enforced by make go-coverage with an 80% minimum. CI publishes Python and Go coverage artifacts.

    Evidence:
    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/Makefile
    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/.github/workflows/ci.yml


  • New functionality testing


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST have a formal written policy that as major new functionality is added, tests for the new functionality MUST be added to an automated test suite. [test_policy_mandated]

    The functional-testing principle and contribution guide require behavioral tests for major functionality and bug fixes. See https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#quality-bar


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST include, in its documented instructions for change proposals, the policy that tests are to be added for major new functionality. [tests_documented_added]
    However, even an informal rule is acceptable as long as the tests are being added in practice.

    Yes. The contribution instructions document that behavioral changes and output/interface changes must include corresponding tests. The pull request template also asks contributors to list tests run, which makes test evidence part of
    change proposal review.

    URLs:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#quality-bar

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/.github/pull_request_template.md


  • Warning flags


    Enough for a badge!

    Projects MUST be maximally strict with warnings in the software produced by the project, where practical. [warnings_strict]
    Some warnings cannot be effectively enabled on some projects. What is needed is evidence that the project is striving to enable warning flags where it can, so that errors are detected early.

    We have a zero-warnings policy - it's enforced - that's the entire project's purpose.


 Security 13/13 ●

  • Secure development knowledge


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST implement secure design principles (from "know_secure_design"), where applicable. If the project is not producing software, select "not applicable" (N/A). [implement_secure_design]
    For example, the project results should have fail-safe defaults (access decisions should deny by default, and projects' installation should be secure by default). They should also have complete mediation (every access that might be limited must be checked for authority and be non-bypassable). Note that in some cases principles will conflict, in which case a choice must be made (e.g., many mechanisms can make things more complex, contravening "economy of mechanism" / keep it simple).

    Secure design is documented through the threat model, runtime sandboxing plan, and security assurance case. See https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/SECURITY_ASSURANCE_CASE.md


  • Use basic good cryptographic practices

    Note that some software does not need to use cryptographic mechanisms. If your project produces software that (1) includes, activates, or enables encryption functionality, and (2) might be released from the United States (US) to outside the US or to a non-US-citizen, you may be legally required to take a few extra steps. Typically this just involves sending an email. For more information, see the encryption section of Understanding Open Source Technology & US Export Controls.

    Enough for a badge!

    The default security mechanisms within the software produced by the project MUST NOT depend on cryptographic algorithms or modes with known serious weaknesses (e.g., the SHA-1 cryptographic hash algorithm or the CBC mode in SSH). [crypto_weaknesses]
    Concerns about CBC mode in SSH are discussed in CERT: SSH CBC vulnerability.

    The project does not implement custom cryptographic protocols or depend on weak cryptographic algorithms for its default security mechanisms. Network delivery and publishing use standard HTTPS/TLS through GitHub, PyPI, OpenSSF Best
    Practices, Sigstore/GitHub artifact attestations, and PyPI Trusted Publishing. Release integrity uses signed tags, SHA-256 checksums, SBOMs, and GitHub attestations; SHA-1 or weak modes are not part of the project’s default security
    design.

    Evidence:
    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/GOLD_SECURITY_POSTURE.md#cryptography
    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/SUPPLY_CHAIN_ATTESTATIONS.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project SHOULD support multiple cryptographic algorithms, so users can quickly switch if one is broken. Common symmetric key algorithms include AES, Twofish, and Serpent. Common cryptographic hash algorithm alternatives include SHA-2 (including SHA-224, SHA-256, SHA-384 AND SHA-512) and SHA-3. [crypto_algorithm_agility]

    The project does not implement custom cryptography and documents the required agility review for any future cryptographic feature. See https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/GOLD_SECURITY_POSTURE.md#cryptography


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST support storing authentication credentials (such as passwords and dynamic tokens) and private cryptographic keys in files that are separate from other information (such as configuration files, databases, and logs), and permit users to update and replace them without code recompilation. If the project never processes authentication credentials and private cryptographic keys, select "not applicable" (N/A). [crypto_credential_agility]

    Release flows avoid long-lived credentials through GitHub OIDC and PyPI Trusted Publishing, and key rotation is documented through SECURITY.md. See https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/GOLD_SECURITY_POSTURE.md#credential-agility


    Enough for a badge!

