# Governance

This document describes the governance model for prompts.chat.

## Overview

prompts.chat is an open-source project that welcomes contributions from anyone. The project operates with a small group of maintainers who are responsible for the overall direction, code review, and release process. We aim to grow this group over time and welcome new maintainers who demonstrate sustained, quality contributions.

## Roles

### Users

Anyone who uses prompts.chat, whether by browsing the website, self-hosting the platform, using the CLI, or integrating with the MCP server. Users are encouraged to file issues, suggest features, and contribute prompts.

### Contributors

Anyone who contributes to the project. This includes submitting prompts through the web platform, opening pull requests, reporting bugs, improving documentation, or helping other users. All contributors are listed at https://github.com/f/prompts.chat/graphs/contributors.

### Maintainers

People with commit access to the repository. Maintainers review and merge pull requests, triage issues, and participate in project decisions. The current list of maintainers is in [OWNERS.md](OWNERS.md).

Maintainers are expected to:
- Review pull requests in a timely manner
- Help triage and respond to issues
- Follow the project's code of conduct
- Participate in governance discussions when they arise

### Project Lead

The project lead has final decision-making authority on project direction, releases, and governance changes. The project lead is responsible for ensuring the project stays aligned with its mission and the broader community's needs.

## Becoming a Maintainer

New maintainers are added based on sustained, high-quality contributions and demonstrated understanding of the project. There is no fixed checklist, but the following signals are considered:

- A track record of accepted pull requests over several months
- Thoughtful code reviews on other people's contributions
- Constructive participation in issue discussions
- Reliability and follow-through on commitments

Any existing maintainer can nominate a contributor for maintainer status. The nomination is discussed among the current maintainers, and the project lead makes the final decision. We are actively looking to grow the maintainer team, especially from contributors at different organizations.

## Decision Making

Most day-to-day decisions (bug fixes, small features, documentation updates) are made through the standard pull request review process. Any maintainer can approve and merge a PR.

For larger decisions (new features with broad impact, architectural changes, governance changes, dependency additions), we use a "lazy consensus" approach:

1. A proposal is opened as a GitHub issue or discussion.
2. The proposal is left open for at least 7 days to allow feedback.
3. If there are no objections from maintainers, the proposal is accepted.
4. If there are objections, the maintainers discuss and try to reach agreement. The project lead has final say if consensus cannot be reached.

## Changing This Document

Changes to this governance document follow the same decision-making process described above. Any maintainer or contributor can propose changes by opening a pull request.

## Code of Conduct

All participants in the project are expected to be respectful, constructive, and welcoming. We do not tolerate harassment, discrimination, or abusive behavior in any form. Violations can be reported to the project lead or through the channels listed in [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md).
