The Backstage project is divided into several project areas, each covering particular parts of the project. The main driver for each area is ownership of code in the main Backstage repository, as well as other repositories in the Backstage GitHub organization. Each area has a set of maintainers and repository content that they own. There may be no overlap in ownership between areas, which means that any given line in the GitHub code owners file should have only one owner specified. Each area is represented by a team in the Backstage GitHub organization. Apart from certain project-wide concerns, such as the release process, each area is self-governing and chooses their own ways of working. Project areas may also have special interest groups (SIGs) related to their area, but this is not required.
The project areas as well as their maintainers are listed in the OWNERS.md file.
Each project area must have at least one maintainer. Project area maintainers may have shared ownership with the core maintainers, which in that case is considered an incubating area. The project area maintainers help drive work forward in the area, but they might not yet feel ready to take on ownership. The goal should generally be that these project area maintainers eventually become sole maintainers of the project area. This is to allow for a more smooth onboarding and transition of ownership, where members of the community might for example be new to open source maintainership.
Project areas are added by nominating new maintainers for that area. See the sections for becoming a Project Area Maintainer.
Project areas may also by added by splitting existing areas. Every area that is created through this process must have at least one maintainer.
Project areas are removed by removing all maintainers for that area and removing the corresponding team from the Backstage GitHub organization. The project area can be re-added later if there is a need for it. Reasons for removal may include lack of activity, lack of maintainers, or lack of relevance to the project.
A Contributor contributes directly to the project and adds value to it. Contributions need not be code. People at the Contributor level may be new contributors, or they may only contribute occasionally.
- Follow the CNCF CoC
- Follow the project contributing guide
- Participate in community discussions
- Help other users
- Submit bug reports
- Comment on issues
- Try out new releases
- Attend community events
- Report and sometimes resolve issues
- Occasionally submit PRs
- Contribute to the documentation
- Show up at meetings, take notes
- Answer questions from other community members
- Submit feedback on issues and PRs
- Test releases and patches and submit reviews
- Run or help run events
- Promote the project in public
An org member is a frequent contributor that has become a member of the Backstage GitHub organization. In addition to the responsibilities of contributors, an org member is also expected to be reasonably active in the community through continuous contributions of any type.
An Organization Member must meet the responsibilities and has the requirements of a Contributor.
- Continues to contribute regularly, as demonstrated by having at least 10 GitHub contributions per year in Devstats, or contributions of a similar effort that might not be captured in Devstats.
- Must have at least 10 contributions to the projects in the form of:
- Accepted PRs
- Helpful PR reviews
- Resolving GitHub issues
- Or some equivalent contributions to the project
- Must have been contributing for at least 3 months
- Or is the member of a team that owns a project area, in which case the above requirements do not apply and the member is instead vetted by the project area maintainers
Open an issue towards the community repository using the org membership request template.
- Membership in the Backstage GitHub organization
A Plugin Maintainer is responsible for maintaining an individual Backstage plugin or module. This includes reviewing contributions and responding to issues towards an individual plugin, as well as keeping the plugin up to date.
Plugin Maintainer is a lightweight form of ownership that is primarily reflected though code owners of the plugin packages in the CODEOWNERS file. Each plugin can have one or more maintainers. If a plugin becomes a significant part of the Backstage ecosystem, it may be promoted to be a distinct project area instead.
A Plugin Maintainer has all the rights and responsibilities of an Organization Member.
- Review the majority of PRs towards the plugin
- Respond to GitHub issues related to the plugin
- Keep the plugin up-to-date with Backstage libraries and other dependencies
- Follow the reviewing guide
- Is an Organization Member
- Display knowledge of Backstage's review process and best practices for plugin design
- Is supportive of new and occasional contributors and helps get useful PRs in shape to merge
- GitHub code owner of the plugin directory, with rights to approve and merge PRs towards the plugin
To become a Plugin Maintainer, you first need to be an Organization Member. You can then file a pull request towards CODEOWNERS.md requesting to be added as a code owner of the plugin directory. Existing code owners of that plugin alongside the core maintainers will then review the request.
Project Area Maintainers are owners of a particular project area. They are expected to review and merge pull requests towards their area, and also drive development and manage tech health. A Project Area Maintainer also need to commit a certain number of hours per month towards the project, and exercise judgment for the good of the project, independent of their employer. Project Area Maintainers should also mentor new maintainers and participate in and lead community meetings related to their area. New Project Area Maintainers need to be approved by the existing project area maintainers, or the core maintainers if it is a new area.
The maintainers of a project area may be represented by a team in external organization. In this case, the state as a project area maintainer is tied to the membership in that team. New members of the team may automatically be added as maintainers, as well as removed when they leave. This process is governed autonomously by the team of project area maintainers.
A Project Area Maintainer has all the rights and responsibilities of an Organization Member.
