Contributor Communication

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# Contributor Communication ## Communication Channels ## Discord ### Public Channels (Default) ### Private Channels (Exceptions) ## GitHub Discussions ## GitHub Issues ## Security Issues ## Decision Records

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# Contributor Communication

> Communication strategy and framework for the Model Context Protocol community

This document explains how to communicate and collaborate within the Model Context Protocol (MCP) project.

## Communication Channels

| Channel                                                                                                     | Purpose               | When to Use                                      |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| [Discord](https://discord.gg/6CSzBmMkjX)                                                                    | Real-time discussion  | Quick questions, coordination, WG/IG discussions |
| [Live calls](https://meet.modelcontextprotocol.io/)                                                         | Sync up               | WG/IG presentations, progress reports            |
| [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/discussions)              | Structured discussion | Proposals, roadmap planning, longer-form debate  |
| [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/issues)                        | Actionable tasks      | Bug reports, documentation fixes                 |
| [Vulnerability reports](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/blob/main/SECURITY.md) | Security issues       | Vulnerabilities - **never post publicly**        |

All communication is governed by our [Code of Conduct](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md). We expect respectful, professional, and inclusive interactions across all channels.

## Discord

The [MCP Contributor Discord](https://discord.gg/6CSzBmMkjX) is for real-time contributor discussion and collaboration. The server is designed for **MCP contributors** and is not intended for general MCP support.

### Public Channels (Default)

**Purpose:** Open community engagement, collaborative development, and transparent project coordination.

**Primary use cases:**

* SDK and tooling development (e.g., `#typescript-sdk-dev`, `#inspector-dev`)
* [Working Group and Interest Group](/community/working-interest-groups) discussions (e.g., `#auth-wg`, `#security-ig`)
* Community onboarding and contribution guidance
* Community feedback and collaborative brainstorming
* Public office hours and maintainer availability

**Avoid:**

* MCP user support - Read official documentation and use GitHub Discussions for questions
* Service or product marketing - Keep discussions vendor-neutral; mentions of brands are discouraged except as examples relevant to the specification

### Private Channels (Exceptions)

**Purpose:** Confidential coordination and sensitive matters. Access is restricted to designated maintainers.

**Criteria for private use:**

* Security incidents (CVEs, protocol vulnerabilities)
* People matters (maintainer discussions, code of conduct issues)
* Coordination requiring immediate or focused response with a limited audience
* Some channels are read-only for maintainer decision-making

**Transparency requirements:**

* All technical and governance decisions affecting the community must be documented in GitHub Discussions and/or Issues, labeled with `notes`
* Private channels are temporary "incident rooms," not for routine development
* Some matters related to individual contributors may remain private when appropriate

Any significant discussion on Discord that leads to a potential decision or proposal must be moved to GitHub Discussion or Issue for a persistent, searchable record.

## GitHub Discussions

Use for structured, long-form discussion and debate on project direction.

**When to use:**

* Project roadmap planning and milestone discussions
* Announcements and release communications
* Community polls and consensus-building
* Feature requests with context and rationale
* If a repository doesn't have Discussions enabled, use GitHub Issues instead

## GitHub Issues

Use for bug reports and actionable development tasks. Feature requests should go to [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/discussions).

**When to use:**

* Bug reports with reproducible steps
* Documentation improvements with specific scope
* CI/CD problems and infrastructure issues
* Release tasks and milestone tracking

**Note:** SEP proposals are submitted as pull requests to the [`seps/` directory](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/tree/main/seps), not as GitHub Issues. See the [SEP Guidelines](/community/sep-guidelines).

## Security Issues

**Do not post security issues publicly.**

1. Use the private security reporting process in [SECURITY.md](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/blob/main/SECURITY.md)
2. Contact Lead or [Core Maintainers](/community/governance#current-core-maintainers) directly
3. Follow responsible disclosure guidelines

## Decision Records

All MCP decisions are documented in public channels:

| Type                  | Location                                                                                      |
| --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Technical decisions   | [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/issues) and SEPs |
| Specification changes | [Changelog](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/draft/changelog)                    |
| Process changes       | [Community documentation](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/community/governance)               |
| Governance decisions  | [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/issues) and SEPs |

When documenting decisions, we retain as much context as possible:

* Decision makers
* Background context and motivation
* Options considered
* Rationale for chosen approach
* Implementation steps