2019-03-22 Namespace Unofficial Projects

As OpenStack has evolved, the infrastructure program hosting OpenStack code has also evolved into its own program called OpenDev. As OpenDev prepares to move git hosting to new URLs and new backends, OpenStack has an opportunity to revisit previous choices about how projects are namespaced.

Previously, OpenStack had a concept of “stackforge” to host unofficial projects. Eventually, the TC retired the stackforge name and git namespace in order to simplify the logistics of moving projects from unofficial to official, and the “openstack” git namespace became a place for all projects hosted on OpenStack’s git infrastructure.

As the growth of OpenStack has slowed and processes have improved, the need to streamline the process of making a project official has decreased. Additionally, a single namespace has caused confusion in the community about which projects are official and which are unofficial.

It’s become clear that OpenStack should use this opportunity to go back to the old model of a separate namespace for unofficial projects. When the git repositories are moved to the new OpenDev infrastructure, a new namespace called “unknown” will be created, and all unofficial projects currently hosted in the OpenStack infrastructure will be re-located there. All official projects will remain in the “openstack” namespace. This includes projects which are currently in the “openstack-dev” and “openstack-infra” namespaces which are not moving to another namespace (e.g. “opendev”).

Unofficial projects moved to the “unknown” namespace are encouraged to find a home in an existing namespace other than “openstack”, or to create a new namespace for themselves.