As CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Committers, one of the most impactful ways we can support the WordPress project is by uplifting the contributions of others. This is especially important during Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/.. While technical correctness is always essential, the act of committing code written by someone else, particularly a first-time contributor who is present, sends a powerful message: you belong here, and your work matters.
Contributor Day is not just about resolving tickets or pushing changes. It’s a crucial opportunity to strengthen the contributor pipeline, build confidence, and foster long-term participation. A Core Committercommitter A developer with commit access. WordPress has five lead developers and four permanent core developers with commit access. Additionally, the project usually has a few guest or component committers – a developer receiving commit access, generally for a single release cycle (sometimes renewed) and/or for a specific component. holds a position of trust and visibility in the community. By using that trust to highlight someone else’s contribution, we reinforce the collaborative spirit of open sourceOpen Source Open Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. and validate the time and effort that contributor has invested.
For new contributors, seeing their code land in WordPress Core can be a formative moment. It creates a sense of ownership and pride, and it often sparks a desire to keep giving back. For returning contributors, it reaffirms that their continued engagement is appreciated. And for everyone watching, it models a healthy and inclusive contributor culture where credit is shared and success is collective.
In short, every commit made on behalf of another contributor is an investment in the future of the project. It’s a small act with lasting impact. On a Contributor Day, it’s one of the most important things we can do.
On Contributor Day
At the start of Contributor day, it’s helpful to drop a message into the #core-committers channel in SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. to remind committers of the expectations. Here is an example message to share:
Hello from Contributor Day @ %%EVENT NAME%%! As a reminder, at a contributor day you are strongly encouraged to commit someone else’s code, ideally, an attendee that is there working on a patch.
If you are a new committer and you would like someone to help you make a committer, there are plenty of experienced committers (and maybe an emeritus or two) that will be there and would love to help you. @joemcgill, @timothybjacobs, and @whyisjake are three people who made their first commit at or immediately after a contributor day.
If you aren’t able to attend in person, it’s still a great day to commit some else’s code!
There's also a [page in the Handbook that has more information](https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/best-practices/attending-contributor-day-as-a-core-committer/).
Other Helpful Tasks
Committing is not the only task that committers are uniquely qualified to tackle on Contributor Days. Here are some examples:
- Document your committing workflow. This helps other committers fine-tune their setup to be more effective.
