Innersource Governance Bootstrap

Overview

Establish InnerSource governance in repositories to enable internal open-source collaboration patterns. Provides standardised contribution workflows, community documentation templates, ownership models, and transparent decision-making processes within an organisation.

When to Use

• Setting up a new repository that will follow InnerSource principles
• Converting an existing repository to InnerSource governance model
• Establishing contribution guidelines for internal open-source projects
• Bootstrapping community documentation (CONTRIBUTING, CODE_OF_CONDUCT, etc.)
• Defining maintainer responsibilities and ownership models

Core Workflow

1. Create required documentation files (README.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, CODEOWNERS, GOVERNANCE.md)
2. Configure CODEOWNERS with appropriate team assignments and component ownership
3. Set up branch protection requiring CODEOWNERS approval and status checks
4. Configure issue and PR templates with required sections
5. Document review turnaround expectations and decision-making processes
6. Enable and configure CI/CD to run on all PRs
7. Announce InnerSource status to potential contributors

Core

When to use

• Setting up a new repository that will follow InnerSource principles.
• Converting an existing repository to InnerSource governance model.
• Establishing contribution guidelines for internal open-source projects.
• Bootstrapping community documentation (CONTRIBUTING, CODE_OF_CONDUCT, etc.).
• Defining maintainer responsibilities and ownership models.

Policy (non-negotiable)

• All InnerSource repositories MUST have explicit contribution guidelines.
• Ownership and maintainer responsibilities MUST be documented.
• Decision-making processes MUST be transparent and documented.
• Code review requirements MUST be defined before accepting contributions.

Load: documentation-requirements

Required documentation artifacts

Every InnerSource repository MUST contain these files:

Optional but recommended

Load: contribution-workflow

Contribution acceptance criteria

Before a contribution can be accepted:

1. Issue first - All non-trivial changes require a linked issue.
2. Branch naming - Follow repository conventions (e.g., feat/, fix/, docs/).
3. PR template - Use provided template with required sections filled.
4. Code review - Minimum one approval from CODEOWNERS.
5. CI passing - All automated checks must pass.
6. Documentation - User-facing changes require docs updates.

Review turnaround expectations

• Acknowledgement: Within 2 business days.
• Initial review: Within 5 business days.
• Merge decision: Within 10 business days of addressing feedback.

Document expectations in CONTRIBUTING.md or GOVERNANCE.md.

Load: ownership-model

Maintainer responsibilities

Maintainers MUST:

• Respond to issues and PRs within documented SLA.
• Ensure CI/CD pipeline remains healthy.
• Review and merge contributions meeting quality bar.
• Maintain documentation accuracy.
• Manage releases and versioning.
• Communicate breaking changes and deprecations.

CODEOWNERS configuration

Define ownership at appropriate granularity:

# Default owners for everything
*                       @org/team-name

# Component-specific owners
/src/api/               @org/api-team
/src/ui/                @org/frontend-team
/docs/                  @org/docs-team

# Critical paths require additional review
/src/security/          @org/security-team @org/team-name

Succession planning

• Document backup maintainers for each component.
• Define process for maintainer rotation or handoff.
• Ensure no single point of failure for critical paths.

Load: decision-making

Transparent decision process

All significant decisions MUST be:

1. Proposed - Create RFC issue or ADR with context and options.
2. Discussed - Allow comment period (minimum 5 business days for major decisions).
3. Decided - Document rationale and decision maker.
4. Communicated - Announce in appropriate channels.

Decision categories

Conflict resolution

1. Attempt resolution through discussion on the issue/PR.
2. Escalate to lead maintainer for mediation.
3. If unresolved, escalate to organisation's technical leadership.

Load: bootstrap-checklist

Initial setup checklist

When bootstrapping InnerSource governance:

• Create README.md with project overview and quick links.
• Create CONTRIBUTING.md with contribution workflow.
• Create CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md (adopt standard like Contributor Covenant).
• Create CODEOWNERS with initial ownership assignments.
• Create GOVERNANCE.md with decision-making process.
• Configure branch protection requiring CODEOWNERS approval.
• Set up issue templates for bugs, features, and RFCs.
• Set up PR template with required sections.
• Configure CI/CD to run on all PRs.
• Document review turnaround expectations.
• Announce InnerSource status to potential contributors.

Ongoing maintenance

• Review and update CODEOWNERS quarterly or when team changes.
• Audit contribution metrics monthly.
• Review governance effectiveness annually.
• Update documentation when processes change.

