The Apache Attic was created in
November 2008
to provide process and solutions to make it clear when an Apache project has reached its
end of life. Specifically:
the Apache Attic […] is responsible for the oversight of projects which otherwise would not have oversight;
the Apache Attic […] is not authorized to actively develop and release the projects under its oversight
It is intended to:
Be non-impacting to users
Provide restricted oversight for these codebases
Provide oversight for active user lists with no Project Management Committee (PMC)
It is not intended to:
Rebuild community
Make bugfixes
Make releases
Getting into the Attic
There are two expected mechanisms by which a project may enter the Attic. Either the managing
Project Management Committee (PMC) decides it would like to move the project, or The
Apache Software Foundation’s board dissolves the PMC and chooses to move the project.
The first step is to add a suitable resolution to the next board agenda: see the
Board Resolution Template.
Once the submitted resolution has been approved during a board meeting, the Attic project starts
executing the move.
When should a project move to the Attic?
Projects whose PMC are unable to muster 3 votes for a release, who have no active committers or
are unable to fulfill their reporting duties to the board are all good candidates for the Attic.
Process of moving into the Attic
This is defined in greater details in the separate Process document.
Process of leaving the Attic again
Options are:
Forking the project outside the Apache Software Foundation - we’ll link to any forks which
have been created so please let us know
Restarting the project at the Apache Software Foundation, with multiple ways to do so:
Restarting the community in the Apache Incubator
Recreating a PMC for the project
Transfering to an existing PMC
A receiving PMC must be willing to assume all responsibilities that come
with running a project: maintain code, answer questions, fix bugs,
publish releases etc.
If the Board does not object, PMC Attic will transfer the project’s
assets (code-base, TLP website, maven group-id etc) to the receiving PMC.
After the transfer the receiving PMC will report to the Board about the
project’s activities, and publish project releases in the PMC’s dist area.
Public discussions happen on a mailing list: see
general@attic.apache.org archive.
You are welcome to subscribe and engage in discussion.
Retired Incubator Projects
The Apache Incubator project is the entry path into
The Apache Software Foundation for projects and codebases wishing to become part of
the Foundation’s efforts.
Not all projects ‘graduate’
out of the Incubator; some are retired instead. Those retired projects remain under Incubator
oversight: the list may be found on the
Incubator’s Projects page.