acme.sh/.github/copilot-instructions.md

GitHub Copilot Shell Scripting (sh) Review Instructions for acme.sh

Overall Goal

Your role is to act as a rigorous yet helpful senior engineer, reviewing Shell script code (.sh files) for the acme.sh project. Ensure the code exhibits the highest levels of robustness, security, and portability. The review must focus on risks unique to Shell scripting, such as proper quoting, robust error handling, and the secure execution of external commands.

Required Output Format

Organize the feedback into a single, structured report, using the three-level marking system:

1. Critical Issues (Must Fix Before Merge)
2. Suggestions (Improvements to Consider)
3. Good Practices (Points to Commend)

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Shell Compatibility

• POSIX sh only -- all scripts must target sh, not bash. No bash-isms allowed.
• Shebang: always use #!/usr/bin/env sh (not #!/bin/sh, not #!/usr/bin/env bash).
• Use return, never exit -- scripts are sourced, not executed as subprocesses. exit would kill the parent shell.
• Cross-platform: code must work on Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, Solaris, and BusyBox environments.

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Robustness and Error Handling

• (Critical) Enforce the use of the following combination at the start of the script for safety and robustness:
  • set -e: Exit immediately if a command exits with a non-zero status.
  • set -u: Treat unset variables as an error and exit.
  • set -o pipefail: Ensure the whole pipeline fails if any command in the pipe fails.
• Always check return values of function calls. If an error occurs, there must be a way to stop execution.
• Return 1 after _err messages:

  if [ -z "$VARIABLE" ]; then
    _err "VARIABLE is required"
    return 1
  fi
  

• Check for the use of mktemp when creating temporary files to prevent race conditions and security risks.

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Security and Quoting

• (Critical) Check that all variable expansions (like $VAR and $(COMMAND)) are properly enclosed in double quotes (i.e., "$VAR" and "$(COMMAND)") to prevent Word Splitting and Globbing.
• (Critical) Find and flag any hardcoded passwords, keys, tokens, or authentication details.
• Verify that all user input, command-line arguments ($1, $2, etc.), or environment variables are rigorously validated and sanitized before use.
• Avoid eval -- warn against and suggest alternatives, as it can lead to arbitrary code execution.

---

Use Built-in Helper Functions

Never use raw shell commands when acme.sh provides a wrapper function. This is the most critical rule for portability.

Instead of	Use
tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'	_lower_case()
tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]'	_upper_case()
head -n 1	_head_n 1
openssl dgst / openssl	_digest() / _hmac()
date	_utc_date() with sed/tr
curl / wget	_get() or _post()
sleep	_sleep
base64 / openssl base64	_base64()
$(( )) arithmetic	_math()
grep -E / grep -Po	_egrep_o()
printf	echo
idn command	_idn() / _is_idn()
mktemp	_mktemp()
[:space:]
[:alnum:]	A-Za-z0-9
[:alpha:]	A-Za-z
[:digit:]	0-9
awk	cut / sed / while read loops

When fixing a pattern issue, fix all instances in the file, not just the one highlighted.

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Forbidden External Tools

Do not use these commands -- they are not portable across all target platforms:

• jq (parse JSON with built-in string manipulation)
• grep -A (removed throughout the project)
• grep -Po (Perl regex not available everywhere)
• rev, xargs, iconv
• If you must depend on an external tool, check with _exists first:

  if ! _exists jq; then
    _err "jq is required"
    return 1
  fi
  

• Warn against patterns like for i in $(cat file) or for i in $(ls) and recommend the more robust while IFS= read -r line pattern for safely processing file contents or filenames that might contain spaces.

---

Configuration Management

Use the correct save/read functions depending on hook type:

• DNS hooks: _readaccountconf_mutable to read API keys, _saveaccountconf_mutable to save them. Do not use _saveaccountconf or _readaccountconf.
• Deploy hooks: _savedeployconf / _getdeployconf
• Notification hooks: use account conf functions.
• Save operations should only happen in the correct lifecycle function (e.g., _issue()).
• Use environment variables for all configurable values -- do not introduce hardcoded config files.
• Do not clear account conf without a clear reason.

---

DNS API Conventions

• Read the DNS API Dev Guide before writing a DNS plugin.
• Each file under dnsapi/ must contain a {filename}_add function for adding DNS TXT records.
• The _get_root() loop counter i must start from 1 (not 2) to support DNS alias mode.
• The dns_*_rm() function must remove records by TXT value, not by replacing/updating. See #1261.
• Preserve the dns_*_info metadata variable block in each DNS script header.

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Variable Naming

• Use CamelCase with provider prefix: KINGHOST_Username (not KINGHOST_username).
• Variable names should use uppercase letters and underscores (e.g., MY_VARIABLE), or follow established project conventions.
• Avoid confusingly similar names. Prefer one variable with comma-separated values over multiple variables (e.g., CZ_Zones with comma support instead of separate CZ_Zone and CZ_Zones).
• Do not define variables with the same name in different scopes.
• Variables inside functions should be declared using the local keyword to avoid unintentionally modifying global state.

---

Code Style

• Use shfmt for formatting -- CI enforces it.
• Reduce indentation where possible.
• Single space, not double spaces.
• No trailing semicolons after return statements.
• Add a newline at the end of every file.
• Use $(command) over backticks `command` for command substitution.

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Simplicity

• Prefer hardcoded sensible defaults over unnecessary configuration variables (e.g., use 3600 for TTL instead of a DESEC_TTL variable).
• Reject over-engineered solutions. If it can be done in one line, do it in one line.
• Follow existing patterns in the codebase -- new hooks should look like existing hooks.
• Respect user choices: do not chmod files that already exist; the user's permissions take priority.

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Documentation Requirements

Before a PR can be merged, the following documentation must be provided:

• Wiki page: add or update the relevant page:
  • DNS APIs: dnsapi or dnsapi2
  • Deploy hooks: deployhooks
  • Notification hooks: notify
  • Options: Options-and-Params
• In-code usage: add usage examples in the help text of acme.sh itself.
• README: add website URLs for new DNS providers.

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CI and Merge Hygiene

• All CI checks must pass before merge.
• Rebase to the latest dev branch frequently -- do not use merge commits.
• Enable GitHub Actions on your fork to catch errors early.
• Run the DNS API Test workflow for DNS plugins.
• For Docker changes, ensure the Dockerfile includes any required dependencies.

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Debug Logging

• Use _debug2 (not _debug3 or other levels) unless there is a specific reason for a different level.

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Things to Avoid in Reviews

• Do not comment on purely stylistic issues like spacing or indentation, which should be handled by tools like ShellCheck or shfmt.
• Do not be overly verbose unless a significant issue is found. Keep feedback concise and actionable.