This document is the normative reference for the policies and procedures put in place by the Incubator PMC for the Incubation process, which is used by the Incubator PMC to discharge their duties as described above.

It contains the minimum requirements that all new products and projects must meet before they will be fully accepted into the Apache Software Foundation.

The document makes use of the terms MUST, MUST NOT, REQUIRED, SHALL, SHALL NOT, SHOULD, SHOULD NOT, RECOMMENDED, MAY and OPTIONAL. Where capitalised, these terms are to be used as per the definitions found in RFC 2119 .

Scope

Relationship to Other Documents

The contents of this document are formally approved by the Incubator PMC. All changes must be authorised by the Incubator PMC.

To provide a clear path for potential projects and sub-projects within the ASF to move from proposal stage through to fully membership in such as way as to ensure :

• new projects and sub-projects are developing products according to the ASF's philophy and guidelines for collaborative development;
• the ownership of any code initially submitted by the project is formally and legaly transferred to the ASF; and
• only those products that meet the Apache's requirements are fully accepted into the ASF.

The incubation process covers the establishment of a candidate, acceptance (or rejection) of a candidate leading to the potential establishment of a Podling and associated incubation process, which ultimately leads to the establishment or a new Apache Top-Level-Project (TLP) or sub-project within an existing Apache Project.

To start the approval process, a proposal MUST be submitted to the Sponsor. Please read the Guide For Proposals.

The decision to approve the candidate proposal MUST be taken on a vote by the Sponsor, in accordance with that Entity's charter.

Upon a successful result, the PMC Chair of the Sponsor SHOULD request the Incubator PMC take on the Candidate as a new Podling. The request, which should be sent to the Incubator PMC on the general list, MUST contain the following information:

• a reference to the results of the vote (so as to provide an audit trail for the records);
• a reference to the Candidate's proposal;
• the Mentors, nominated by the Sponsor, who will guide the Candidate through the Incubation Process. At least one nominated Mentor MUST be a member of the Apache Software Foundation.

Any Incubator PMC member can send an acknowledgement that the request was received, then a 72 hour waiting period starts. After this time has elapsed and no Incubator PMC member objects, the status file may be committed and the podling started. If any Incubator PMC member says "hold" before the 72 hours are up, a formal discussion/vote will be conducted.

The nominated Mentors MAY be immediately accepted by the Incubator PMC. However the Incubator PMC MAY also suggest replacement Mentors. The Incubator PMC has the final choice of Mentors.

Upon acceptance by the Incubator PMC, the Candidate becomes a Podling under the care of the Incubator PMC.

Upon acceptance by the Incubator PMC, the Podling's Mentor becomes a member of the Incubator PMC (should they not already be one).

Once a proposal has been accepted and the podling created a Mentor SHOULD initiate the creation of:

• the project status page;
• the mailing lists;
• the repository space;

Your project's mentors are able to undertake many of the setup tasks. See notes about how to request project resources such as new committer accounts and new mailing lists. (Note that a committer account will not be created until the Contributor License Agreement (CLA) has been recorded.)

Your project committers/PPMC members need to become familiar with the ASF Infrastructure information and in particular the PMC notes. Also see the Incubator PMC Guide.

The progress of a Podling SHALL be tracked in a "project status" document. This SHALL be stored in http://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/incubator/public/trunk/site-author/projects/ and so become available at http://incubator.apache.org/projects/

The "project status" document SHALL include the following minimum content :

• status of setup tasks;
• all exit criteria (see Exiting the Incubator);
• status of Podling against exit criteria.

The Mentors MUST ensure that the "project status" document is up to date at all times. See these instructions .

Each Podling in Incubation SHALL undergo a regular review of progress by the Incubator PMC. Such reviews SHALL occur at least quarterly. The Incubator PMC MAY, at their discretion, choose to review individual Podlings with greater frequency. The Incubator PMC SHALL inform Podlings of review dates at least 4 weeks in advance.

At least one week prior to each review, the Mentor MUST produce a report for the Incubator PMC detailing overall progress with a focus on the preceding review period. It is RECOMMENDED that the report be based on the "project status" document for the Podling.

After each review, the Incubator PMC SHALL produce an Assessment of the project. The Assessment SHALL contain one of three recommendations:

• that the Podling be Terminated;
• that the Podling continue in Incubation; or
• that the Podling be Graduated from Incubation.

Termination and Graduation are discussed in more detail in section "Graduating from the Incubator".

If the Podling or Mentor disagree with an assessment, they MAY request the Incubator PMC review the report. Such a request MUST include a details of what the Podling and/or Mentor is disputing, and their reasons for doing so.