Load: metrics-and-health

Contribution health indicators

Track these metrics to assess InnerSource health:

Community growth indicators

• Number of unique contributors (monthly).
• Number of external (outside core team) contributors.
• Issue/PR participation from non-maintainers.
• Documentation contributions.

Agent rule: enforcement

When reviewing a repository claiming InnerSource status:

1. Verify all required documentation exists and is complete.
2. Check CODEOWNERS is configured and enforced.
3. Confirm branch protection is enabled.
4. Validate contribution workflow is documented.
5. Flag any missing or outdated governance documentation.
6. Mark repository as non-compliant if core requirements missing.

Minimal Compliance Checklist

Use this checklist for quick compliance verification:

Documentation (Required)

• README.md exists and contains project overview
• CONTRIBUTING.md exists with PR process documented
• CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md exists (or org-level reference)
• CODEOWNERS file exists with valid team assignments
• GOVERNANCE.md exists with decision process

Branch Protection (Required)

• Default branch (main/master) is protected
• PR reviews required before merge
• CODEOWNERS approval required
• Status checks required to pass
• Force push disabled on protected branches

Repository Settings (Required)

• Issue templates configured
• PR template configured
• Branch naming conventions documented

Verification Commands

GitHub CLI Verification

# Check required files exist
REQUIRED_FILES="README.md CONTRIBUTING.md CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md CODEOWNERS GOVERNANCE.md"
for file in $REQUIRED_FILES; do
  if [ -f "$file" ]; then
    echo "✓ $file exists"
  else
    echo "✗ $file MISSING"
  fi
done

CODEOWNERS Validation

# Verify CODEOWNERS syntax and team existence
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/codeowners/errors --jq '.errors[]'

# Check CODEOWNERS is being enforced
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/main/protection \
  --jq '.required_pull_request_reviews.require_code_owner_reviews'
# Expected: true

Branch Protection Verification

# Get branch protection rules
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/main/protection --jq '{
  enforce_admins: .enforce_admins.enabled,
  required_reviews: .required_pull_request_reviews.required_approving_review_count,
  codeowner_reviews: .required_pull_request_reviews.require_code_owner_reviews,
  status_checks: .required_status_checks.strict,
  force_push: .allow_force_pushes.enabled
}'
# Expected: enforce_admins=true, required_reviews>=1, codeowner_reviews=true,
#           status_checks=true, force_push=false

Full Compliance Script

#!/bin/bash
# innersource-compliance-check.sh

REPO="${1:-$(gh repo view --json nameWithOwner -q .nameWithOwner)}"
ERRORS=0

echo "Checking InnerSource compliance for $REPO"
echo "==========================================="

# Check required files
echo -e "\n## Required Files"
for file in README.md CONTRIBUTING.md CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md CODEOWNERS GOVERNANCE.md; do
  if gh api "repos/$REPO/contents/$file" &>/dev/null; then
    echo "✓ $file"
  else
    echo "✗ $file MISSING"
    ((ERRORS++))
  fi
done

# Check branch protection
echo -e "\n## Branch Protection (main)"
PROTECTION=$(gh api "repos/$REPO/branches/main/protection" 2>/dev/null)
if [ -z "$PROTECTION" ]; then
  echo "✗ No branch protection configured"
  ((ERRORS++))
else
  CODEOWNER=$(echo "$PROTECTION" | jq -r '.required_pull_request_reviews.require_code_owner_reviews // false')
  REVIEWS=$(echo "$PROTECTION" | jq -r '.required_pull_request_reviews.required_approving_review_count // 0')

  if [ "$CODEOWNER" = "true" ]; then
    echo "✓ CODEOWNERS review required"
  else
    echo "✗ CODEOWNERS review NOT required"
    ((ERRORS++))
  fi

  if [ "$REVIEWS" -ge 1 ]; then
    echo "✓ PR reviews required ($REVIEWS)"
  else
    echo "✗ PR reviews NOT required"
    ((ERRORS++))
  fi
fi

# Summary
echo -e "\n## Summary"
if [ $ERRORS -eq 0 ]; then
  echo "✓ Repository is InnerSource compliant"
  exit 0
else
  echo "✗ $ERRORS compliance issues found"
  exit 1
fi

Usage

# Check current repository
./innersource-compliance-check.sh

# Check specific repository
./innersource-compliance-check.sh org/repo-name

# CI integration
- name: InnerSource Compliance
  run: ./scripts/innersource-compliance-check.sh
  continue-on-error: false

Red Flags - STOP

These statements indicate InnerSource governance gaps: