Project Maintainer | Sonatype Open Source Community Handbook

Project Maintainer

The Project Maintainer is the backbone of a project’s success, balancing technical leadership with community engagement. They curate contributions, ensure code quality, and manage project direction. With an eye for detail and a commitment to the project’s vision, maintainers foster an inclusive and collaborative environment, enabling consistent growth and innovation.

Each project has a GitHub Team which contains its maintainers. It is named @sonatype-nexus-community/[PROJECT] - e.g. @sonatype-nexus-community/the-cla.

Project Maintainers are also Code Owners for the respective project - thus the CODEOWNERS file for the project should include the above team.

How to Become a Maintainer Heading self-link

Contributors who demonstrate consistent commitment to a project, offering meaningful improvements and actively engaging in discussions, may be considered for a maintainer role.

Becoming a maintainer requires building long-term trust with the Organizational Admins and the project’s existing maintainers. This trust is earned through high-quality contributions, design proposals, and a clear understanding of the project’s vision.

Maintainers not only contribute technically but also help guide the project’s direction by reviewing PRs, managing issues, and fostering collaboration within the community.

Next level: Organization Admin