Maintainer

A maintainer is a contributor with commit access and decision-making authority on a project. Distinct from a contributor (who only files issues and submits PRs), a maintainer can merge changes, cut releases, and decide the project's direction. A project with 2+ maintainers is healthier than a bus-factor-1 solo project.

Maintainership is not a title — it's a role. You become a maintainer by being granted commit access by an existing maintainer, usually after demonstrating sustained high-quality contributions. The path is roughly: contributor → active contributor → trusted reviewer → co-maintainer. There's no formal ceremony; the GitHub collaborator list is the source of truth.

The maintainer's job is to keep the project alive and on-track. That means: triaging issues, reviewing PRs, cutting releases, communicating the project's direction, and (importantly) recruiting and supporting co-maintainers. The single most important thing a maintainer can do for a project's long-term survival is to recruit a co-maintainer in the first 3 months. Projects that go past 6 months with bus factor 1 are at serious risk of becoming abandoned.