- Review PRs towards their project area. Project area maintainers are expected to review at least 20 PRs per year, or the majority of all PRs towards the area, if it is less than 20
- Follow the reviewing guide
- Triage and respond to issues related to their project area
- Mentor new project area maintainers
- Write refactoring PRs
- Determine strategy and policy for the project area
- Participate in or leading community meetings related to their project area
- Is an Organization Member
- Have made at least 5 meaningful contributions towards the project area
- Demonstrates knowledge of their project area, and how it fits into the larger Backstage project
- Is able to exercise judgment for the good of the project, independent of their employer, friends, or team
- Mentors other contributors and project area maintainers
- Can commit to spending at least 16 hours per month working on the project, preferably distributed evenly across the month
- Approve and merge PRs towards their project area
- Drive the direction and roadmap of their project area
If you are interested in becoming a project area maintainer, reach out to the existing maintainers for that area. If you wish to become a maintainer for a new area, reach out to the core maintainers.
Any current project area maintainer or core maintainer may nominate a new project area maintainer by opening a PR towards the OWNERS.md file. A majority of the project area maintainers for that area must approve the PR. If there are no existing maintainers for that area, the PR must be approved by a majority of the core maintainers.
Core Maintainers are responsible for the Backstage project as a whole. They help review and merge project-level pull requests as well as coordinate work affecting multiple project areas. A core maintainer needs to commit the majority of their working time towards the project, and exercise judgment for the good of the project, independent of their employer. Core maintainers should also mentor and seek out new maintainers, lead community meetings, and communicate with the CNCF on behalf of the project. To become a core maintainer one needs to have been the maintainer of a number of different project areas, demonstrate a deep knowledge of large parts of the Backstage project, and be backed by the existing core maintainers.
A Core Maintainer have all the rights and responsibilities of a Project Area Maintainer.
- Take part in the incoming issue and PR triage and review process. PRs are shared equally among all maintainers
- Mentor new Project Area Maintainers and Plugin Maintainers
- Drive refactoring and manage tech health across the entire project
- Participate in CNCF maintainer activities
- Respond to security incidents in accordance to our security policy
- Determine strategy and policy for the project
- Participate in or leading community meetings
- Experience as a Project Area Maintainer for at least 6 months
- Demonstrates a broad knowledge of the project across multiple areas
- Is able to exercise judgment for the good of the project, independent of their employer, friends, or team
- Mentors other contributors
- Can commit to spending at least 10 days per month working on the project
- Approve PRs that fall outside any specific project area
- Merge PRs to any area of the project
- Represent the project in public as a Maintainer
- Communicate with the CNCF on behalf of the project
- Have a vote in Maintainer decision-making meetings
Any core maintainer or end user sponsor may nominate a new core maintainer by opening a PR towards the OWNERS.md file. Core maintainers must be approved by a majority of the existing core maintainers and end user sponsors.
- Provide support for Backstage by removing blockers, securing funding, providing advocacy, feedback, and ensuring project continuity and long term success
- Assist Backstage maintainers in prioritizing upcoming roadmap items and planned work
- Provide neutral mediation for any disputes that arise as part of the project
The End User Sponsors group comprises at most 5 people. To be eligible for membership in the group, you or the company where you work you must:
- Be responsible for and end user of a production Backstage deployment of non-trivial size
- Be active contributors to the open source project
- Be willing and able to attend regularly-scheduled End User Sponsor meetings
- Abide by CNCF CoC
Candidates for membership will be nominated by current Sponsor members or by Backstage maintainers. If there are more nominations than Sponsor seats remaining, existing sponsors shall vote on the candidates, and the candidates with the most votes will become Sponsors. Any ties will be broken by current Backstage sponsors.
In general, we prefer that technical issues and membership are amicably worked out between the persons involved. If a dispute cannot be decided independently, the sponsors and core maintainers can be called in to decide an issue. If the sponsors and maintainers themselves cannot decide an issue, the issue will be resolved by voting.
In all cases in this document where voting is mentioned, the voting process is a simple majority in which each sponsor receives two votes and each core maintainer receives one vote. If such a majority is reached, the vote is said to have passed.
It is important for contributors to be and stay active to set an example and show commitment to the project. Inactivity is harmful to the project as it may lead to unexpected delays, contributor attrition, and a loss of trust in the project.
Inactivity is measured by periods of no contributions without explanation, for longer than:
- Core Maintainer: 2 months
- Project Area Maintainer: 4 months
- Plugin Maintainer: 6 months
- Organization Member: 12 months
Consequences of being inactive include:
- Involuntary removal or demotion
- Being asked to move to Emeritus status
Involuntary removal/demotion of a contributor happens when responsibilities and requirements aren't being met. This may include repeated patterns of inactivity, extended period of inactivity, a period of failing to meet the requirements of your role, and/or a violation of the Code of Conduct. This process is important because it protects the community and its deliverables while also opens up opportunities for new contributors to step in.
Involuntary removal or demotion is handled through a vote by a majority of the current Core Maintainers. Some aspects of this process may be automated, such as removal after periods of inactivity.
If and when contributors' commitment levels change, contributors can consider stepping down (moving down the contributor ladder) vs moving to emeritus status (completely stepping away from the project).
Contact the Maintainers about changing to Emeritus status, or reducing your contributor level.