> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://preview.bazel.build/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Policy

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## title: 'Contribution policy'

This page covers Bazel's governance model and contribution policy.

## Governance model

The [Bazel project](https://github.com/bazelbuild) is led and managed by Google
and has a large community of contributors outside of Google. Some Bazel
components (such as specific rules repositories under the
[bazelbuild](https://github.com/bazelbuild) organization) are led,
maintained, and managed by members of the community. The Google Bazel team
reviews suggestions to add community-owned repositories (such as rules) to the
[bazelbuild](https://github.com/bazelbuild) GitHub organization.

### Contributor roles

Here are outlines of the roles in the Bazel project, including their
responsibilities:

* **Owners**: The Google Bazel team. Owners are responsible for:
  * Strategy, maintenance, and leadership of the Bazel project.
  * Building and maintaining Bazel's core functionality.
  * Appointing Maintainers and approving new repositories.
* **Maintainers**: The Google Bazel team and designated GitHub users.
  Maintainers are responsible for:
  * Building and maintaining the primary functionality of their repository.
  * Reviewing and approving contributions to areas of the Bazel code base.
  * Supporting users and contributors with timely and transparent issue
    management, PR review, and documentation.
  * Releasing, testing and collaborating with Bazel Owners.
* **Contributors**: All users who contribute code or documentation to the
  Bazel project.
  * Creating well-written PRs to contribute to Bazel's codebase and
    documentation.
  * Using standard channels, such as GitHub Issues, to propose changes and
    report issues.

### Becoming a Maintainer

Bazel Owners may appoint Maintainers to lead well-defined areas of code, such as
rule sets. Contributors with a record of consistent, responsible past
contributions who are planning major contributions in the future could be
considered to become qualified Maintainers.

<h2 id="contribution-policy">
  Contribution policy
</h2>

The Bazel project accepts contributions from external contributors. Here are the
contribution policies for Google-managed and Community-managed areas of code.

* **Licensing**. All Maintainers and Contributors must sign the
  [Google’s Contributor License Agreement](https://cla.developers.google.com/clas).
* **Contributions**. Owners and Maintainers should make every effort to accept
  worthwhile contributions. All contributions must be:
  * Well written and well tested
  * Discussed and approved by the Maintainers of the relevant area of code.
    Discussions and approvals happen on GitHub Issues and in GitHub PRs.
    Larger contributions require a
    [design review](/contribute/design-documents).
  * Added to Bazel's Continuous Integration system if not already present.
  * Supportable and aligned with Bazel product direction
* **Code review**. All changes in all `bazelbuild` repositories require
  review:
  * All PRs must be approved by an Owner or Maintainer.
  * Only Owners and Maintainers can merge PRs.
* **Compatibility**. Owners may need to reject or request modifications to PRs
  in the unlikely event that the change requires substantial modifications to
  internal Google systems.
* **Documentation**. Where relevant, feature contributions should include
  documentation updates.

For more details on contributing to Bazel, see our
[contribution guidelines](/contribute/).