ap-base

Monorepo aggregating all astrophotography pipeline projects as git submodules.

Purpose

This repository serves three primary functions:

1. Standards Enforcement - Define and maintain consistent standards across all projects
2. Coordinated Changes - Make synchronized updates across multiple repositories
3. Centralized Documentation - Provide overarching documentation for the entire pipeline

Repository Structure

ap-base/
├── ap-common/                   # Shared utilities and common code
├── ap-copy-master-to-blink/     # Master calibration frame distribution
├── ap-cull-light/               # Light frame selection/culling
├── ap-create-master/            # Master calibration frame creation
├── ap-empty-directory/          # Directory cleanup utility
├── ap-move-light-to-data/       # Light frame data migration
├── ap-move-master-to-library/   # Calibration frame organization
├── ap-move-raw-light-to-blink/  # Light frame organization
├── ap-preserve-header/          # FITS header management
├── docs/                   # Centralized documentation (includes docs/standards/)
├── Makefile                # Submodule management
└── CLAUDE.md               # Claude Code workflow instructions

Getting Started

Initial Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd ap-base

# Initialize and update all submodules
make init

Clean Slate

To reset all submodules to a clean state:

make deinit  # Deinitialize submodules and clear cache
make init    # Reinitialize fresh submodules

Working with Standards

AP-specific standards live in docs/standards/:

• ap-common Usage - Use shared constants from ap-common

For general software-engineering standards (project structure, README format, Makefile, GitHub workflows, testing, CLI, naming, etc.), see jewzaam/standards.

Enforcing Standards

When making changes to submodule projects:

1. Review AP-specific standards in docs/standards/ and general standards at jewzaam/standards
2. Ensure changes conform to established conventions
3. Update standards documentation if introducing new patterns
4. Apply changes consistently across all affected submodules

Making Coordinated Changes

This repository enables synchronized updates across multiple projects:

Workflow for Cross-Repository Changes

1. Identify affected submodules - Determine which projects need updates
2. Review standards - Ensure changes align with project conventions
3. Make changes locally - Update each submodule in your working directory
4. Test across projects - Verify changes work correctly in all contexts
5. Commit and push - Push changes to each submodule's repository
6. Update submodule references - Commit updated submodule pointers in ap-base

Example: Updating README Format

# Start with fresh submodules
make deinit
make init

# Make changes to each submodule's README
cd ap-common
# Edit README.md to match the README format standard at https://github.com/jewzaam/standards
git add README.md
git commit -m "Update README to match ap-base standards"
git push

# Repeat for other submodules
cd ../ap-cull-light
# ... make similar changes ...

# Update ap-base to reference new commits
cd ..
git add ap-common ap-cull-light  # ... other updated submodules
git commit -m "Update submodule references after README standardization"
git push

Documentation

Centralized documentation lives in docs/:

• Documentation Index - Overview of available documentation
• Directory Structure - Pipeline directory layout
• Workflow - Processing workflow documentation
• Tools - Tool-specific documentation

This documentation provides high-level context that spans multiple projects and doesn't belong in individual submodule READMEs.

Makefile Targets

make init    # Initialize and update all submodules to latest
make deinit  # Deinitialize submodules and clear cache
make help    # Show available targets

Contributing

When contributing changes that affect multiple projects:

1. Check standards documentation for existing conventions
2. Make coordinated changes across relevant submodules
3. Update ap-base documentation if introducing new patterns
4. Test changes in context of the full pipeline
5. Update this README if workflow or structure changes