source/committers/_index.md

---
title: Committer resources
url: /committers/
tags: ["committers","contributing"]
---

There are a number of useful Apache tools and services available for Apache projects
 and committers.  This is a brief set of pointers or signposts to that information.

## Apache Infrastructure Information

The primary portals for Apache Infra questions - how Subversion/Git/Websites, etc. work at the ASF - are pages at <a href="https://www.apache.org/dev/" target="_blank">apache.org/dev</a> and <a href="https://infra.apache.org" target="_blank">infra.apache.org</a>.

If you're a committer, you can [patch this very website yourself][2]!

## Decision making

When getting involved in any open source project, it's critical to
understand how, when, and by whom, decisions are made.

In ASF projects, decisions are made by the people that do the work. This
is usually the committers, who make decisions by committing code.

The PMC makes major decisions about project roadmaps, releases, and who
to invite into the ranks of the committers.

See the [discussion of how decision making works at the ASF][6] for more
details.

## Project independence

While not all ASF projects practice all aspects of the Apache Way in the same way, there are a number of rules that Apache 
projects must follow – things like complying with PMC 
[release voting][7], [legal policy][8], [brand policy][9], 
using [mailing lists][10], etc., which [various sites document][11]. 

One of these invariant rules is that PMCs manage projects
independently of any commercial interests. The goal is to create an 
environment in which all participants are equal and thus have an equal
opportunity to contribute to and benefit from our software, regardless
of motivation or financial objectives. There is more discussion of this principle
in our document [Project Independence][12].

<span id="Index-Assistingwithprojectmanagement"></span>

## Development processes

Each project in Apache is free to define its own development processes as 
long as it respects our decision-making, legal and independence requirements.
However, over the many years that the ASF has existed, our projects have evolved and documented many best practices. In this section we 
bring together some of the most popular of these practices. Most Apache projects
operate in ways that are largely similar to these processes.

  * [Crediting contributors][13] is a critical part of community building
  * [ASF Licensing Policy][14]
  * Releases
    * [Releases FAQ][15]
    * Release audit is a process each release candidate must go through to ensure it is managing intellectual property (IP) correctly
      * [RAT/Creadur][16] is a tool to assist this process
    * [Release management][17] is how the project prepares and publishes its releases
    * [Handling cryptography][18] in an Apache Release
    * [Source Headers and NOTICE][19] Files
    * [Distribution best practices][20]
  * [ASF Developer section sitemap][21]

## Assisting with project management and marketing

There are many visible contributions of value in an Apache projects
(documentation, testing, coding user support, design etc.), but there are
also plenty of "back office" tasks that are necessary to maintain a healthy
project. This section describes some of the activities that you can help
with. In most cases you will need to be a committer to carry out these
activities, although non-committers can often act in supporting roles.

 * Write informational [blogs][22]
 * [Assessing and approving new committers](/pmc/adding-committers.html)
 * [Board Reports](/boardreport.html)
 * [Apache Project Branding/Trademark Resources](https://www.apache.org/foundation/marks/resources)

## Speaking about Apache projects at events

We encourage all of our committers to speak about Apache projects and 
technologies, and generally to help to grow and enhance our community.

## Other Resources

There is no shortage of useful resources for committers at Apache. Here are a few you might want to take a look at:

  - [How the ASF works][23]
  - [Guide for New Committers][24]
  - [Developer resources][25]
  - [Apache service list][26]


  [1]: https://www.apache.org/dev/
  [2]: /newbiefaq.html#websitecms
  [6]: /committers/decisionMaking.html
  [7]: https://www.apache.org/legal/release-policy.html
  [8]: https://www.apache.org/legal/
  [9]: https://www.apache.org/foundation/marks/
  [10]: https://www.apache.org/dev/#mail
  [11]: https://blogs.apache.org/comdev/entry/what_makes_apache_projects_different
  [12]: /projectIndependence.html
  [13]: https://subversion.apache.org/docs/community-guide/conventions.html#crediting
  [14]: https://www.apache.org/legal/resolved.html
  [15]: https://www.apache.org/legal/release-policy.html
  [16]: https://incubator.apache.org/rat/
  [17]: https://sling.apache.org/site/release-management.html
  [18]: https://infra.apache.org/crypto.html
  [19]: https://www.apache.org/legal/src-headers.html
  [20]: https://incubator.apache.org/guides/releasemanagement.html#distribution-best-practice
  [21]: https://www.apache.org/dev/
  [22]: https://infra.apache.org/project-blogs
  [23]: https://www.apache.org/foundation/how-it-works.html
  [24]: https://infra.apache.org/new-committers-guide.html
  [25]: https://www.apache.org/dev
  [26]: https://infra.apache.org/services.html