Contributing Guide
Docs + Word8 pages
Free
- Type
- Document
- Price
- Free
- Pages
- 7 · US Letter
- Style
- Corporate
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Updated
- November 6, 2026
Every page (7)
Overview
Shared code stalls when people from other teams do not know how to propose a change, who will review it or how long the wait will be. This guide sets out the inner source path in seven pages: principles, owners, the proposal route, the review process and where to get help. It is written so a contributor can start in an afternoon without asking anyone first.
The sample is for Brindlewick Systems, a fictional software company that shares repositories across teams. Its figures, owners and contacts are sample data: 87.5 percent of pull requests pass CI before review, and owners reply within three working days. Replace the project name, licence and contacts, then test every set-up step on a clean machine.
Useful for
- A new engineer making a first change to another team's service
- A maintainer answering the same contributor questions each month
- An open source lead publishing governance rules for outside help
What's included
- Title block with the project details, licence and version
- Principles page with four stats and three numbered rules
- Owners page with contacts and a responsibility grid
- Proposal route compared for small fixes and new features
- Review page with owner checks and a dated checklist
- Support page with contacts and a conduct reporting note
How to use it
- 1
Click Make a copy in Google Docs, then confirm on the Google page. The copy is saved to your own Google Drive.
- 2
Replace the project name, repository links and licence on the first page with your own.
- 3
Run the set-up steps on a fresh machine, then correct any command that fails.
- 4
Label real good first issues and link them in the guide for newcomers to pick up.
- 5
Delete the guide page, name a conduct contact, then share the guide with contributors.
What you need
Requirements
- A Google account with access to Google Drive
Works with
- Google Docs
- Microsoft Word (download the .docx)
Questions
Is this inner source contribution guide template free to use?
Yes. Make a copy at no charge and the guide sits in your Drive, ready for your repository's own owners and links.
Are the company, people and contacts real?
No. Brindlewick Systems, its maintainers, phone numbers and email addresses are fictional sample data. Replace every contact with real, monitored addresses before you publish.
Does this guide replace a formal licence?
No. The guide explains how to contribute, but your licence and contribution terms should be written by legal counsel and linked from the repository.
- #inner-source
- #contributing-guide
- #code-of-conduct
- #open-source-governance
- #pull-request-review
- #google-docs-template
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