refactor(sync): move sync tooling to root inkless-sync directory

- Rename scripts/sync/ to inkless-sync/ at repository root
- Update all internal path references
- Update build.gradle RAT exclusions
- Add link to sync tooling from docs/inkless/README.md

This makes the tooling easier to find and clearly identifies it
as inkless-specific rather than generic sync tooling.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: jeqo

build.gradle

@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ if (repo != null) {
         'dump-schema-compose.yml',
         'inkless-benchmarks/**',
         'tests/kafkatest/tests/inkless/**',
-        'scripts/sync/**',
+        'inkless-sync/**',
         // end of inkless ignored files
         'licenses/*',
         '**/generated/**',

docs/inkless/README.md

@@ -49,6 +49,9 @@ See [Releases](RELEASES.md) for available versions.
 - [Releases](RELEASES.md) - Artifacts released (binaries and docker images)
 - [Glossary](GLOSSARY.md) - Definitions of Inkless-specific terms and concepts
 
+### Development & Maintenance
+- [Upstream Sync Tooling](../../inkless-sync/README.md) - Scripts for syncing with Apache Kafka upstream
+
 > **Note:** Configuration and metrics documentation is provided in reStructuredText (.rst) format as it is auto-generated by Kafka's documentation tooling. Other documentation uses Markdown (.md) for easier editing.
 
 ### Important Notes About Auto-Generated Documentation

scripts/sync/ACTION-PLAN.md inkless-sync/ACTION-PLAN.mdscripts/sync/ACTION-PLAN.md renamed to inkless-sync/ACTION-PLAN.md

@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ cd ../inkless-sync-20260205
 
 # Create .sync directory and copy session template
 mkdir -p .sync
-cp scripts/sync/SYNC-SESSION-TEMPLATE.md .sync/SESSION.md
+cp inkless-sync/SYNC-SESSION-TEMPLATE.md .sync/SESSION.md
 ```
 
 #### Step 2: Preview & Categorize (15 min)
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ To test this strategy in a clean context:
 2. **Setup tracking**
    ```bash
    mkdir -p .sync
-   cp scripts/sync/SYNC-SESSION-TEMPLATE.md .sync/SESSION.md
+   cp inkless-sync/SYNC-SESSION-TEMPLATE.md .sync/SESSION.md
    ```
 
 3. **Run sync following this plan**

scripts/sync/AGENT-PROMPTS.md inkless-sync/AGENT-PROMPTS.mdscripts/sync/AGENT-PROMPTS.md renamed to inkless-sync/AGENT-PROMPTS.md

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ I need to sync inkless with upstream Apache Kafka.
 
 Target: [commit SHA, tag, or "trunk" for latest]
 
-Please follow the sync process documented in scripts/sync/:
+Please follow the sync process documented in inkless-sync/:
 1. Create a worktree with branch sync/upstream-YYYYMMDD
 2. Preview and categorize conflicts
 3. Resolve conflicts following CONFLICT-RESOLUTION-STRATEGY.md
@@ -20,9 +20,9 @@ Please follow the sync process documented in scripts/sync/:
 6. Run tests
 
 Reference files:
-- scripts/sync/CONFLICT-RESOLUTION-STRATEGY.md
-- scripts/sync/ACTION-PLAN.md
-- scripts/sync/SYNC-SESSION-TEMPLATE.md
+- inkless-sync/CONFLICT-RESOLUTION-STRATEGY.md
+- inkless-sync/ACTION-PLAN.md
+- inkless-sync/SYNC-SESSION-TEMPLATE.md
 
 Start by reading these files and setting up the worktree.
 ```

…pts/sync/CONFLICT-RESOLUTION-STRATEGY.md …ess-sync/CONFLICT-RESOLUTION-STRATEGY.mdscripts/sync/CONFLICT-RESOLUTION-STRATEGY.md renamed to inkless-sync/CONFLICT-RESOLUTION-STRATEGY.md scripts/sync/CONFLICT-RESOLUTION-STRATEGY.md renamed to inkless-sync/CONFLICT-RESOLUTION-STRATEGY.md

@@ -38,31 +38,31 @@ The sync process follows the [Versioning Strategy](../../docs/inkless/VERSIONING
 
 ```bash
 # Sync with latest apache/kafka trunk
-./scripts/sync/upstream-sync.sh
+./inkless-sync/upstream-sync.sh
 ```
 
