SkillsAdd

smithery.ai

open-source-best-practices

Validates and prepares a GitHub project for open source release by ensuring all essential documentation and legal foundations are in place.

First seen Apr 27, 2026

Installation

$ npx skills add https://smithery.ai
View on skills.sh ↗ Website ↗

Summary

  • Validates and prepares a GitHub project for open source release by ensuring all essential documentation and legal foundations are in place.
  • Uses Git History Cleaner to identify and remove secrets, credentials, and sensitive data before publication.
  • Use when you want to release a project publicly or harden an existing public repo.

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Also in this package

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npx skills add https://smithery.ai
smithery-ai-cli 7.8K frontend-design 6.2K skill-creator 2.5K ck:ui-ux-pro-max 1.3K pdf 1.2K xlsx 966 pptx 894 docx 884 webapp-testing 1 web-design-reviewer 657

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More details

Agent compatibility

Declared targets from SKILL.md / docs. Unmarked agents are not listed — the skill may still install via the CLI.

Claude Code Not declared
Cursor Not declared
Codex Not declared
GitHub Copilot Not declared
Windsurf Not declared
Gemini CLI Not declared
Cline Not declared
OpenCode Not declared

Skill metadata

Parsed from SKILL.md frontmatter.

Version1.0
LicenseSee LICENSE file in repository root
Allowed toolsfile_reader, file_writer, github_api, license_selector, documentation_validator, git_history_analyzer
More metadata
author
AndreaGriffiths11
version
1.0

Package contents

Files included with this skill beyond the listing page.

  • skill md SKILL.md 2,868 B
  • docs SUMMARY.md 365 B

History

  1. First seen on skills.sh
  2. First recorded snapshot · 1 installs

SKILL.md

Open Source Best Practices

This skill guides you through preparing your GitHub project for sustainable open source release.

How to Use This Skill

  1. See the full workflow in [AGENTS.md](AGENTS.md) - the complete phases and checklist
  2. Reference detailed guides in [references/](references/) folder:

- File requirements and structure - License selection decision tree - Security scanning and git history cleaning - Governance framework - Maintainer expectations - GitHub Sponsors setup - Template examples

Quick Overview

The workflow has 8 phases (do them in order; Phase 1 isn't optional):

  1. Security First - Clean your git history using Git History Cleaner
  2. Legal & Ownership - Choose license, verify ownership, clarify admin rights
  3. Community Foundations - Add Code of Conduct, governance, decision-making
  4. Documentation & Onboarding - README, CONTRIBUTING, issue/PR templates
  5. Setup Files & Infrastructure - .gitignore, CI/CD, protected branches
  6. Maintainer Expectations - Define roles, SLAs, communication
  7. Security & Vulnerability Reporting - SECURITY.md, vulnerability process
  8. Funding & Sustainability - GitHub Sponsors (optional but recommended)

Get Started

When a user asks about open sourcing their project, begin by asking:

  • "What does your project do?" - Understand scope
  • "Who's the audience?" - Know your users
  • "Is your git history clean?" - Check for secrets first

Then guide them through the phases using the full [AGENTS.md](AGENTS.md) workflow.

Key Resources

  • [AGENTS.md](AGENTS.md) - Complete 8-phase workflow
  • [references/file-checklist.md](references/file-checklist.md) - What files and why
  • [references/license-selection.md](references/license-selection.md) - How to choose
  • [references/security-practices.md](references/security-practices.md) - Clean git history
  • [references/governance.md](references/governance.md) - Make decisions sustainably
  • [references/maintainer-expectations.md](references/maintainer-expectations.md) - Healthy projects
  • [references/sponsors-setup.md](references/sponsors-setup.md) - Enable funding
  • [references/template-examples.md](references/template-examples.md) - Copy-paste templates