How ChangeSpec is governed

The ChangeSpec specification is published under the Apache 2.0 license.

Reference implementations (Go, TypeScript, Python) are published under the MIT license.

Documentation, including this site, is published under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 4.0.

All contributions to the specification are made under a non-assertion covenant: no ChangeSpec 1.0 submission contains patented ideas that contributors retain rights to enforce against implementations of the spec.

ChangeSpec governance follows an IETF-adjacent rough-consensus model. Changes are proposed via public pull requests or Specification Extension Proposals (SEPs). A SEP is required for any change that:

• Adds a required field
• Removes any field
• Changes the semantics of an existing field
• Alters transport bindings in a breaking way
• Changes the signature scheme

SEPs are discussed in a public comment period of at least 30 days before any merge. Routine clarifications (typos, cross-references, examples) may merge on maintainer approval without a SEP.

Governance principles

• Rough consensus over endorsement. We work toward shared understanding, not a vote.
• Running code. Claims about the format are backed by working implementations.
• Disclose commercial interests. Every submission names the commercial entity behind the author.
• No patent traps. All contributions are under a non-assertion covenant.
• Open license on all artifacts. Apache 2.0 for the spec; MIT for reference implementations.
• Transparent process. All changes proposed via public pull requests with documented rationale.
• No pay-to-play governance. Governance seats are not sold.

Maintainer

Merges pull requests, runs the SEP process, cuts releases. Current maintainers are listed in MAINTAINERS.md. Any consistent contributor may be nominated by an existing maintainer.

Contributor

Anyone who has submitted a pull request, filed an issue, or participated in a SEP discussion. No formal membership required.

Working Group Chair

Leads a specific Working Group (see /working-groups/). Appointed by maintainers for the scope of the WG's charter.

Steward Organization

Roboticforce Inc. is the initial steward. The steward holds the Apache 2.0 copyright and the trademark. Future stewardship may be transferred to a foundation (such as the Linux Foundation or a dedicated ChangeSpec Foundation) as the community grows.

A SEP is a document that proposes a significant change to the ChangeSpec specification. The process:

1. Draft. Author opens a PR in the seps/ directory with a numbered proposal following the SEP template.
2. Discussion. 30-day public comment period. Comments are in the PR thread.
3. Revision. Author revises the proposal based on feedback.
4. Decision. Maintainers determine rough consensus has been reached (or not). The SEP is either merged as Accepted, closed as Rejected, or returned for revision.
5. Implementation. Accepted SEPs are implemented in the specification and reference implementations before being tagged in a release.

SEP template: see the seps/ directory at github.com/changespec/spec.

"ChangeSpec" and "ChangeSpec Certified" are trademarks of Roboticforce Inc. The purpose of the trademark policy is to make the "ChangeSpec Certified" mark meaningful: a mark that anyone can use without meeting any standard communicates nothing.

The bare wordmark "ChangeSpec" may be used descriptively: "compatible with ChangeSpec", "a ChangeSpec implementation", "supports ChangeSpec 1.0 events".

"ChangeSpec Certified" is a certification mark that requires passing the conformance test suite at a defined level.

Full trademark policy →

Disputes about proposed changes are resolved through the SEP process, which provides structured time for discussion. If a dispute cannot be resolved through discussion, the maintainer group makes a decision by rough consensus.

Disputes about conduct are handled under the Code of Conduct (Contributor Covenant 2.1). Reports go to the governance board contact listed in the Code of Conduct document.

Disputes about trademark use are handled under the trademark policy. Contact [email protected].