aid: contributors-md
url: >-
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/contributors-md/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
name: CONTRIBUTORS.md
x-type: standard
description: >-
  CONTRIBUTORS.md is an open source convention used to recognize the people
  and organizations that have contributed to a project. The file lists
  contributors by name, GitHub handle, and contribution type, ranging from
  code and documentation to design, testing, accessibility, and community
  organization. CONTRIBUTORS.md is often paired with the All Contributors
  specification, which standardizes contribution categories using emoji keys
  and supports automated table generation through the All Contributors bot.
image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
tags:
  - All Contributors
  - Attribution
  - Community
  - Documentation
  - GitHub
  - Markdown
  - Open Source
  - Recognition
created: '2025-01-01'
modified: '2026-04-28'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
  - aid: contributors-md:format
    name: CONTRIBUTORS.md Format
    tags:
      - Attribution
      - Convention
      - Markdown
      - Recognition
    image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
    humanURL: https://allcontributors.org/
    properties:
      - url: https://allcontributors.org/
        type: Reference
      - url: https://allcontributors.org/docs/en/specification
        type: Specification
      - url: https://allcontributors.org/docs/en/emoji-key
        type: Documentation
      - url: https://github.com/all-contributors/all-contributors
        type: Repository
    description: >-
      The CONTRIBUTORS.md format is a Markdown convention that lists project
      contributors and the kinds of contribution they have made. Many projects
      adopt the All Contributors specification, which uses emoji keys to
      classify contributions, an embedded HTML table to render the
      contributor list, and a .all-contributorsrc JSON config file consumed
      by the All Contributors bot to automate updates.
    x-features:
      - Recognizes non-code contributions including design, docs, and review
      - Compatible with the All Contributors emoji key specification
      - Automatable through the All Contributors GitHub App or CLI
      - Renders as an HTML table with avatars and contribution badges
      - Pairs with CONTRIBUTING.md and CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
    x-useCases:
      - Public attribution of every project contributor
      - Recognizing accessibility, translation, and design contributions
      - Automating contributor table updates via @all-contributors bot
      - Demonstrating an inclusive open source community to sponsors
      - Tracking contribution categories beyond commit history

  - aid: contributors-md:all-contributors-spec
    name: All Contributors Specification
    tags:
      - Attribution
      - Specification
      - Standardization
    image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
    humanURL: https://allcontributors.org/docs/en/specification
    properties:
      - url: https://allcontributors.org/docs/en/specification
        type: Specification
      - url: https://allcontributors.org/docs/en/emoji-key
        type: Documentation
      - url: https://github.com/all-contributors/all-contributors-cli
        type: Repository
      - url: https://allcontributors.org/docs/en/cli/usage
        type: Documentation
    description: >-
      The All Contributors specification defines a JSON schema (in
      .all-contributorsrc) plus a Markdown rendering convention that captures
      every contributor name, GitHub login, avatar URL, profile URL, and the
      list of contribution types using a defined emoji key. Tooling can
      regenerate the contributor table on demand and synchronize updates back
      into both .all-contributorsrc and CONTRIBUTORS.md or README.md.
    x-features:
      - Defines a contribution type emoji key with 30+ categories
      - JSON config schema in .all-contributorsrc as machine readable source
      - CLI plus GitHub bot for adding contributors with a comment command
      - Backed by an OSS community since 2017
    x-useCases:
      - Standardizing contributor recognition across multiple projects
      - Auditing contribution categories programmatically
      - Generating contributor tables in README or CONTRIBUTORS files
      - Recognizing accessibility, infrastructure, and security contributions

common:
  - type: Reference
    url: https://allcontributors.org/
  - type: Specification
    url: https://allcontributors.org/docs/en/specification
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://allcontributors.org/docs/en/emoji-key
  - type: Repository
    url: https://github.com/all-contributors/all-contributors

maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com