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Project Incubation

The Path to Becoming an OSGeo Project

Process

What is Incubation?

OSGeo’s incubation process is the pathway for open source geospatial projects to become officially recognized as OSGeo projects. The process ensures that projects meet community standards for openness, quality, and sustainability.

Benefits

Benefits of OSGeo Project Status

Becoming an OSGeo project provides:

Legal Protection

OSGeo can hold trademarks and copyrights on behalf of projects

Infrastructure

Access to OSGeo infrastructure including hosting and services

Visibility

Promotion through OSGeo website, conferences, and communications

Community

Connection to the broader OSGeo community and other projects

Criteria

Incubation Criteria

Projects are evaluated on the following criteria:

Open Source License

Legal Requirements

  • Must use an OSI-approved open source license
  • All dependencies must be compatible

Community

Social Requirements

  • Open and welcoming community
  • Clear contribution guidelines
  • Responsive to bug reports and questions
  • Multiple active contributors

Documentation

Knowledge Sharing

  • User documentation
  • Developer documentation
  • Installation guides
  • API documentation (if applicable)

Code Quality

Technical Standards

  • Version control (typically Git)
  • Issue tracking
  • Quality assurance practices
  • Regular releases

Governance

Leadership Structure

  • Clear decision-making process
  • Project steering committee or equivalent
  • Transparent communication
Steps

The Incubation Process

Step 1

Application

Project submits an application to the Incubation Committee

Step 2

Review

Committee reviews the application and may request additional information

Step 3

Mentor Assignment

If accepted into incubation, a mentor is assigned to guide the project

Step 4

Incubation Period

Project works to meet all graduation criteria with mentor support

Step 5

Graduation

Committee reviews and recommends graduation to the Board

Apply

Apply for Incubation

Ready to apply? Start by reviewing the incubation criteria and contacting the Incubation Committee.

Incubation Wiki{.button .is-osgeo-primary .is-medium}

Project Levels

OSGeo Project
Fully graduated, meets all criteria

Incubating Project
In the process of meeting criteria

Community Project
Associated but not governed by OSGeo

Incubation Committee

The committee oversees the incubation process:

  • Reviews applications
  • Assigns mentors
  • Evaluates progress
  • Recommends graduation

Contact Committee

Current Projects

Graduated:
QGIS, GDAL, PostGIS, GeoServer, GRASS GIS, OpenLayers, and more

Incubating:
Check the wiki for current incubating projects

All Projects

Resources