Automated summary
This skill guides the preparation of a GitHub project for open source release by ensuring all essential documentation and legal foundations are in place.
Strengths
- Structured 8-phase approach covering security, legal, documentation, and sustainability.
- Includes git history cleaning to prevent secret leaks.
- Provides detailed references and ready-to-use templates.
Limitations
- Requires manual user input for some decisions (license, governance).
- May be overkill for small or simple repositories.
- Does not replace professional legal advice for licensing.
Use this skill when you want to release a project on GitHub in a professional and sustainable manner.
Do not use it for private projects or when you are not ready to apply best practices (e.g., cleaning the history).
Security analysis
SafeThe skill is a guide for open-sourcing projects, using safe tools like file readers, git history analyzers, and documentation validators. It does not contain any destructive or exfiltrating instructions.
No concerns found
How this analysis is madeExamples
I want to open source my GitHub project. Help me prepare it properly with all necessary files and checks.Can you scan my git history for any accidentally committed secrets or credentials before I publish my project?Help me add a code of conduct, contributing guide, and governance model to my project repo.name: open-source-best-practices description: 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. license: See LICENSE file in repository root metadata: author: AndreaGriffiths11 version: "1.0" allowed-tools: file_reader, file_writer, github_api, license_selector, documentation_validator, git_history_analyzer
Open Source Best Practices
This skill guides you through preparing your GitHub project for sustainable open source release.
How to Use This Skill
- See the full workflow in AGENTS.md - the complete phases and checklist
- Reference detailed guides in 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):
- Security First - Clean your git history using Git History Cleaner
- Legal & Ownership - Choose license, verify ownership, clarify admin rights
- Community Foundations - Add Code of Conduct, governance, decision-making
- Documentation & Onboarding - README, CONTRIBUTING, issue/PR templates
- Setup Files & Infrastructure - .gitignore, CI/CD, protected branches
- Maintainer Expectations - Define roles, SLAs, communication
- Security & Vulnerability Reporting - SECURITY.md, vulnerability process
- 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 workflow.
Key Resources
- AGENTS.md - Complete 8-phase workflow
- references/file-checklist.md - What files and why
- references/license-selection.md - How to choose
- references/security-practices.md - Clean git history
- references/governance.md - Make decisions sustainably
- references/maintainer-expectations.md - Healthy projects
- references/sponsors-setup.md - Enable funding
- references/template-examples.md - Copy-paste templates
From the file to a first result
The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.
View the source and supporting filesThis download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.
1. Download the file
Download SKILL.mdFrom the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/open-source-best-practices-mm8o51ij/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.
Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.
mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/open-source-best-practices-mm8o51ij' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/open-source-best-practices-mm8o51ij/download' --output '.skill-downloads/open-source-best-practices-mm8o51ij/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/open-source-best-practices-mm8o51ij/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/open-source-best-practices-mm8o51ij/SKILL.md'2. Check prerequisites
Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.
Tools declared by the author (check availability in your agent): file_reader, file_writer, github_api, license_selector, documentation_validator, git_history_analyzer
No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.
The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.
3. Load the skill
After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.
Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/open-source-best-practices-mm8o51ij/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/open-source-best-practices-mm8o51ij/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/open-source-best-practices' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/open-source-best-practices-mm8o51ij' '.claude/skills/open-source-best-practices'OpenSkills
OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.
Official OpenSkills installationopenskills install './.skill-downloads/open-source-best-practices-mm8o51ij'openskills read 'open-source-best-practices-mm8o51ij'Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.
For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.
openskills syncManual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.
4. Try a first task
Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:
Read .skill-downloads/open-source-best-practices-mm8o51ij/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.
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