Contribution types

All nf-core pipelines have a nextflow.config file, that within which has a ‘manifest’ listing all contributors to a pipeline.

This section of the manifest have a specific attribute called ‘contributions’ that is designed to describe what each person has done for the pipeline.

In this page we will describe the nf-core community’s guidance on how to use the contribution attribution, to maximise community recognition to all of out pipelines.

Contribution types

The manifest supports three contribution types:

• author
• maintainer
• contributor

The following sections describe how nf-core attributes contributions using these types.

Author

An author is someone who designed and wrote the original pipeline (prior to and including version 1.0) and served as the primary maintainer at that time.

Someone may also be an author if they previously served as a lead maintainer of the pipeline. As a lead maintainer, they:

• Kept the pipeline up to date
• Reviewed pull requests
• Developed the long-term roadmap
• Added new features
• Coordinated development with other developers and users

A pipeline can have multiple authors.

Maintainer

A maintainer is currently active as a lead developer of the pipeline and regularly contributes code and manages the project. Maintainers:

• Keep the pipeline up to date
• Review pull requests
• Execute the long-term roadmap
• Add new features
• Coordinate with other developers and users

A maintainer typically has the best current understanding of the pipeline. A pipeline can have multiple maintainers.

A maintainer doesn’t need to be an original author of the pipeline, but can be.

When a maintainer steps down and no longer actively contributes to or manages the pipeline, they become an author. You can optionally also add the contributor designation (see Contributor).

Contributor

A contributor occasionally contributes to the pipeline (code, documentation, or other) but doesn’t have a management role. Contributors typically do not triage or resolve GitHub issues, but may occasionally contribute features or resolve bugs.

Contributors can be both current and past.

Case study

The nf-core/mag pipeline demonstrates how to distinguish between the different contribution types.

• Hadrien was the original architect and wrote the majority of v1 of the pipeline from 2018, and finished developing v1 in 2020. He is therefore an author.
• Daniel and Sabrina started assisting Hadrien in 2019, and took over as the lead maintainers between 2019-2022 keeping the pipeline up to date and adding new features. During this period they were maintainers.
• Maxime and James started in occasioanlly contributing feautures and bug fixes between 2020-2021, but were not handling the project management. During this period they were just contributors.
• In 2023, Sabrina moved on and stepped down as a project lead. She then moved to an ‘author’ designation.
• When Sabrina stepped down, James took over with managing the roadmap and triaging bug fixes, he thus changed from ‘contributor’ to ‘maintainer’ status.

Final notes

A person can have one or more contribution designations. Evaluate each contributor’s role and apply the appropriate types.

Community and collaboration are core to nf-core. Using these contribution types helps strengthen community ownership of pipelines and supports their long-term maintenance!