add README.mdHEADmaster

1 files changed, 99 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a817fc7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+# xpit - cross-platform issue tracker
+
+Inspired by [tsoding's task system](https://youtu.be/QH6KOEVnSZA?si=uXGNx4ZifkuUJaAA&t=385).
+
+# Dependencies
+
+- Python 3.10+
+- cryptography (`pip install cryptography` or something like 'python-cryptography' on your system package manager)
+
+# Usage
+
+Initialize xpit by running `xpit init`. This creates a new issue-tracker/ folder
+in the current directory. Then use `xpit create` to create an issue (`xpit create -h` to print help).
+
+# Why xpit?
+
+The issue tracker is a large source of friction when migrating to a different VCS or
+hosting provider (or moving to self-hosted). Relying on a platform's issue tracker
+effectively creates a vendor lock-in with that specific platform.
+
+Since we're already using version control, we might as well store the issue tracker inside
+the repo and let the VCS handle the rest. xpit is designed to be text- and line-based and thus
+compatible with virtually any VCS.
+
+# Format
+
+## issue-tracker/
+
+Every issue has its own folder inside issue-tracker/. The name of the folder is the issue ID.
+Each issue folder must contain an issue.md file. The issue.md file may reference files inside
+the issue folder.
+
+## issue.md
+
+The basic syntax is regular markdown. Every issue.md file must start with a header in
+the form of an INI code block:
+```ini
+author=<USER_NAME>#<IDENTITY>
+status=<open|closed>
+labels=<comma-separated list>
+```
+where USER_NAME is some name which may be changed, and IDENTITY is an identifier
+to uniquely identify a user, regardless of name. USER_NAME and IDENTITY are separate
+concepts to allow multiple users with the same name to exist inside the same project.
+
+The issue title is the first heading of the file. Everything from the start of the file
+to the end of file, or the first triple-dash (\n---\n) (whichever comes first) is considered to
+be the initial issue post.
+
+Subsequent posts/replies are delimited by triple-dashes and must themselves contain an
+INI header:
+```ini
+author=<USER_NAME>#<IDENTITY>
+id=<ID>
+```
+The ID is used to allow users to reply to a specific post via:
+```ini
+...
+reply=<ID>
+```
+
+## issue-tracker/_config.ini
+
+INI file containing:
+    - id_format: format of newly created IDs. Uses strftime syntax (UTC).
+    - allowed_labels: comma-separated list of labels that are allowed to be used in issues.
+
+# Contributing
+
+If you have any ideas or issues, send them to steven@vandorp.lu.
+
+If you want to modify code, make your changes in a separate branch,
+generate the patch(es) (`git format-patch master` from inside your branch)
+and send the patch file(s) to steven@vandorp.lu.
+
+# License
+
+MIT License
+
+Copyright (c) 2026 Steven Van Dorp
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+SOFTWARE.
+