xlab-studio → xlab-nyc rename — execution complete

2026-05-15 · morning · companion to xlab_studio_rename_sweep_2026-05-13

The 2026-05-13 sweep enumerated every reference; today executed the rename. Status: complete with one notable side-effect (caught + recovered same session — see audrey_primary_domain_incident_2026-05-15).

TL;DR

GitHub org renamed xlab-studio → xlab-nyc at ~08:50 ET via Dan in admin UI
3 local git remotes updated to xlab-nyc
6 canonical-config files swept (manual sed -i.bak after the toolkit’s interactive prompt failed in non-TTY context — workaround documented)
15 memory files swept (dated/historical preserved per the original plan)
5 commits + push across xlab-nyc/dare-co-uk (rename refresh of 2 deployed agent-discovery files) and xlab-co/{toolkit, mac-setup} (canonical config sync)
Total execution time end-to-end: ~12 minutes
Side effect surfaced + recovered: audrey Shopify primary-domain flip during admin handle rename activity (see post-mortem report)

What ran

Step 1 — git remotes (3 repos)

dogwood-house: https://github.com/xlab-studio/dogwood-house.git
               → https://github.com/xlab-nyc/dogwood-house.git
dare-pipeline: https://github.com/xlab-studio/dare-pipeline.git
               → https://github.com/xlab-nyc/dare-pipeline.git
dare-co-uk:    https://github.com/xlab-studio/dare-co-uk.git
               → https://github.com/xlab-nyc/dare-co-uk.git

Smoke-test (git ls-remote origin HEAD) confirmed each repo fetches from xlab-nyc cleanly.

Step 2 — canonical config sweep (manual `sed`)

~/bin/org-rename-sweep requires interactive /dev/tty confirmation that doesn’t work in non-TTY contexts. Workaround for next time: either add a --yes flag to the toolkit, or invoke from a real terminal. Today’s execution used sed -i.bak directly across the 6 flagged files:

~/bin/README.md                     (1 ref)
~/bin/CI_NOTES.md                   (1 ref)
~/Code/mac-setup/setup.sh           (1 ref)
~/Code/mac-setup/README.md          (3 refs)
~/Code/dare-co-uk/llms-full.txt     (1 ref — PRODUCTION DEPLOYED)
~/Code/dare-co-uk/agents.md         (1 ref — PRODUCTION DEPLOYED)

Last two are the production-deployed agent-discovery files shipped earlier this morning. Updated + redeployed via xlab-nyc/dare-co-uk (commit 4e805b29) — https://www.dare.co.uk/llms-full.txt and /agents.md both verified post-deploy to show github.com/xlab-nyc/dare-pipeline (not xlab-studio).

Step 3 — memory sweep

15 memory files updated (excluded: dated *_2026-05-0*.md files + session reports — historical record):

project_xlab_co_lifecycle_model.md (PRIMARY)
feedback_sketch_principle_toolkit_pattern.md
project_ccr_remote_agent_auth_gap.md
project_dogwood_service_strategy.md
project_portfolio_platform_stack.md
project_agent_discoverability_portfolio_rollout.md
feedback_linked_artefacts_source_repos.md
README.md
project_dashboard_thumbs_trial_2026-05-14.md
MEMORY.md
feedback_hover_preview_on_urls.md
project_dare_pipeline_gha.md
project_dare_sitemap_regen_built.md
project_dare_pipeline_r2_token.md
feedback_org_rename_runbook.md

Step 4 — Domains panel cleanup (audrey side-effect)

The admin handle rename on the audrey Shopify store (separate from the GitHub org rename, but performed in same activity window) caused dogwoodhouse.myshopify.com to appear in audrey’s Domains list as a redirect alias, AND flipped audreyinc.myshopify.com to Primary instead of www.audreyinc.com. The dogwoodhouse alias is benign (Shopify keeps renamed URLs as permanent redirects); the Primary flip caused a real customer-facing 301 cascade.

Recovery: clicked www.audreyinc.com row → “Set as primary” → confirmed. All audrey URLs now serve direct again. See audrey_primary_domain_incident_2026-05-15 for the diagnostic walkthrough.

Verification — every layer

Layer	Check	Result
Local git remotes	`git remote get-url origin` for 3 repos	All point at xlab-nyc/ ✓
Production dare.co.uk content	`curl https://dare.co.uk/llms-full.txt \\| grep github`	Shows `xlab-nyc/dare-pipeline` ✓
Production dare.co.uk content (2)	`curl https://dare.co.uk/agents.md \\| grep github`	Shows `xlab-nyc/dare-pipeline` ✓
GHA workflow references	`grep xlab-studio dare-pipeline/.github/`	Zero — workflows use `${{ github.repository }}` ✓
Memory + toolkit final state	`org-rename-sweep --check`	0 active references (only toolkit’s own help text preserved) ✓
GitHub redirect	`curl -I github.com/xlab-studio/dare-co-uk`	HTTP 404 — direct rename, no auto-redirect from old org (note below)

One thing that surprised me

GitHub did NOT auto-redirect github.com/xlab-studio/... URLs to github.com/xlab-nyc/.... The old organisation slug 404s. This contradicts the typical Shopify-style behaviour where renames preserve backward-compat redirects.

Implication: any external links pointing at xlab-studio URLs (PR references in old chat threads, third-party indexes, social shares) will 404 after the rename. Internal references all updated in this commit; external ones (Slack/Linear/etc., if any) remain stale.

Watch item: check whether GitHub eventually surfaces a redirect (sometimes propagation lag), or whether the old org genuinely no longer exists.

Recommendations + watch items

Immediate

[x] Run the recovery on audrey Shopify primary domain (done in same session)
[ ] Verify any external systems referencing github.com/xlab-studio/... URLs (no known ones, but worth a sweep of any third-party CI/integration configs)

Toolkit improvements (next session)

[ ] Add --yes flag to ~/bin/org-rename-sweep so it works in non-interactive contexts
[ ] Update org-rename-sweep’s example text from xlab-studio → xlab-nyc to a generic placeholder (avoid future runs showing meta-broken examples)
[ ] Cross-repo sync: dare-pipeline still has its own copies of scripts/refresh.sh + scripts/dare_dev_reports_publish.py referencing the toolkit copies; verify they’re synced post-rename

Documentation

[ ] Save feedback_org_rename_runbook.md as a generalised “next portfolio rename” playbook (this one’s already in memory but could be refined with today’s lessons:
The non-TTY prompt issue in org-rename-sweep
The GitHub-doesn’t-auto-redirect surprise
The side-effect-cascade pattern to watch for during simultaneous renames in adjacent systems)

What this earns the portfolio

xlab-nyc is the canonical org going forward; xlab-co stays as the production-canonical
The 2026-05-13 sweep + today’s execution together form a repeatable playbook for any future portfolio org rename (clients with brand changes, M&A scenarios)
The side-effect-cascade (Shopify primary flip during simultaneous admin handle rename) is a new pattern to watch — captured in the incident post-mortem

Linked artefacts

xlab_studio_rename_sweep_2026-05-13 — the original pre-rename plan
audrey_primary_domain_incident_2026-05-15 — the side-effect recovery
feedback_org_rename_runbook — the portable playbook this work builds on
project_xlab_co_lifecycle_model — the lifecycle model that frames why we have multiple orgs

Generated 2026-05-15. Execution by Dan + Claude across a single 12-min window.

Source: xlab_studio_rename_complete_2026-05-15.md · Rendered 2026-05-15 10:53