    The software produced by the project SHOULD support secure protocols for all of its network communications, such as SSHv2 or later, TLS1.2 or later (HTTPS), IPsec, SFTP, and SNMPv3. Insecure protocols such as FTP, HTTP, telnet, SSLv3 or earlier, and SSHv1 SHOULD be disabled by default, and only enabled if the user specifically configures it. If the software produced by the project does not support network communications, select "not applicable" (N/A). [crypto_used_network]

    Network cryptography usage is limited to standard HTTPS/TLS service access, GitHub OIDC/Sigstore attestations, PyPI Trusted Publishing, SHA-256 checksums, and optional OpenPGP reporting. See https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/GOLD_SECURITY_POSTURE.md#cryptography


    Enough for a badge!

    The software produced by the project SHOULD, if it supports or uses TLS, support at least TLS version 1.2. Note that the predecessor of TLS was called SSL. If the software does not use TLS, select "not applicable" (N/A). [crypto_tls12]

    Remote delivery and publication use GitHub, PyPI, and Best Practices over HTTPS/TLS. See https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/GOLD_SECURITY_POSTURE.md#certificate-and-tls-verification


    Enough for a badge!

    The software produced by the project MUST, if it supports TLS, perform TLS certificate verification by default when using TLS, including on subresources. If the software does not use TLS, select "not applicable" (N/A). [crypto_certificate_verification]
    Note that incorrect TLS certificate verification is a common mistake. For more information, see "The Most Dangerous Code in the World: Validating SSL Certificates in Non-Browser Software" by Martin Georgiev et al. and "Do you trust this application?" by Michael Catanzaro.

    Repository-owned HTTPS access must use normal TLS certificate verification and must not disable verification. See https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/GOLD_SECURITY_POSTURE.md#certificate-and-tls-verification


    Enough for a badge!

    The software produced by the project MUST, if it supports TLS, perform certificate verification before sending HTTP headers with private information (such as secure cookies). If the software does not use TLS, select "not applicable" (N/A). [crypto_verification_private]

    The project does not maintain private cryptographic verification protocols; repository-owned remote access uses standard HTTPS/TLS verification. See https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/GOLD_SECURITY_POSTURE.md#certificate-and-tls-verification


  • Secure release


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST cryptographically sign releases of the project results intended for widespread use, and there MUST be a documented process explaining to users how they can obtain the public signing keys and verify the signature(s). The private key for these signature(s) MUST NOT be on site(s) used to directly distribute the software to the public. If releases are not intended for widespread use, select "not applicable" (N/A). [signed_releases]
    The project results include both source code and any generated deliverables where applicable (e.g., executables, packages, and containers). Generated deliverables MAY be signed separately from source code. These MAY be implemented as signed git tags (using cryptographic digital signatures). Projects MAY provide generated results separately from tools like git, but in those cases, the separate results MUST be separately signed.

    The release process requires signed v* tags and publishes artifacts with checksums, SBOMs, and attestations. See https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/GOLD_SECURITY_POSTURE.md#release-signing-and-tags


    Enough for a badge!

    It is SUGGESTED that in the version control system, each important version tag (a tag that is part of a major release, minor release, or fixes publicly noted vulnerabilities) be cryptographically signed and verifiable as described in signed_releases. [version_tags_signed]

    The release process requires signed v* tags and documents verification with git tag -v. See https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/GOLD_SECURITY_POSTURE.md#release-signing-and-tags


  • Other security issues


    Enough for a badge!

    The project results MUST check all inputs from potentially untrusted sources to ensure they are valid (an *allowlist*), and reject invalid inputs, if there are any restrictions on the data at all. [input_validation]
    Note that comparing input against a list of "bad formats" (aka a *denylist*) is normally not enough, because attackers can often work around a denylist. In particular, numbers are converted into internal formats and then checked if they are between their minimum and maximum (inclusive), and text strings are checked to ensure that they are valid text patterns (e.g., valid UTF-8, length, syntax, etc.). Some data may need to be "anything at all" (e.g., a file uploader), but these would typically be rare.

