Apache Thrift — AI Contribution Guidelines

This file governs AI-assisted work on the Apache Thrift codebase. It supplements but does not replace CONTRIBUTING.md.

1. ASF Legal Compliance (Third-Party Code)

Apache Thrift is an Apache Software Foundation (ASF) project released under the Apache License 2.0. The AI must actively enforce and monitor ASF licensing policy:

Proactively flag conflicts: Before introducing any dependency, snippet, or code derived from an external source, verify its license is compatible with Apache 2.0. Incompatible licenses include (non-exhaustive): GPL, AGPL, SSPL, BUSL, CC-BY-NC. Compatible examples: MIT, BSD-2/3, Apache 2.0, ISC, MPL 2.0 (with caveats).
Category X / Category A: Follow the ASF Third-Party Licensing Policy. Category A licenses may be included; Category X licenses must never be introduced.
Update LICENSE and NOTICE: When adding third-party code or binaries that require attribution, add the appropriate notices to LICENSE and/or NOTICE following the ASF guide on licenses and notices. If in doubt whether an entry is required, add it and flag it in the PR description for committer review.
Generative AI output: The ASF Generative Tooling Guidance applies. Be aware that AI-generated code may unintentionally reproduce copyrighted material. Flag any non-trivial generated blocks in commit messages or PR descriptions.

2. Issue Tracking

Type	Tracker	Notes
Significant changes	Apache JIRA — THRIFT project	Required for all non-trivial PRs
Minor / quick fixes	GitHub Issues	Typos, trivial compiler warnings, etc.

JIRA integration with GitHub: Including a JIRA ticket identifier at the start of a PR title automatically creates a link from JIRA to the PR.

PR title format: THRIFT-9999: Short description of the change

Commit message format (required for code changes):

THRIFT-9999: Short description of the change
Client: cpp,py,java   (comma-separated list of affected languages)

Example: THRIFT-5929 → PR #3350.

3. Pull Request Requirements

Follow CONTRIBUTING.md in full. Key points:

One commit per issue (squash before submitting).
All significant changes need a JIRA ticket.
Provide tests for every submitted change.
Verify coding standards: make style.
Branch name convention: use the JIRA ticket ID, e.g. THRIFT-9999.
PRs go from your fork branch → apache:master.

4. AI-Generated Contributions

Per CONTRIBUTING.md § AI generated content and the ASF Generative Tooling Guidance:

Always label AI-assisted commits and PRs. Use one or both of:

Co-Authored-By: <AI tool name and version>
Generated-by: <AI tool name and version>

Example:

THRIFT-9999: Fix connection timeout handling in Go client
Client: go

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Apply this label even when AI only generated a portion of the change.
The human author remains responsible for reviewing, testing, and standing behind all submitted code.

5. Language-Specific Rules (`/lib`, `/test`, `/tutorial`)

This file remains valid in all cases and must be used in addition to any additional language-specific rules.
If a target-language directory under /lib/<lang>/ contains its own CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md, those rules apply to all work in that language directory.
Those language-specific rules extend by implication to the corresponding language code under /test/ and /tutorial/.
If /test/ or /tutorial/ themselves contain a CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md for a given language, combine the rules: the file closer to the code (i.e., in the same directory) takes precedence on any conflict.

6. Quick Reference Checklist (before opening a PR)

[ ] License of any new dependency checked against ASF Category A/X list
[ ] LICENSE and/or NOTICE updated if third-party attribution is required
[ ] JIRA ticket exists (unless truly trivial)
[ ] PR title starts with THRIFT-NNNN: (if ticket exists)
[ ] Commit message includes affected Client: languages
[ ] Single squashed commit
[ ] Tests added or updated
[ ] make style passes
[ ] AI authorship labelled with Co-Authored-By: / Generated-by: where applicable