It's considered a best practice in open source to maintain certain files in your repositories so that it's clear to contributors what to expect and where to look for key information. In order to encourage transparency, all OASIS Open Project repositories shall have the following files:
- LICENSE.md
- CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
- CONTRIBUTING.md
- README.md
LICENSE.md should contain a complete copy of the text of the licence(s) that apply to the repository. Don't just link to a copy hosted elsewhere online; for avoidance of doubt it should be posted in its entirety.
The CODE-OF-CONDUCT.md file should contain a complete copy of the Code of Conduct, along with any instructions one might need to address a CoC issue. We recommend adopting the Contributor Covenant, but projects may adopt the Code of Conduct that best fits their community.
A CONTRIBUTING.md file helps introduce contributors to any process that may be required to make code contributions to the repository. It should include information about build steps, review requests, merge patterns, or other guidelines that should be followed when making contributions to the repository.
README.md should contain the information you want to convey first about the project, including a description of the project and links to other files such as CONTRIBUTING.md that implementers might need to know. Your README.md file should clearly indicate that " is an OASIS Open Project" and link to the OASIS Open Project GitHub organization or website. It should also link to your project's website or other project resources.
You can include other common files such as a CONTRIBUTORS.md file if you like, but only the above are required.