saving decisions on auto-labeling

Author: EMaher

.squad/decisions/decisions.md

@@ -4,6 +4,42 @@ All architectural and implementation decisions for apiops-cli.
 
 ---
 
+### 2026-05-15: Two-Tier Auto-Labeling Policy
+**Decided by:** Elizabeth Maher (maintainer)  
+**Proposed by:** SecurityExpert  
+**Status:** Approved  
+**Scope:** Branch maintenance plan, workflow automation policy
+
+**Summary:** Replace blanket "no auto-labeling" ban with two-tier auto-labeling policy:
+
+**Tier 1 (Informational labels) — MAY be auto-applied:**
+- `question`, `bug`, `feature-request`, `documentation`, `duplicate`
+
+**Tier 2 (Policy labels) — MUST remain human-only:**
+- `squad:*` (agent routing), `go:*` (action states), `priority:*` (severity/urgency), `override:*` (governance overrides), `needs-human-review` (escalation), `external-contribution` (provenance tracking)
+
+**Why:** Tier-1 labels are purely informational, content-based only, cannot trigger workflows. Tier-2 labels control routing, priority, and governance — require strict human control. Required guardrails for Tier-1: content-only triggers, no workflow triggers, dedicated bot permissions, circuit breaker, human override, audit logging.
+
+**Implementation:** Updated `cli-investigations/branch-maintenance-plan.adoc` (6 sections: auto-labeling policy, guardrails, decision authority table split, human-only actions list, safety gates, appendix C).
+
+---
+
+### 2026-05-15: Maintainer-Only Access to `.squad/` Files
+**Proposed by:** SecurityExpert  
+**Status:** Approved  
+**Scope:** Squad governance protection
+
+**Summary:** ONLY repository owners and maintainers may modify ANY files under `.squad/`. Applies to external contributors, internal collaborators, bots, and AI agents.
+
+**Why:** `.squad/` directory contains sensitive configuration controlling agent routing, team structure, constitution, decisions, and ceremonies. Compromise could allow rerouting security-sensitive work, weakening code review, deleting decision history, or modifying agent charters. Defense against insider threats — common attack vector in open source.
+
+**Implementation:**
+- Add `/.squad/  @Azure/apiops-maintainers` to CODEOWNERS
+- Require 2 maintainer approvals for ANY `.squad/` change in branch ruleset
+- No bypass allowed (even for admins)
+
+---
+
 ### 2026-04-29: CLI version uses package.json as single source of truth via ESM import attributes
 **By:** NodeJsDev  
 **Status:** Implemented