Welcome! This guide will help you get started contributing to Apache Gravitino, whether you're filing an issue, improving documentation, or submitting code.
Gravitino welcomes all kinds of contributions—including code (Java, Python), documentation, testing, design, and feedback. Your involvement helps strengthen the project.
Apache Gravitino is a metadata and data lake federation layer for AI and analytics. It graduated from the Apache Software Foundation's Incubator in June 2025 and is now a top level project maintained by a growing community.
Gravitino follows ASF-wide contribution and governance practices. Project-specific workflows are explained where they differ.
Please review the following guidelines for a smooth contribution process.
- 📁 Project Overview and Policies
- 💬 Community and Communication
- 🔐 Code of Conduct
- 📬 How Decisions Are Made
- 🌱 Growing Your Involvement
- 🧪 Continuous Integration
- 🆘 Need Help?
- 🚀 Getting Started
- 🛍️ Quick Start for First-Time Contributors
- 🙌 Making Contributions
- 📝 Contributing to Design and Documentation
- 🔍 Reviewing and Triaging Contributions
- 🔃 Creating Pull Requests
- 💻 Setting Up Development Environment
- 🧰 Setting Up Your IDE (Optional)
- 💡 Tips for WSL Users
- ⚙️ Build Profiles and JDK Requirements
- 🎨 Formatting Code with Spotless
- 🗂️ File Structure Overview
- 🧪 Writing and Running Tests
- 🧱 Following Coding Standards
- 📆 Managing Dependencies
- 🛡️ Performing Compliance and Legal Checks
- 📄 License
- 🔐 Reporting Security Issues
- 🙏 Acknowledging Contributors
- 📘 Glossary
- Overview: See the Gravitino website and README.md.
- Governance: See GOVERNANCE.md.
- Roadmap: See ROADMAP.md.
Apache Gravitino is a Top-Level Project of the ASF.
Gravitino is a collaborative project. We encourage open communication and transparent decision-making. You can:
- Subscribe to the developer mailing list:
dev@gravitino.apache.org - Discuss issues via GitHub Issues
- Join discussions via ASF Slack (invite link: https://s.apache.org/slack-invite)
Please follow the ASF Code of Conduct in all interactions.
We are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive community. Please review and adhere to our Code of Conduct in all project spaces.
Gravitino uses Apache’s consensus-based decision-making. Most decisions happen on the dev@ mailing list or via GitHub PR discussions.
Contributors who participate actively and constructively may be invited to become committers or join the PMC. Merit is earned through consistent contributions and community engagement.
All PRs are automatically tested using GitHub Actions. Please check test results and fix failures before requesting a review.
If you're stuck, ask on the dev@ mailing list or open a GitHub Discussion. We're here to help.
Click the "Fork" button on GitHub or use:
git clone https://github.com/apache/gravitino.git
cd gravitinoCheck out the ASF New Contributor Guide for an overview of how ASF projects work.
- Fork and clone the repository
- Build the project using how to build
- Pick an issue or start a discussion
- Submit a pull request and collaborate with reviewers
We welcome all types of contributions:
- Code – bug fixes, new features, refactoring, integrations
- If you're adding or updating a connector, catalog, or integration, please discuss it on the dev@ mailing list first.
- Documentation – tutorials, guides, references
- Review – triage and review issues and PRs
- Community – answer questions, join discussions
Look for good first issues to get started. Discuss plans on GitHub or the dev@ mailing list. Small pull requests are easiest to review.
Design and documentation are essential to Gravitino’s usability and growth.
You can contribute by:
- Improving documentation in
docs/ - Clarifying APIs and references
- Reviewing documents for accuracy
- Submitting mockups or usability suggestions
Reviewing and triaging helps maintain the project. You can:
- Reproduce bugs and confirm issues
- Add labels to categorize
- Suggest improvements on PRs
- Review code and give feedback
- Use feature branches
- Write clear commit messages and PR descriptions
- Link to issues (e.g.,
Fixes #123) - Respond to reviewer feedback
Follow how to build or use Apache DockerHub. Start Gravitino with:
bin/gravitino.sh start
bin/gravitino.sh stopYou can also build manually with:
./mvnw clean installImport Gravitino into IntelliJ IDEA or Eclipse as a Gradle project.
If using WSL on Windows, install Java and dev tools inside WSL. Access files via /mnt/c/... paths.
Gravitino uses Maven profiles for Scala:
-Pscala-2.12for Scala 2.12-Pscala-2.13for Scala 2.13 (default)
Gravitino supports JDK 17.
We use Spotless for code formatting. Run:
./gradlew spotlessApplyKey directories in the Gravitino repo:
api/,clients/,core/,server/– Main componentsdocs/,rfc/– Documentation and designconf/,bin/– Configs and scriptscatalogs/,spark-connector/,trino-connector/– Integrations
Add or update tests in your PR. Test open PRs locally to help maintainers.
- Follow Java and Python idioms
- Include useful comments
- Keep methods and classes focused
- Format with Spotless
- Avoid unnecessary dependencies
- Prefer well-maintained libraries
- Discuss major additions on dev@
Before contributing:
- Review ASF License and IP Guidelines
- Ensure all code is original or properly licensed and compatable with the Apache License
Contributions are under the Apache License 2.0.
If contributing on behalf of an employer or regularly, you may need to submit an ICLA. See ASF Contributor FAQs.
Official repo: https://github.com/apache/gravitino
To report a vulnerability, follow the SECURITY.md instructions. Responsible disclosure is appreciated and handled per ASF guidelines.
Contributors are recognized in release notes. All types of contributions are valued.
See the full list of contributors on GitHub: https://github.com/apache/gravitino/graphs/contributors
- ASF: Apache Software Foundation
- ICLA: Individual Contributor License Agreement
- PMC: Project Management Committee
- RAT: Release Audit Tool
- Spotless: Code formatter
- CI: Continuous Integration
- PR: Pull Request
- WSL: Windows Subsystem for Linux
- TLP: Top-Level Project
- dev@ list: Primary development mailing list
- AI: Artificial Intelligence
- IDE: Integrated Development Environment