[TASK] Add ADR-003: Versioning strategy for shared workflow references

Author: CybotTM

Documentation/Decisions/ADR-003-VersioningStrategy.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+.. include:: /Includes.rst.txt
+
+===================================================
+ADR-003: Versioning Strategy for Shared Workflows
+===================================================
+
+Status
+======
+
+Proposed — requesting feedback from maintainers
+
+Context
+=======
+
+The shared reusable workflows in this repository are referenced by consumer
+repositories using GitHub's ``uses:`` syntax:
+
+.. code-block:: yaml
+
+   uses: TYPO3-Documentation/.github/.github/workflows/reusable-backport.yml@<ref>
+
+GitHub supports three reference types:
+
+1. **Branch** (``@main``) — always uses the latest version
+2. **Tag** (``@v1``, ``@v1.2.0``) — uses a specific release
+3. **SHA** (``@bfd07ddb...``) — uses an exact commit
+
+The current PRs use ``@main``. One already-merged workflow uses a full SHA pin.
+A clear strategy is needed for consistency.
+
+Decision
+========
+
+**Recommended: Use ``@main`` for all consumer references.**
+
+Use tags (``@v1``, ``@v2``) only if breaking changes are introduced, following
+semantic versioning:
+
+*  **Patch/minor changes** (action version bumps, bug fixes): consumers on
+   ``@main`` receive updates automatically — this is the primary benefit.
+*  **Breaking changes** (renamed inputs, removed workflows): create a new major
+   tag, update consumers explicitly.
+
+**Avoid SHA-pinning shared workflows.** SHA pins reintroduce the exact problem
+shared workflows solve:
+
+.. csv-table::
+   :header: "Approach", "Action update effort", "Consumer update effort", "Total"
+
+   "Inline workflows", "N/A", "Update each repo", "O(repos)"
+   "Shared + @main", "Update once", "None (automatic)", "O(1)"
+   "Shared + @SHA", "Update once", "Update each repo's SHA", "O(repos)"
+
+With SHA-pinning, a workflow change requires updating the SHA in every consumer
+repository — the same per-repo maintenance burden as inline workflows.
+
+Alternatives Considered
+=======================
+
+**SHA-pinning (rejected)**
+
+Provides maximum reproducibility but defeats the core value proposition:
+
+*  When ``actions/checkout`` releases a new version, the shared workflow is
+   updated once, and all ``@main`` consumers benefit immediately.
+*  With SHA pins, every consumer must update its pin — requiring the same
+   multi-repo maintenance we are trying to eliminate.
+
+**Tag-only (partially adopted)**
+
+Tags provide a middle ground but add ceremony:
+
+*  Every change requires creating a tag.
+*  Non-breaking changes (the vast majority) do not benefit from versioning.
+*  Tags are appropriate for breaking changes but overkill for routine updates.
+
+Consequences
+============
+
+*  **Positive:** Consumers receive fixes and action updates automatically.
+*  **Positive:** Zero maintenance burden for non-breaking changes across ~29
+   repos.
+*  **Positive:** Incident response is immediate — fix the shared workflow, all
+   repos benefit.
+*  **Negative:** A broken push to ``main`` breaks all consumers immediately.
+*  **Mitigation:** Require PR review for all changes to this repository.
+   Consider branch protection rules.
+*  **Negative:** No version pinning for reproducibility.
+*  **Mitigation:** GitHub Actions logs record the exact commit SHA used for
+   each run, enabling post-hoc debugging.