Review: Spike: MacStadium Orka API research (v2)

review-1536-2026-06-20-v2 Review

review ready

Project

Verdict: APPROVED

Re-review after scope refinement. All four issues from review-1536-2026-06-20 have been resolved.

Template Completeness

[x] Type -- Spike
[x] Lineage -- Standalone, part of iOS Infrastructure wave 1
[x] Repo -- ldraney/claude-custom
[x] Question -- Clear yes/no framing: "Is the MacStadium Orka API sufficient for a Terraform provider?" with comparison sub-questions (AWS EC2 Mac, Xcode Cloud)
[x] Deliverables -- 6 items listed, including template-mandated docs/macstadium-orka-research.md and follow-up tickets
[x] Time-box -- 1 session (2-3 hours research)
[x] Constraints -- "Document findings in docs/macstadium-orka-research.md" (corrected from "issue comments" in v1)
[x] Checklist -- 4 items covering research, recommendation, docs file, and follow-up tickets
[x] Related -- References project-page-ios-infrastructure and arch-mac-bootstrap

Traceability

[x] story:mac-fleet label -- present on board item
[x] story note verified -- mac-fleet entry found in project-page-ios-infrastructure user-stories table (Role: Platform engineer, Success Metric: "Any Mac bootstrapped from Salt and connected to Woodpecker within 30 minutes")
[x] arch:mac-bootstrap label -- present on board item
[x] arch note verified -- arch-mac-bootstrap note exists in pal-e-docs (doc type, project: project-ios-infrastructure). Covers Salt bootstrap sequence, Orka provider, Woodpecker agent, keychain constraints.
[x] Forgejo issue -- ldraney/claude-custom#273, open

File Targets

N/A -- Spikes have no pre-existing file targets per template convention. The spike output will be docs/macstadium-orka-research.md, which does not yet exist (confirmed). This is correct -- the file is a deliverable, not a target to verify.

Repo Placement

OK. Issue filed on ldraney/claude-custom, Repo field says ldraney/claude-custom. Research spike producing a docs/ file -- claude-custom is the correct home for cross-cutting infrastructure research docs.

Dependencies

No blocking dependencies. Board item #1532 (macbook-ssh CLAUDE.md) shares the arch:mac-bootstrap label but is independent work. No items in in_progress column. The spike itself informs future orka-tofu provider work but that dependency flows forward (spike outputs inform new tickets), not backward.

Acceptance Criteria

All 6 deliverables are concrete and agent-verifiable:

Orka API capability matrix -- checkable (table in docs file)
Pricing comparison table -- checkable (table in docs file)
Go/no-go recommendation -- checkable (explicit section)
If go: initial resource list -- conditional, checkable
docs/macstadium-orka-research.md -- checkable (file exists)
Follow-up tickets filed if go -- checkable (Forgejo issues exist or rationale documented)

The 4-item Checklist section mirrors the deliverables and provides a completion tracker. All criteria are verifiable by an agent after implementation.

Blast Radius

Low. Research spike with no code changes. Findings inform future decisions about orka-tofu provider creation. No downstream consumers affected during the spike itself.

Decomposition Assessment

No decomposition needed. Single research spike, 6 deliverables all within a single session, single repo (claude-custom), output is one docs file plus potential follow-up issues. Well within the 5-minute rule for agent work (the 2-3 hour time-box is for research depth, not implementation complexity).

v1 Issues Resolution

v1 Issue	Status
[BODY] Add docs/macstadium-orka-research.md deliverable	RESOLVED -- now listed as deliverable #5
[BODY] Add follow-up tickets deliverable	RESOLVED -- now listed as deliverable #6 and checklist item #4
[SCOPE] Create project page project-ios-infrastructure	RESOLVED -- project-page-ios-infrastructure exists with user-stories section
[SCOPE] Create arch note arch-mac-bootstrap	RESOLVED -- arch-mac-bootstrap note exists in pal-e-docs

Recommendation

No action needed. All v1 issues resolved. Ticket is ready for todo.