OSS checklist

[jladuval]

OSS Project Checklist

A copy of the below checklist could be obtained from https://github.com/scriptnull/oss-checklist (Help us make it better!)

Pre-checks

• Able to explain your project in a tweet ?
• Choose a name for the project
• Check if domain name / App name is available ?
• List and learn tools required for the project
• Prepare mock-up and one page design document, if needed to explain to collaborators
• List previous / similar implementations and learn from them
• Start a blog post to document the journey ( if time permits ) Mention idea + helpful resources.
• Ask if project could be solved in a modular way by dividing into sub-problems and creating a separate project for the sub-problems.

Project Creation

• Create a Repository in any of the Source Control Management sites
  • Github ( Free public repos )
  • Gitlab ( Free public and private repos + CI + docker registry )
  • Bitbucket ( Free public and private repos )
• Create a README.md (check below for more)
• Create a LICENSE file (choose one before)
• Create a CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
• Create a CONTRIBUTING.md
• Create a .gitignore
• Create Gitter chatroom (if needed)

README.md Checklist

• Title
• Logo
• Badges
• Description
• Prerequisite for using software ( if any )
• Install
• Example Usage
• Screenshots and GIFs
  • For command line apps, try asciinema
  • For mac GUI screenshots, use [Cmd+Shift+3] or [Cmd+Shift+4] or [Cmd+Shift+4,SpaceBar]
  • For mac GUI GIF creation, try kap
  • For Ubuntu GUI Screenshots, use [Shift+PrintScr] or Shutter
  • For Ubuntu GUI GIF creation, try silentcast
• Benchmarks
• Contributors
• Backers and Sponsors
• Attributions ( mention 3rd party libs used etc. )
• Security
  • Post maintainer's PGP fingerprint for reporting security vulnerabilities
  • Share keybase profile for making the reporting process easier.

Coding Phase

• Install required developer tools
  • Compiler
  • Linter
  • Formatter
  • Build Tool
  • Other
• Basic code complete
• Write tests and keep watch on code coverage
• Setup CI
  • AppVeyor - CI/CD for Windows developers.
  • CircleCI - Docker-based building with support of customized workflows.
  • Codefresh - Docker-native CI/CD.
  • Codeship - Continuous integration, delivery, and deployment.
  • continuousphp - CI/CD for PHP applications.
  • DeployHQ - Deployment automation.
  • Sauce Labs - Cross-browser testing, Selenium testing, and mobile testing.
  • Semaphore - Fast automated CI/CD.
  • Shippable - DevOps automation.
  • Travis-CI - Automated CI/CD for Open Source.
• Host the documentation of the code somewhere if the project is a software library
• Use Github issues ( or other tools ) for tracking backlogs
• Encourage OSS culture by having labels like "help wanted" "easy-to-contribute" etc.
• Contribute to other OSS projects on which the current project is dependent on ( if possible )
  • File bug reports
  • Improve docs
  • Suggest feature
  • Learn by reading code

Release Phase

• Package software in CI or manually in local
• Publish in registries (npm, docker hub etc.) or markets (Android store, App Store etc.)
• Create the release version, description, link for downloading the release etc. in release page ( example: Github release page)

Post-release

• Publish the blog post
• Tweet
• Hackernews
• Product Hunt
• Send PR to awesome-* github repository
• Reddit
• Hashnode
• Linkedin
• Edit Wikipedia pages (if related)
• Prepare slides and give talks (if possible)