The version control service GitHub has expanded its sponsorship program for open source projects. From now on the operators can set up their own private area for their sponsors. Also new is a button under Issues that invites financial support and the option to set up individual messages for new sponsors.
The repository hoster presented the GitHub Sponsors program for the first time in 2019 at the GitHub Satellite in Berlin. If you want to support open source projects, you can send money to the operators. Project maintainers can set up different sponsorship levels for one-off or monthly amounts.
After initially only individuals could sponsor projects, there has been a sponsorship option for companies since the end of 2020. At the start, companies such as American Express, AWS, Microsoft and Daimler announced the promotion of open source projects as sponsors.
Exclusive area for sponsors
With the new sponsors-only repositories, project operators can open private repositories for sponsors. To do this, they add the repos to a specific sponsorship level. New contributors will automatically receive an invitation to access. When the sponsorship ends, the access rights expire automatically.
The private areas can be used for different purposes. In this way, financial supporters can, for example, receive early access versions of the open source software or exclusive sponsored goods. You can also bring your own issues separately from the public ones or take part in closed discussions. Access to the sponsors-only repositories is only available to personal accounts and not to companies.
– The button under the issue invites you to support.
(Image: GitHub)
Alongside this, GitHub has introduced a few other additions for project sponsorship. Among other things, operators can display a button under Issues that invites you to support. Also, for each level of sponsorship, maintainers can create welcome messages that provide information about how to access different areas, among other things. Also new is the option to offer customizable sponsorships with a minimum amount in addition to fixed monthly or one-off amounts.
– Project operators can set up individual sponsorship options with a minimum amount.
(Image: GitHub)
The topic of financing open source software and the lack of support for projects is a recurring topic. Recently, a developer made his npm packages unusable, stating that large companies underpay for the development of open source software. The German developer Chsitofer Dutz, who runs the IIoT project Apache PLC4X, had one at the beginning of the year longer post on the same topic written.
More updates for GitHub Sponsors can be found on the GitHub blog.
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