 ### Sync Before New Kafka Version
 
 ```bash
 # Sync to the commit just before a version tag (e.g., before 4.3)
-./scripts/sync/upstream-sync.sh --before-version 4.3
+./inkless-sync/upstream-sync.sh --before-version 4.3
 ```
 
 ### Dry Run (Preview)
 
 ```bash
 # See what would happen without making changes
-./scripts/sync/upstream-sync.sh --dry-run
+./inkless-sync/upstream-sync.sh --dry-run
 ```
 
 ### Release Branch Sync
 
 ```bash
 # List available upstream release tags
-./scripts/sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --list-tags
+./inkless-sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --list-tags
 
 # Sync inkless-4.0 to Apache Kafka 4.0.1
-./scripts/sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-tag 4.0.1
+./inkless-sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-tag 4.0.1
 ```
 
 For detailed release sync workflow, see [RELEASE-SYNC-GUIDE.md](RELEASE-SYNC-GUIDE.md).
@@ -71,13 +71,13 @@ For detailed release sync workflow, see [RELEASE-SYNC-GUIDE.md](RELEASE-SYNC-GUI
 
 ```bash
 # Check how far behind main is from upstream trunk
-./scripts/sync/sync-status.sh main
+./inkless-sync/sync-status.sh main
 
 # Check release branch status
-./scripts/sync/sync-status.sh inkless-4.0
+./inkless-sync/sync-status.sh inkless-4.0
 
 # Check all branches
-./scripts/sync/sync-status.sh --all
+./inkless-sync/sync-status.sh --all
 ```
 
 ### Branch Consistency Check
@@ -86,39 +86,39 @@ Check if inkless commits from main have been cherry-picked to release branches:
 
 ```bash
 # Check inkless-4.0 consistency with main
-./scripts/sync/branch-consistency.sh inkless-4.0
+./inkless-sync/branch-consistency.sh inkless-4.0
 
 # Show missing commits with cherry-pick commands
-./scripts/sync/branch-consistency.sh inkless-4.0 --missing
+./inkless-sync/branch-consistency.sh inkless-4.0 --missing
 ```
 
 ### Create New Release Branch
 
 ```bash
 # Create inkless-4.2 from upstream 4.2.0 tag (when available)
-./scripts/sync/create-release-branch.sh 4.2
+./inkless-sync/create-release-branch.sh 4.2
 
 # Create from a release candidate tag
-./scripts/sync/create-release-branch.sh 4.2 --from-tag 4.2.0-rc3
+./inkless-sync/create-release-branch.sh 4.2 --from-tag 4.2.0-rc3
 
 # Create from upstream branch HEAD (before final release)
-./scripts/sync/create-release-branch.sh 4.2 --from-branch
+./inkless-sync/create-release-branch.sh 4.2 --from-branch
 
 # Preview what would happen
-./scripts/sync/create-release-branch.sh 4.2 --dry-run
+./inkless-sync/create-release-branch.sh 4.2 --dry-run
 ```
 
 ### Cherry-pick to Release Branches
 
 ```bash
 # Cherry-pick all missing inkless commits to inkless-4.0
-./scripts/sync/cherry-pick-to-release.sh inkless-4.0
+./inkless-sync/cherry-pick-to-release.sh inkless-4.0
 
 # Preview what would be cherry-picked
-./scripts/sync/cherry-pick-to-release.sh inkless-4.0 --dry-run
+./inkless-sync/cherry-pick-to-release.sh inkless-4.0 --dry-run
 
 # Cherry-pick specific commits
-./scripts/sync/cherry-pick-to-release.sh inkless-4.0 abc123 def456
+./inkless-sync/cherry-pick-to-release.sh inkless-4.0 abc123 def456
 ```
 
