How we work

How decisions get made, and how your idea becomes a Steading project. It’s short on purpose: there are no committees, no sponsors to line up, and no foundation to petition. Bring an idea, build it, and we’ll talk.

Who decides

Ivy started Steading and has the final say. She loves hearing ideas, loves it when people get excited, and wants to build things with them.

• Decisions are made in the open. Big ones are written up as decision records: what was decided, what else was considered, and why. Anyone can write one, and anyone can argue with one.
• Decisions are fast. A proposal gets a yes, a no, or a “not yet”, with reasons, in public. Nobody waits months to hear.
• Each project’s maintainers run their project. Day to day, the people who build a project decide how it works. Ivy steps in on what a project is for, how it fits with the others, and staying open for good.
• Disagreeing is fine, and so is forking. Everything is ISC licensed and contributors keep their copyright. If we can’t agree, take it and build your version. No hard feelings.

How a project joins Steading

1. Say hi

Tell us what you’re building, in an issue: what it does in one line, who it’s for, and what it isn’t. Half-formed is fine.

2. Build it, under your own name

Build in your own repository. Show your work as you go, and ask for opinions whenever you want them.

3. Meet the bar

A Steading project:

• does one job, and says what it isn’t
• is useful on its own, with none of the other projects installed
• has an open interface someone could build a replacement for
• works with at least one other project
• is ISC licensed, with contributions signed off
• has docs a person can follow, and an llms.txt an agent can
• stays open for good: no gatekeeping, no relicensing

4. Get an answer

Ivy says yes, no, or not yet, with reasons, in public.

5. Move in

When the answer is yes:

• the repository moves to the steading-ai organization, and you stay its maintainer
• it gets a name, picked together, and its own <name>.stead.ing
• it gets a place on the product map, its own color, and a “built by” credit with your name
• it shows up in the console, on this site, and in llms.txt

Not yet, or no?

A project that isn’t a fit can still be a neighbor: built on Steading, linked from the projects it works with. Plenty of good ideas belong next door rather than inside.

Leaving

A maintainer can step away at any time, and someone else can pick the project up. A project can leave Steading too; the code stays ISC, so nothing is lost.