Upon receipt of an Assessment Dispute, the Incubator PMC SHALL review the request and provide feedback to the Podling and Mentor. Such feedback MAY include a change to the original Assessment.

Should the Podling and/or Mentor still disagree with the contents of the report, they MAY appeal to the Board of the Apache Software Foundation. Such an appeal MUST include

• the original assessment;
• the request for review to the Incubator PMC;
• the response from the Incubator PMC; and
• the reason the Podling and/or Mentor still dispute the report.

The Board of the Apache Software Foundation MAY, after reviewing the appeal, choose to

• ammend the incubation Assessment;
• validate the assessment of the Incubator PMC; or
• take any other action it deems appropriate to the circumstance.

The decision of the Board of the Apache Software Foundation is final.

A recommendation by the Incubator PMC for continuation of incubation SHALL include development recommendations. The Incubator PMC SHALL ensure that the recommended actions are tangible and quantifiable.

The Mentor SHALL review the contents of the continuation recommendation and ensure that the development recommendations are carried out over the following review period.

Please consult the guide to Podling Branding.

Podlings are not yet fully accepted as part of the Apache Software Foundation. No release made by a Podling will be endorsed by the ASF. Unendorsed releases may be made by Podlings subject to the following policy.

Podlings in Incubation SHALL NOT perform any releases of software without the explicit approval of the Incubator PMC. Such approval SHALL be given only after the Incubator PMC has followed the process detailed in these guidelines, and SHALL NOT occur until all source has been legally transferred to the ASF.

Therefore, should a Podling decide it wishes to perform a release, the Podling SHALL hold a vote on the Podling's public -dev list. At least three +1 votes are required (see the Apache Voting Process page), and only the PPMC member votes are binding. If the majority of all votes is positive, then the Podling SHALL send a summary of that vote to the Incubator's general list and formally request the Incubator PMC approve such a release. Three +1 Incubator PMC votes are required. Below is an example showing how an incubating project managed this process:

• Post to the Podling -dev list calling the vote.
• Post to the Incubator's general list requesting approval from the Incubator PMC.

Should the Incubator PMC, in accordance with these guidelines vote to approve the request, the Podling MAY perform the release under the following constraints :

• the release archive MUST contain the word "incubating" in the filename; and
• the release archive MUST contain an Incubation disclaimer (as described in the previous section), clearly visible in the main documentation or README file.

The Podling is not yet an Apache project, and it should thus always refer to the Incubator Project Resource usage Guidelines, that are as follows.

Website

Prior to graduation, a Podling needs to show that :

• it is a worthy and healthy project;
• it truly fits within the ASF framework;and
• it "gets" the Apache Way.

This is achieved by imposing a set of Graduation Criteria that, when met, will demonstrate these objectives.

Therefore, to successfully graduate from the Incubator into the ASF, a Podling SHALL meet the minimum requirements detailed below. The Incubator PMC MAY set additional requirements at their discretion. Such additional requirements MAY be proposed by the Mentor or the Sponsor, however only the Incubator PMC is authorised to formally place such requirements on a Podling.

The minimum requirements that a Podling SHALL meet prior to being graduated to the ASF are :

• Legal
• • All code ASL'ed
  • The code base must contain only ASL or ASL-compatible dependencies
  • License grant complete
  • CLAs on file.
  • Check of project name for trademark issues

• Meritocracy / Community
• • Demonstrate an active and diverse development community
  • The project is not highly dependent on any single contributor (there are at least 3 legally independent committers and there is no single company or entity that is vital to the success of the project)
  • The above implies that new committers are admitted according to ASF practices
  • ASF style voting has been adopted and is standard practice
  • Demonstrate ability to tolerate and resolve conflict within the community.
  • Release plans are developed and excuted in public by the community.
  • • (requirement on minimum number of such releases?)
    • Note: incubator projects are not permitted to issue an official Release. Test snapshots (however good the quality) and Release plans are OK.
  • Engagement by the incubated community with the other ASF communities, particularly infrastructure@ (this reflects my personal bias that projects should pay an nfrastructure "tax").
  • Incubator PMC has voted for graduation
  • Destination PMC, or ASF Board for a TLP, has voted for final acceptance

• Alignment / Synergy
• • Use of other ASF subprojects
  • Develop synergistic relationship with other ASF subprojects

• Infrastructure
• • SVN module has been created
  • Mailing list(s) have been created
  • Mailing lists are being archived
  • Issue tracker has been created
  • Project website has been created
  • Project ready to comply with ASF mirroring guidelines
  • Project is integrated with GUMP if appropriate
  • Releases are PGP signed by a member of the community
  • Developers tied into ASF PGP web of trust

If you receive a recommendation for termination then you have a problem. Chances are that there are either legal or structural problems with your project that in the opinion of the Incubator PMC are not resolvable within a reasonable time frame. A termination decision is basically time to close down the project. However, you do have the right to appeal a termination decision with the Board of Directors and/or your Sponsor. You should be aware that several Members of the Board are also Members of the Incubator PMC and as such, an appeal is unlikely to be successful.