 ## How It Works (Main Sync)
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ Check if inkless commits from main have been cherry-picked to release branches:
 ## File Structure
 
 ```
-scripts/sync/
+inkless-sync/
 ├── upstream-sync.sh              # Main branch sync script
 ├── release-sync.sh               # Release branch sync script
 ├── sync-status.sh                # Check sync status vs upstream
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ If the script reports manual conflicts:
 
 This script is designed to be run by an automated agent (e.g., Claude):
 
-1. Agent runs `./scripts/sync/upstream-sync.sh`
+1. Agent runs `./inkless-sync/upstream-sync.sh`
 2. If manual conflicts: Agent reports to human via PR/issue
 3. If compilation errors: Agent attempts fixes, commits separately
 4. If test failures: Agent analyzes and fixes or reports
@@ -269,8 +269,8 @@ The structured commit approach makes it easy to:
 
 ## Related Documentation
 
-- [Versioning Strategy](../../docs/inkless/VERSIONING-STRATEGY.md)
-- [Inkless README](../../docs/inkless/README.md)
+- [Versioning Strategy](../docs/inkless/VERSIONING-STRATEGY.md)
+- [Inkless README](../docs/inkless/README.md)
 - [Release Sync Guide](RELEASE-SYNC-GUIDE.md)
 - [Conflict Resolution Strategy](CONFLICT-RESOLUTION-STRATEGY.md)
 - [AI Agent Prompts](AGENT-PROMPTS.md)

scripts/sync/README.md inkless-sync/README.mdscripts/sync/README.md renamed to inkless-sync/README.md

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ Examples:
 See what upstream releases are available:
 
 ```bash
-./scripts/sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --list-tags
+./inkless-sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --list-tags
 ```
 
 Output:
@@ -45,24 +45,24 @@ INFO: There are 76 commits available to sync (from 4.0.0 to 4.0.1)
 Before syncing, preview what conflicts might occur:
 
 ```bash
-./scripts/sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-tag 4.0.1 --dry-run
+./inkless-sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-tag 4.0.1 --dry-run
 ```
 
 ### Sync to a Tag
 
 Sync to a specific upstream release:
 
 ```bash
-./scripts/sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-tag 4.0.1
+./inkless-sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-tag 4.0.1
 ```
 
 ### Sync to HEAD (Unreleased Fixes)
 
 For critical fixes that haven't been released yet:
 
 ```bash
-./scripts/sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-head --dry-run
-./scripts/sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-head
+./inkless-sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-head --dry-run
+./inkless-sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-head
 ```
 
 ## Prerequisites
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ git fetch apache --tags
 
 1. **Check current state**:
    ```bash
-   ./scripts/sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --list-tags
+   ./inkless-sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --list-tags
    ```
 
 2. **Create a worktree** (recommended for isolation):
@@ -97,12 +97,12 @@ git fetch apache --tags
 
 3. **Preview conflicts**:
    ```bash
-   ./scripts/sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-tag 4.0.1 --branch inkless-4.0-sync-4.0.1 --dry-run
+   ./inkless-sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-tag 4.0.1 --branch inkless-4.0-sync-4.0.1 --dry-run
    ```
 
 4. **Perform sync**:
    ```bash
-   ./scripts/sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-tag 4.0.1 --branch inkless-4.0-sync-4.0.1
+   ./inkless-sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-tag 4.0.1 --branch inkless-4.0-sync-4.0.1
    ```
 
 5. **Resolve conflicts** (if any):

scripts/sync/RELEASE-SYNC-GUIDE.md inkless-sync/RELEASE-SYNC-GUIDE.mdscripts/sync/RELEASE-SYNC-GUIDE.md renamed to inkless-sync/RELEASE-SYNC-GUIDE.md

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ I need to sync the inkless release branch with an upstream Apache Kafka release.
 
 ## Steps
 
-1. **Discovery**: Run `./scripts/sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --list-tags` to see available upstream tags
+1. **Discovery**: Run `./inkless-sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --list-tags` to see available upstream tags
 
 2. **Create worktree**: Create a dedicated worktree for this sync:
    ```bash
@@ -34,12 +34,12 @@ I need to sync the inkless release branch with an upstream Apache Kafka release.
 4. **Dry run**: Preview conflicts:
    ```bash
    cd ../inkless-sync-4.0.1
-   ./scripts/sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-tag 4.0.1 --branch inkless-4.0-sync-4.0.1 --dry-run
+   ./inkless-sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-tag 4.0.1 --branch inkless-4.0-sync-4.0.1 --dry-run
    ```
 
 5. **Execute sync**: Run the actual sync:
    ```bash
-   ./scripts/sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-tag 4.0.1 --branch inkless-4.0-sync-4.0.1
+   ./inkless-sync/release-sync.sh inkless-4.0 --to-tag 4.0.1 --branch inkless-4.0-sync-4.0.1
    ```
 
 6. **Resolve conflicts**: When conflicts occur, resolve them following these patterns: