# Open Source Management

> Use this skill to maintain healthy open source projects: contribution workflows, issue triage, governance, licensing, changelogs, releases, and community operations.

- Skill: `michaelschecht/open-source-management` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add michaelschecht/open-source-management`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/michaelschecht/open-source-management/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: michaelschecht (https://skillmd.com/u/michaelschecht)
- Updated: 2026-09-08
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/michaelschecht/open-source-management

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# Open Source Management

## Overview
Use this skill to maintain healthy open source projects: contribution workflows, issue triage, governance, licensing, changelogs, releases, and community operations.

## When to Use
- Creating or improving `CONTRIBUTING.md`, `CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md`, `SECURITY.md`, issue templates, or PR templates.
- Choosing license, CLA, governance, or maintainer policies.
- Preparing release notes, changelogs, version bumps, or GitHub Releases.
- Triage of issues and pull requests in a public repository.

## Maintainer Workflow
1. Check current project maturity: solo project, growing contributor base, or formal maintainer team.
2. Verify governance and safety files exist: `LICENSE`, `CONTRIBUTING.md`, `CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md`, `SECURITY.md`.
3. Review issue labels and templates for clear bug, feature, docs, and support intake.
4. For releases, apply SemVer, update changelog, tag the release, and publish GitHub release notes.
5. Keep contributor expectations explicit: response windows, review rules, merge criteria, and support boundaries.

## Contribution File Checklist
A useful `CONTRIBUTING.md` should cover:
- Code of conduct reference.
- Bug report and feature request process.
- Local development setup.
- Test and lint commands.
- Pull request review and merge expectations.
- Changelog requirements for user-facing changes.

## Common Pitfalls
- Shipping breaking API changes without a major version bump.
- Adding stale bots that close active work without maintainer review.
- Relicensing without contributor consent or a prior CLA strategy.
- Publishing vulnerability fixes without a security advisory for downstream users.
- Adopting automated changelogs before establishing conventional commits.

## Source Notes
Adapted from the SkillsMP `open-source-management` skill, selected for governance coverage and strong marketplace popularity relative to its focused domain.