From 7713f540bbd7a6a139c59d4e414f286bb64f16cd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Tomas Hrcka <thrcka@redhat.com>
Date: Oct 20 2023 08:10:54 +0000
Subject: [releng] Move distgit branches removal sop from infra to releng


Signed-off-by: Tomas Hrcka <thrcka@redhat.com>

---

diff --git a/modules/releng_misc_guide/pages/sop_remote_dist_git_branches.adoc b/modules/releng_misc_guide/pages/sop_remote_dist_git_branches.adoc
index 0ff5f89..5413899 100644
--- a/modules/releng_misc_guide/pages/sop_remote_dist_git_branches.adoc
+++ b/modules/releng_misc_guide/pages/sop_remote_dist_git_branches.adoc
@@ -1,43 +1,96 @@
-== Remove dist-git branches
+= How to remove a git branch in a dist-git repository
 
-=== Description
+Historically we did not allow to remove git branches in dist-git repository, but
+FESCo recently approved their removal *if and only if* all the commits in the
+branch to be deleted can be reached from another branch.
+This is a requirement to ensure that if any of the commits were used in a build,
+we still have the commit accessible and thus we are able to reproduce the build
+if needed.
 
-Release Engineering is often asked by maintainers to remove branches in
-dist-git by maintainers.
+There is a script in the releng repository to use to check if a branch can
+safely be deleted.
 
-=== Action
+So here are the steps to follow to remove the branch `<branch>` from the package
+`<foo>`.
 
-. Log into batcave01
+. Clone the releng repo if you do not already have it:
 +
-....
-ssh <fas-username>@batcave01.iad2.fedoraproject.org
-....
-. Get root shell
-. Log into pkgs01.iad2.fedoraproject.org :
+----
+git clone https://pagure.io/releng.git
+----
+
+. Pull the latest changes:
++
+----
+pushd releng && git pull --rebase && popd
+----
+
+. Clone the `<foo>` package locally:
++
+----
+fedpkg clone <foo>
+----
+
+. Checkout the <branch> branch:
 +
-....
+----
+cd clone && git checkout <branch>
+----
+
+. Run the script:
++
+----
+python ../releng/scripts/distgit-branch-unused.py <branch>
+----
++
+(If needed, see the ``--help`` of the script for more information)
+
+
+. If the script returns that the branch is safe to delete:
+
+.. Go to pkgs01 as root
++
+----
 ssh pkgs01.iad2.fedoraproject.org
-....
-. Change to the package's directory
+----
+
+.. Go to the git repository:
 +
-....
-cd /srv/git/rpms/<package>.git/
-....
-. Remove the branch
+----
+cd /srv/git/repositories/<namespace>/<foo>.git
+----
+
+.. Move the head of the branch (this allows to recover it later if needed):
 +
-....
-git branch -D <branchname> </pre>
-....
+--
+
+----
+mv refs/heads/<branch> heads_<branch>
+----
 
-=== Verification
+Sometimes the ref is in the `packed-refs` file, in that case:
+
+----
+grep <branch> packed-refs > heads_<branch>
+----
+
+Then remove the line from `packed-refs` file
+--
+
+. On your local clone of `<foo>`, check that the branch was deleted upstream:
++
+--
 
-To verify just list the branches.
+----
+git fetch -p
+----
 
-....
-git branch
-....
+This should show something like:
 
-=== Consider Before Running
+----
+$ git fetch -p
+From ssh://pkgs.fedoraproject.org/<namespace>/<foo>
+- [deleted]         (none)     -> origin/<branch>
+----
 
-Make sure that the branch in question isn't one of our pre-created
-branches `f??/rawhide`, `olpc?/rawhide`, `el?/rawhide`
+--