In cases where a Podling has successfully completed Incubation, and is graduating from the Incubator to become a Top Level Project, the Incubator PMC SHALL provide a recommendation to the board that the Podling is ready to gradualate. The recommendation SHALL include a draft resolution for the board to vote on.

In cases where a Podling has successfully completed Incubation, and is graduating from the Incubator to become a sub-project within an already existing Top Level Project, the Incubator PMC SHALL provide a recommendation to the TLP that the Podling is ready to graduate.

The list below summarizes steps a project needs to perform after graduation to move out of the Incubator. PPMC refers to the old PPMC for the graduating project, PMC refers to the new PMC under which the graduating project falls (this might be the former PPMC for a new TLP), and Project refers to the committers on the graduating project.

• Move svn repository from incubator to its new location
  • PMC sends email to infrastructure@ and opens a JIRA issue requesting that infrastructure move the svn repository.
  • PMC updates the svn-authorization files to provide committers access to the newly-named repositories.
  • Project verifies all committers have commit access.
  • Project removes incubator disclaimer notices.
• Migrate web site
  • PMC emails root@ and opens a JIRA issue requesting UNIX karma for committers to access new location on people.apache.org.
  • Project verifies all committers know how to and have karma to update the new web site.
  • Project checks out/deploys the files in the new location.
  • PPMC redirects old incubator URL to the new one by editing https://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/incubator/public/trunk/site-publish/.htaccess .
  • Project verifies the redirect works, then deletes old stuff at /www/incubator.apache.org/${PROJECT} .
  • PPMC updates http://incubator.apache.org/projects/projectname.html with graduation status and link to new website location.
• Cleanup incubator
  • PPMC updates http://incubator.apache.org/projects/index.html project from "Currently Incubating" to "Successfully Incubated" table.
• Update JIRA/Bugzilla
  • PMC emails infrastructure@ requesting that information for the project be updated.
• Migrate mail lists:
  • PMC sends email to infrastructure@ and opens a JIRA issue requesting that the mailing lists and archives be migrated
• If the graduating project wants to send out a press release, it must be cleared with the PRC.

Additional steps for a TLP include:

• A new TLP needs board approval. The PPMC creates a proposal including a proposed PMC chair and sends that to the board.
• The ASF Chairman sends out an official notice that the board has approved a new TLP.
• PMC may then notify infrastructure@ about the new TLP so they can add DNS entries (and anything else).
• The mentor or other member updates www.apache.org to add a link to the new TLP web site.
• The mentor or other member adds the new PMC to the board reporting schedule (update the committee.txt file).
• The new TLP must send monthly board reports for three months after approval.

Resources include:

• http://www.apache.org/dev/pmc.html
• http://www.apache.org/dev/#pmc

The Project Management Committee is responsible to the Board for administering the Incubator Project in the manner specified in the founding resolution.

The roles and responsibilities of the PMC are described and discussed here.

The person appointed by the Board of Directors to have primary responsibility for oversight of the Incubator Project, its policies, and policy implementation.

A proposal for incubation. Described in detail here.

A Member of the Apache Software Foundation who supports a Candidate's application for Incubation and who supports and assists the Podling through the Incubation process.

A Sponsor SHALL be either:

• the Board of the Apache Software Foundation;
• a Top Level Project (TLP) within the Apache Software Foundation (where the TLP considers the Candidate to be a suitable sub-project); or
• the Incubator PMC.

This role and its responsibilities are discussed here.

A Podling has one or more Mentors, one of which MUST be an Apache Member. Mentors are chosen by the Sponsor to actively monitor the podling, guide the podling in the Apache Way, and report its status to the Sponsor and the Incubator PMC. All Mentors must be members of the Incubator PMC. A Mentor has responsibilities toward the Incubator PMC, the Sponsor, and the community of the assigned Podling.

The candidate shall declare an initial set of committers. On acceptance of a candidate project, the assigned Mentors shall be given access to the Podling's repository for the duration of the incubation process. This is to allow the Mentors to perform their incubation duties, and is for administrative purposes only. To be given full committer privileges, such as the right to add new code to the repository, the Mentor must earn them as would any other potential new committer. In some cases, the Mentor may be part of the initial set of declared committers, but this is not a requirement of the Incubation process.