rhiza-education

Training for and with Rhiza — the living template system for software projects.

The companion website (rendered, searchable) is at https://jebel-quant.github.io/rhiza-education/.

Who this is for

Developers who are comfortable with Python, git, and basic CI/CD, and want to adopt Rhiza in a new or existing project.

The curriculum teaches Rhiza through Python, which is where the template is most complete. Since template v1.3.0 Rhiza is multi-language: core is language-neutral and a language layer — python-core, rust-core, or go-core — supplies the build and test targets on top of it. Everything about config, bundles, syncing, and the update lifecycle applies unchanged whichever layer you pick; only the toolchain behind make install and make test differs. Hosted CI has not shipped for Rust and Go yet, so those get local-first profiles.

Curriculum

#	Lesson	What you'll learn
—	Preamble — The Repo Zoo Problem	What goes wrong at scale, why template systems can't fix it, and when Rhiza was born
1	CI/CD Concepts	Pipelines, jobs, triggers, GitHub Actions, matrix builds — the vocabulary the curriculum assumes
2	uv and uvx	The package manager and tool runner that underpins the Rhiza ecosystem
3	Python Project Conventions	src layout, PEP 621 pyproject.toml, and tests/ structure
4	Why Rhiza?	The problem with one-shot scaffolding and how Rhiza solves it
5	Core Concepts	The key abstractions: template repos, syncing, and the sync loop
6	Getting Started	Install Rhiza, initialise a project, and run your first sync
7	Configuring Your Template	Anatomy of template.yml, bundles, include/exclude patterns
8	The Sync Lifecycle	How automated sync PRs work and how to review them
9	Renovate	How Renovate keeps your ref: pin current and why it is essential at scale
10	Customising Safely	Extend Rhiza-managed projects without fighting the sync
11	The Rhiza Ecosystem	rhiza-claude, rhiza-hooks, and rhiza-brainbug
12	Further Reading	Direct links to every doc file across the Rhiza repos, organised by topic

Work through the lessons in order — each one builds on the last.

Appendices

#	Appendix	What you'll learn
A1	GitLab Users	What changes when your project lives on GitLab instead of GitHub
A2	Projects Using Rhiza	Real repos using Rhiza — from Stanford's CVXGRP to Janus Henderson — with annotated template.yml files
A3	Contributors	The people who built Rhiza and its ecosystem, with profiles and contribution counts

Work through the appendices that apply to your setup — each is self-contained.