Community Standards and Health Files
Maintaining a healthy and welcoming open source project is essential for attracting contributors, ensuring security, and fostering a collaborative environment. This document explains the purpose of key community health files and resources, and why they matter for your project.
What Are Community Standards?
Community standards are a set of recommended files and practices that help open source projects be more accessible, secure, and welcoming. GitHub and the open source community encourage projects to include these files to:
- Guide contributors on how to participate
- Set expectations for behavior and contributions
- Provide clear instructions for reporting issues and vulnerabilities
- Build trust and transparency
For more, see the GitHub Community Profile documentation and Open Source Guides.
1. SECURITY.md
- Purpose: Provides guidelines for reporting security vulnerabilities and describes how the project handles security issues.
- Why it matters: Ensures vulnerabilities are reported responsibly and handled confidentially, protecting users and contributors.
- What it typically includes:
- Contact information for reporting vulnerabilities
- Supported versions
- Responsible disclosure policy
2. CONTRIBUTING.md
- Purpose: Outlines how to contribute to the project, including submitting issues, pull requests, and following code style guidelines.
- Why it matters: Lowers the barrier for new contributors, sets clear expectations, and helps maintain code quality.
- What it typically includes:
- Steps for submitting issues and pull requests
- Code style and documentation requirements
- Community standards and behavior
3. Pull Request Template (.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md)
- Purpose: Provides a checklist and structure for contributors when submitting pull requests.
- Why it matters: Ensures all necessary information is provided, making it easier for maintainers to review and merge contributions.
- What it typically includes:
- Description of changes
- Type of change (bug fix, feature, etc.)
- Checklist for testing, documentation, and code quality
4. Other Recommended Files
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md: Sets expectations for behavior and helps build a welcoming community.LICENSE: Clearly states the legal terms for using, modifying, and distributing the project.README.md: Provides an overview of the project, installation instructions, usage, and links to community files.
Why Are These Files Important?
- Encourage Contributions: Clear guidelines and templates make it easier for newcomers to get involved.
- Improve Security: A security policy ensures vulnerabilities are reported and handled safely.
- Build Trust: Transparency about how the project is managed and how issues are handled builds confidence among users and contributors.
- Meet GitHub Community Profile Checklist: Projects with these files are more likely to attract contributors and be featured in searches.
Learn More
By following these standards, you help ensure your project is healthy, secure, and welcoming to all.