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83 changes: 38 additions & 45 deletions CONTRIBUTING.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -60,10 +60,9 @@ remain open for at least a week to allow discussion before being accepted or
declined by a maintainer.

Proposals that are straightforward and uncontroversial may be approved based on
discussion on the issue tracker or in a GitHub Discussion.
However, proposals that are deemed to be sufficiently
unclear or complicated may be deferred to a regular steering meeting (see
'Governance' below).
discussion on the issue tracker or in a GitHub Discussion. However, proposals
that are deemed to be sufficiently unclear or complicated may be deferred to a
regular Working Group meeting (see 'Governance' below).

This process is similar to the [Go proposal
process](https://github.com/golang/proposal), but is necessarily lighter weight
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -106,18 +105,18 @@ If you encounter a conduct-related issue, please mail [email protected].

Initially, the Go SDK repository will be administered by the Go team and
Anthropic, and they will be the approvers (the set of people able to merge PRs
to the SDK), also referred to as the 'working group'. The policies here are
to the SDK), also referred to as the 'Working Group'. The policies here are
also intended to satisfy necessary constraints of the Go team's participation
in the project. This may change in the future: see 'Ongoing Evaluation' below.

### Steering meetings
### Working Group meetings

On a regular basis, the working group will host a virtual steering meeting to
discuss outstanding proposals and other changes to the SDK. These meetings and
their agendas will be announced in advance, and open to all. The
meetings will be recorded, and recordings and meeting notes will be made
available afterward. (TODO: decide on a mechanism for tracking these
meetings--likely a GitHub issue.)
On a regular basis, the Working Group will host a virtual meeting to discuss
outstanding proposals and other changes to the SDK. These meetings and their
agendas will be announced in advance, and open to all. The meetings will be
recorded, and recordings and meeting notes will be made available afterward.
(TODO: decide on a mechanism for tracking these meetings--likely a GitHub
issue.)

This process is similar to the [Go Tools
call](https://go.dev/wiki/golang-tools), though it is expected that meetings
Expand All @@ -137,26 +136,20 @@ providers. The antitrust policy below details precise terms that should be
adhered to in order to ensure that the evolution and governance of the SDK remain
procompetitive.

A note to readers: this policy was drafted in consultation with counsel, and so
uses terms like 'Steering Committee', which may be confusing in the context of
other 'steering committees' for Model Context Protocol. In the context here,
'Steering Committee' means the working group: the set of people who are able to
approve pull requests and/or make administrative changes to the project.

### Antitrust policy

Note: all changes to the policy in this section must be approved by legal
counsel.

The Go+Anthropic MCP SDK Steering Committee (the “Committee”) is established to
The Go+Anthropic MCP SDK Working Group (the “Working Group”) is established to
guide and review technical contributions to an open-source Go software
development kit (“SDK”) for the Model Context Protocol (“MCP”). The Committee
development kit (“SDK”) for the Model Context Protocol (“MCP”). The Working Group
and its members are committed to operating for procompetitive purposes that
accelerate AI development and benefit businesses and consumers. This
collaboration is focused on technical and infrastructure objectives – namely,
developing and maintaining a neutral, open-source, and MIT-licensed tool.
developing and maintaining a neutral, open-source, and MIT-licensed library.
Google and Anthropic, as well as other stakeholders, participate with the
understanding that the Committee’s sole purpose is to improve interoperability
understanding that the Working Group’s sole purpose is to improve interoperability
and innovation in the MCP ecosystem.

Antitrust law recognizes that when competitors collaborate for valid reasons
Expand All @@ -165,14 +158,14 @@ procompetitive. This Antitrust Compliance Policy (the “Policy”) therefore
outlines guidelines and safeguards to ensure the collaboration remains focused
on its technical mission.

The Policy applies to all Committee activities and communications, including
official meetings, subcommittee discussions, emails, shared documents, and any
other interactions under the Committee’s auspices (e.g., group chats, version
control systems). It applies to all participants from Google, Anthropic, and
any other member organizations or independent contributors involved. Each
participating entity should ensure its representatives understand and uphold
these rules. By participating, members agree to follow the Policy in both
letter and spirit.
The Policy applies to all Working Group activities and communications,
including official meetings, subcommittee discussions, emails, shared
documents, and any other interactions under the Working Group’s auspices (e.g.,
group chats, version control systems). It applies to all participants from
Google, Anthropic, and any other member organizations or independent
contributors involved in the Working Group. Each participating entity should
ensure its representatives understand and uphold these rules. By participating,
members agree to follow the Policy in both letter and spirit.

