This is Part 4 of a 5 part series.  Links to other parts (as they become available) are below.

• Part 1: CONTRIBUTING File
• Part 2: TODO File
• Part 3: CODE_OF_CONDUCT File
• Part 4 (Below): Contributor Credit
• Part 5 (Future): BONUS TIPS!

We’ve previously talked about adding the CONTRIBUTING, TODO and CODE_OF_CONDUCT files. But how about giving contributors credit? This is a short, and easy, tip.

It’s simple: when a contributor submits something, like a PR (Pull Request) or bug report, give them credit!

Like the Contributor Covenant, if you are creating Perl 5 modules using Dist::Zilla, using the Git::Contributors plugin. Just add the following to your dist.ini file (assuming you’ve installed Dist::Zilla::Plugin::Git::Contributors):

[Git::Contributors]

Doing this will add the Git contributors to your Perl 5 module’s META.json file. This will be picked up by other tools, such as MetaCPAN, and your contributors will now show up there.

For example:

If you want to see yourself (and you’re listed in the author section of your dist.ini), you might try this – and maybe even put the most prolific contributors first:

[Git::Contributors]
include_authors=1
order_by=commits

Whatever language you use, you’ll also want to add them to your documentation. This is pretty straight forward, but might help that first-time contributor feel appreciated – and contribute more!
they are your values to communicate.