    The project validates hook payloads, shell commands, CEL inputs, YAML policy, SARIF, and source facts through structured parsers and typed loaders. See https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/SECURITY_ASSURANCE_CASE.md#input-validation-claim


    Enough for a badge!

    Hardening mechanisms SHOULD be used in the software produced by the project so that software defects are less likely to result in security vulnerabilities. [hardening]
    Hardening mechanisms may include HTTP headers like Content Security Policy (CSP), compiler flags to mitigate attacks (such as -fstack-protector), or compiler flags to eliminate undefined behavior. For our purposes least privilege is not considered a hardening mechanism (least privilege is important, but separate).

    The project documents site hardening expectations and platform limits for the static GitHub Pages site. See https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/GOLD_SECURITY_POSTURE.md#hosted-site-hardening


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST provide an assurance case that justifies why its security requirements are met. The assurance case MUST include: a description of the threat model, clear identification of trust boundaries, an argument that secure design principles have been applied, and an argument that common implementation security weaknesses have been countered. (URL required) [assurance_case]
    An assurance case is "a documented body of evidence that provides a convincing and valid argument that a specified set of critical claims regarding a system’s properties are adequately justified for a given application in a given environment" ("Software Assurance Using Structured Assurance Case Models", Thomas Rhodes et al, NIST Interagency Report 7608). Trust boundaries are boundaries where data or execution changes its level of trust, e.g., a server's boundaries in a typical web application. It's common to list secure design principles (such as Saltzer and Schroeer) and common implementation security weaknesses (such as the OWASP top 10 or CWE/SANS top 25), and show how each are countered. The BadgeApp assurance case may be a useful example. This is related to documentation_security, documentation_architecture, and implement_secure_design.

    The project maintains a concrete security assurance case with top-level claims, evidence, input-validation claims, secure-design claims, and known limits. See https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/SECURITY_ASSURANCE_CASE.md


 Analysis 2/2 ●

  • Static code analysis


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST use at least one static analysis tool with rules or approaches to look for common vulnerabilities in the analyzed language or environment, if there is at least one FLOSS tool that can implement this criterion in the selected language. [static_analysis_common_vulnerabilities]
    Static analysis tools that are specifically designed to look for common vulnerabilities are more likely to find them. That said, using any static tools will typically help find some problems, so we are suggesting but not requiring this for the 'passing' level badge.

    Yes. The static-analysis stack includes vulnerability-oriented tools: Bandit for Python security issues, CodeQL security-extended and security-and-quality queries for Python, Go, and GitHub Actions, actionlint for GitHub workflow
    risks, hadolint and ShellCheck for shell/container safety, and coding-ethos policy checks for protected paths, unsafe shell/git usage, private keys, and supply-chain controls.

    URLs:

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/actions/workflows/codeql.yml

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/actions/workflows/ci.yml

    https://github.com/paudley/coding-ethos/blob/main/docs/THREAT_MODEL.md


  • Dynamic code analysis


    Enough for a badge!

    If the software produced by the project includes software written using a memory-unsafe language (e.g., C or C++), then at least one dynamic tool (e.g., a fuzzer or web application scanner) MUST be routinely used in combination with a mechanism to detect memory safety problems such as buffer overwrites. If the project does not produce software written in a memory-unsafe language, choose "not applicable" (N/A). [dynamic_analysis_unsafe]
    Examples of mechanisms to detect memory safety problems include Address Sanitizer (ASAN) (available in GCC and LLVM), Memory Sanitizer, and valgrind. Other potentially-used tools include thread sanitizer and undefined behavior sanitizer. Widespread assertions would also work.

    No C or C++ code. Golang + python



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Project badge entry owned by: Patrick Audley.
Entry created on 2026-05-03 17:46:30 UTC, last updated on 2026-05-05 20:29:47 UTC. Last achieved passing badge on 2026-05-03 18:35:23 UTC.