MCP Observatory recognizes useful public evidence, not vanity activity. A good contribution helps maintainers and agents trust one more MCP server: a safe startup command, a reproducible target, a CI adoption PR, a SARIF/Code Scanning improvement, a review, or a better agent prompt.
Official GitHub profile achievements are platform-controlled; this project does not award them. The project-level substitute is public proof: contributor roles, All Contributors credit, proof cards, recognition links, and links to merged PRs or generated artifacts.
| Role | What Counts | Public Proof |
|---|---|---|
| Target Scout | Finds a public MCP server with a no-secret, non-destructive startup command | Issue, PR, or target suggestion linked to the command |
| Target Verifier | Adds a Safety Index target and generated evidence | Merged PR plus JSON/Markdown artifacts |
| CI Integrator | Adds Observatory CI, setup-ci --doctor, or SARIF upload to a repo |
Upstream PR, workflow file, or adoption artifact |
| SARIF Fixer | Improves normalized findings, GitHub Code Scanning output, or docs that help a maintainer reproduce SARIF | Merged PR, SARIF sample, or Code Scanning demo artifact |
| Maintainer Partner | Confirms safe startup behavior, reviews evidence, or accepts an integration PR for their MCP server | Maintainer comment, merged upstream PR, or issue acceptance |
| Docs/Agent Prompt Contributor | Improves docs, llms.txt, AGENTS.md, or copy-paste tasks agents can run safely |
Merged docs PR or prompt artifact |
| Level | Name | How To Earn It | Typical Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Target Scout | Submit one safe startup command for a public MCP server | Role mention and badge snippet |
| 2 | Target Verifier | Add a target PR with generated Safety Index evidence | Proof card and All Contributors credit |
| 3 | CI Integrator | Help an upstream repo add Observatory CI/SARIF | CI Integrator badge and proof link |
| 4 | Maintainer Partner | Help another maintainer review, merge, or tune adoption | Maintainer Partner role and proof card |
| 5 | Ecosystem Maintainer | Repeatedly help targets, docs, reviews, or agent tasks stay current | Featured recognition on this page |
One merged target PR may result in after maintainer review:
- an All Contributors entry in CONTRIBUTORS.md
- a role on this page
- a proof card under
docs/contributor-proof-cards/ - a badge snippet you can place in your GitHub profile or project README
- links to the merged PR and generated public evidence
Recognition links to public proof only. Do not include private telemetry, local machine paths, secrets, unpublished maintainer data, or private repo details.
Replace the link target with the merged proof card or PR for your contribution.
[](https://github.com/KryptosAI/mcp-observatory/blob/main/docs/contributor-proof-cards/README.md)[](https://github.com/KryptosAI/mcp-observatory/blob/main/docs/contributor-proof-cards/README.md)[](https://github.com/KryptosAI/mcp-observatory/blob/main/docs/contributor-proof-cards/README.md)[](https://github.com/KryptosAI/mcp-observatory/blob/main/docs/contributor-proof-cards/README.md)| Contributor | Role | Public Proof |
|---|---|---|
| William Weishuhn | Founding maintainer, CI Integrator, SARIF Fixer, Docs/Agent Prompt Contributor | All Contributors entry, Code Scanning demo, Agent Task Pack |
| Lee Sang Hoon | Target Verifier, Safety Index Contributor, Infrastructure Contributor | PR #144, PR #159, PR #188 |
| Chris Brown | Code Contributor, Docs Contributor | PR #297 (--timeout flag), PR #283 (remediation hints) |
| addielarue | Code Contributor | PR #295 (--ci-provider flag) |
| GG | Code Contributor, Maintenance | PR #177 |
| yuehua1213 | Bug Reporter | Issue #319 (lockfile schema ordering bug) |
External contributors are added after a merged PR, an accepted target artifact, or maintainer-confirmed upstream adoption.
For bot-assisted recognition, comment on the merged PR or issue:
@all-contributors please add @username for code, doc, test, ideas, review
For Observatory-specific recognition, include:
- GitHub username
- contribution role
- merged PR or accepted issue
- generated artifact or proof-card link
- badge type requested
Useful contributions are evidence-first. Spammy issues, vanity stars, and unsafe target commands do not count.