Contributor Covenant

Contributor Covenant, developed in 2014 by Coraline Ada Ehmke, is the first and most widely adopted code of conduct for open source communities.

Contributor Covenant is more than a code of conduct—it’s a foundational document that has transformed the practice of open source around the world. It promotes diversity, equity, and inclusivity in open source communities, which have traditionally excluded marginalized contributors and been dominated by white American men.

In 2021, the Organization for Ethical Source  announced that Contributor Covenant was coming under the OES umbrella for stewardship and continued development. Nathan Schneider described this as an “exit to community” in his post “A New Chapter for Contributor Covenant”. 

Contributor Covenant continues to evolve in response to the changing needs of open source communities around the globe. Funding for this project supports the next stage in this evolution, in collaboration with industry experts in community governance and code of conduct enforcement through the OES's Contributor Covenant 3.0 working group.