[Code Quality] Replace init() panic with lazy initialization for runtime safety

[github-actions]

Description

Three production init() functions contain panic() calls that execute if embedded JSON data fails to unmarshal. These will crash the entire gh-aw CLI during package initialization, before main() even runs, with no recovery path for users.

This is a critical runtime safety issue discovered in the Sergo Report #12711.

Problem

When embedded JSON data fails to load (due to corruption, generation bugs, or supply chain attacks), the CLI crashes immediately at startup. Users cannot recover, cannot run gh aw --help, and receive no actionable error messages.

Files Affected

• pkg/workflow/permissions_validation.go:42-71 - GitHub toolset permissions
• pkg/workflow/domains.go:101-108 - Ecosystem domains
• pkg/workflow/github_tool_to_toolset.go:20-24 - Tool-to-toolset mapping

Current Pattern (Problematic)

// pkg/workflow/permissions_validation.go:42
func init() {
    var data GitHubToolsetsData
    if err := json.Unmarshal(githubToolsetsPermissionsJSON, &data); err != nil {
        panic(fmt.Sprintf("failed to load GitHub toolsets permissions from JSON: %v", err))
    }
    // ... initialization logic
}

Suggested Solution

Replace panic-on-error with lazy initialization using sync.Once:

var (
    toolsetPermissionsMap     map[string]GitHubToolsetPermissions
    toolsetPermissionsMapOnce sync.Once
    toolsetPermissionsMapErr  error
)

func loadToolsetPermissions() error {
    toolsetPermissionsMapOnce.Do(func() {
        var data GitHubToolsetsData
        if err := json.Unmarshal(githubToolsetsPermissionsJSON, &data); err != nil {
            toolsetPermissionsMapErr = fmt.Errorf("failed to load GitHub toolsets permissions from JSON: %w", err)
            return
        }
        toolsetPermissionsMap = make(map[string]GitHubToolsetPermissions)
        // ... conversion logic
    })
    return toolsetPermissionsMapErr
}

// Update all callers to check error:
func GetToolsetPermissions(name string) (GitHubToolsetPermissions, error) {
    if err := loadToolsetPermissions(); err != nil {
        return GitHubToolsetPermissions{}, err
    }
    // ... existing logic
}

Success Criteria

• All 3 init() functions replaced with lazy initialization pattern
• All callers updated to handle errors gracefully
• CLI shows --help even when JSON is corrupted
• New tests verify error handling with corrupted JSON
• Existing tests pass without regressions
• Error messages are actionable for users

Priority

Critical - Affects CLI stability and user experience. Prevents unrecoverable crashes.

Source

Extracted from Sergo Report: Table-Driven Test & Init Function Hygiene Analysis #12711

AI generated by Discussion Task Miner - Code Quality Improvement Agent

• expires on Feb 14, 2026, 5:19 AM UTC