Decide the fate of the pupmod_skeleton project type — simp/puppet-module-skeleton has been dormant since 2022

Question

Is the pupmod_skeleton project type still wanted, or is it dead config?

simp/puppet-module-skeleton has had no commit since 2022-07-15, yet its puppetsync integration is still present and was updated as recently as 2026-07-31:

• data/project_types/pupmod_skeleton.yaml
• data/sync/repolists/pupmod_skeleton.yaml → https://github.com/simp/puppet-module-skeleton
• modules/role/manifests/pupmod_skeleton.pp

The recent update looks incidental rather than deliberate: commit Add merge_gha_workflows task and pipeline stage (#50 slice 3) (#73) edited pupmod.yaml and pupmod_skeleton.yaml together, applying the same new profile::github_actions::strategy: bootstrap setting to both. So the skeleton's config has been kept mechanically in step with pupmod's, which is not the same as anyone deciding the skeleton is still in use.

Why it matters now

The repo is a candidate for archiving — it is one of four dormant forks reviewed on 2026-08-27, and the only one with a live puppetsync hook. The other three (librarian-puppet, saf, pdk-templates) had no references anywhere in the org and have been archived.

repolist=pupmod_skeleton is opt-in, so it does not affect the default dynamic-inventory run (repolist=github-org) — nothing is broken today. But if the repo gets archived while the config remains, that sync target will fail on push against a read-only repo, and the failure will be confusing because the config looks maintained.

Note also that the skeleton predates the current toolchain: the OpenVox 9 / Ruby 4 migration dropped pdk fleet-wide, and pupmod_skeleton.yaml still refers to .pdkignore ("Now using .pdkignore") and to skeleton/Gemfile / skeleton/.rspec paths that have not been refreshed since 2022.

Options

1. Retire it — drop the project type, repolist, and role manifest, then archive simp/puppet-module-skeleton. Appropriate if new modules are no longer seeded from it.
2. Keep and refresh it — bring the skeleton in line with the current baseline (openvox gem, voxpupuli-test, rake pupmod:build, no pdk) so pupmod_skeleton runs produce something usable. Appropriate if it is still the starting point for new modules.

Worth checking with whoever last needed a new module scaffold — that answers it faster than reading the config.

Related

A smaller loose end in the same area: modules still carry .pdkignore and puppetsync still manages _pdkignore, even though pdk was removed fleet-wide. Probably worth cleaning up in the same pass as whichever option is chosen.

Start by checking data/project_types/pupmod_skeleton.yaml, data/sync/repolists/pupmod_skeleton.yaml, and modules/role/manifests/pupmod_skeleton.pp, then verify whether anyone still uses the skeleton to seed modules. Confirm the maintainer decision before changing anything; done means the selected retirement or refresh path is applied consistently and the sync target no longer points at an unusable repository.