#### Governance Procedures and Principles

Expand All @@ -182,15 +175,15 @@ letter and spirit.
company’s AI commercial strategy, sales, marketing, pricing, or other
competitively or strategically sensitive business planning.
- **Agenda Preparation.** A written agenda should be circulated before each
Committee meeting. Agenda items should focus on the SDK’s technical
Working Group meeting. Agenda items should focus on the SDK’s technical
development, maintenance, or documentation. Where appropriate, counsel should
review the agenda prior to circulation to ensure compliance with the Policy.
- **Policy Reminder at Start.** Meetings should begin with a brief antitrust
compliance reminder with reference to the Policy.
- **Minutes.** Meetings will be minuted by a designated participant, and
neutrally record attendees, roles, topics discussed, action items, and
outcomes. Draft minutes will be circulated to all participants.
- **Documentation and Transparency.** Steering Committee outputs are intended
- **Documentation and Transparency.** Working Group outputs are intended
for public release. Significant design decisions and discussion outcomes
should be documented publicly. If a topic cannot be safely disclosed
publicly, it likely does not belong in this forum.
Expand All @@ -201,7 +194,7 @@ letter and spirit.

### Information Exchange Guidelines

**Appropriate Topics.** Committee members are anticipated to remain within the
**Appropriate Topics.** Working Group members are anticipated to remain within the
project’s technical scope. In general, discussions should focus on improving
the Go SDK for MCP in a transparent, collaborative, and non-exclusive manner.
The following topics are appropriate and expected:
Expand All @@ -216,17 +209,17 @@ The following topics are appropriate and expected:
- **Standards and Interoperability:** Ensuring SDK compliance with MCP or other
open technical standards. Any standardization effort should be open,
voluntary, and tailored to promote interoperability.
- **Public Information:** Any public information relevant to the Committee’s
technical work (e.g., published research, open-source code from outside
projects, publicly documented API specs).
- **Public Information:** Any public information relevant to the Working
Group’s technical work (e.g., published research, open-source code from
outside projects, publicly documented API specs).

**Inappropriate Topics.** To ensure compliance with antitrust law and maintain
the open character of the collaboration, the following subjects should not be
discussed in Committee meetings, side conversations, or related communications:
discussed in Working Group meetings, side conversations, or related communications:

- **Pricing and Commercial Terms:** Do not discuss prices, pricing strategy,
discounting, or future pricing plans for Claude, Gemini, or any other AI
product or service provided by Committee members.
product or service provided by Working Group members.
- **Sales or Output:** Avoid sharing sales volumes, revenue, customer counts,
market shares, production plans, or any business performance metrics.
- **Product Roadmaps (beyond SDK):** Do not disclose internal plans for AI
Expand All @@ -237,25 +230,25 @@ discussed in Committee meetings, side conversations, or related communications:
negotiations, or relationships with commercial partners.
- **Non-SDK Proprietary Tech:** Keep discussions focused on the open SDK.
Sharing of information should be limited to what is needed to achieve the
Committee’s goals. Each party’s internal model architectures, fine-tuning
Working Group’s goals. Each party’s internal model architectures, fine-tuning
approaches, or training methods unrelated to the project should not be
disclosed.
- **HR or Labor Matters:** No discussions about wages, hiring plans, or
policies toward employees.

#### Enforcement and Support

- **Shared Responsibility.** All Committee participants share responsibility
- **Shared Responsibility.** All Working Group participants share responsibility
for upholding the Policy. While legal counsel can provide support, day-to-day
compliance is a function of culture and practice.
- **Designated Legal Contacts.** Each participating entity should designate a
legal point of contact responsible for reviewing meeting materials (e.g.,
agendas, minutes) and fielding questions about compliance. These contacts
should be included in the Committee distribution list for all official
should be included in the Working Group distribution list for all official
materials and should be consulted in advance of any meetings where sensitive
topics may arise.
- **Final Note.** The Policy is not meant to chill legitimate technical
collaboration. It is meant to ensure that the Committee can focus on its
collaboration. It is meant to ensure that the Working Group can focus on its
mission without creating unnecessary legal risk or attracting regulator
scrutiny. Participants who follow the Policy and avoid Inappropriate Topics
will remain squarely within the procompetitive zone.
Expand All @@ -265,7 +258,7 @@ discussed in Committee meetings, side conversations, or related communications:
On an ongoing basis, the administrators of the SDK will evaluate whether it is
keeping pace with changes to the MCP spec and meeting its goals of openness and
transparency. If it is not meeting these goals, either because it exceeds the
bandwidth of its current Approvers, or because the processes here are
inadequate, these processes will be re-evaluated by the Approvers. At this
time, the Approvers set may be expanded to include additional community
bandwidth of its current Working Group, or because the processes here are
inadequate, these processes will be re-evaluated by the Working Group. At this
time, the Working Group set may be expanded to include additional community
members, based on their history of strong contribution.
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