This repository is used to track all community proposals for nf-core.

Proposer Documentation

To make a new proposal, please create a new issue in the repository following the appropriate template:

• New pipeline
• New RFC
• New special interest group

Curator Documentation

Pipelines

Automated workflow:

• Issue creation triggers automation that:
  • Adds the 'proposed' label
  • Creates a status comment tracking approvals
• Team members use /approve or /reject commands in comments
• Automation updates status comment and labels based on approvals
• Acceptance requires either:
  • Two core team members
  • One core team member + one maintainer

Manual steps required:

• Facilitate discussion following guidance here
• If accepted: Close issue as 'completed'
• If rejected: Close issue as 'not planned'
• For timed-out proposals (after 1 year): Add 'timed-out' label and close as 'not planned'
• Complete remaining onboarding tasks listed here

RFCs

Automated workflow:

• Issue creation triggers automation that:
  • Adds the 'proposed' label
  • Creates a status comment tracking approvals
• Team members use /approve or /reject commands in comments
• Automation updates status comment and labels based on approvals
• Acceptance requires core team quorum (majority of core team members)

Manual steps required:

• Facilitate discussion on the Issue thread
• If accepted: Close issue as 'completed'
• If rejected: Close issue as 'not planned'
• For timed-out proposals (after 1 year): Add 'timed-out' label and close as 'not planned'

Special Interest Groups

Manual workflow:

• Once a issue is made, update the 'Project' status to 'proposed' (right hand side bar, under 'new--proposals')
• Facilitate discussion on the the Issue thread, following the guidance here.
• Acceptance requires a minimum of OKs from:
  • Two members of the core team.
• If a proposal is accepted, update both the label AND status to 'accepted', and when closing select 'Close as completed'
• If a proposal is turned down, update both the label AND status to 'turned-down', and when closing select 'Close as not planned'
• If a proposal is not completed or abandoned after a year, update both the label AND status to 'timed-out', and when closing select 'Close as not planned'

Request for Comment (RFC)

The curator workflow is as follows:

• Once a issue is made, update the 'Project' status to 'proposed' (right hand side bar, under 'new--proposals')
• Facilitate discussion on the the Issue thread, following the guidance here.
• Acceptance requires quorum from the nf-core core team, done via voting in comments with /accept or /reject
• If a proposal is turned down, update both the label AND status to 'turned-down', and when closing select 'Close as not planned'
• If a proposal is accepted, update both the label AND status to 'accepted', and ask the champion to write a formal RFC and begin initial development.
• When the PR is opened the corresponding issue can be closed.
• Verify that feedback has been provided to the champion.
• Propose an optional Bytesize talk about the proposal.
• Finally merge the PR when the development is complete.

Developer Documentation

Approval Automation Testing

The repository includes automated testing for the approval workflows to ensure reliability and correctness.

Test Suite

The approval automation is thoroughly tested with:

• Unit Tests (approval.test.js) - Tests individual ApprovalManager class methods
• Integration Tests (workflow-integration.test.js) - End-to-end workflow scenario testing

Automated Testing on PRs

A GitHub Actions workflow (.github/workflows/test-approval-automation.yml) automatically runs on pull requests that modify:

• .github/workflows/lib/** (approval automation code)
• .github/workflows/pipeline_proposals.yml (pipeline approval workflow)
• .github/workflows/rfc_approval.yml (RFC approval workflow)

The workflow includes:

1. Test Execution - Runs the full test suite
2. Coverage Reporting - Generates and uploads coverage reports
3. PR Comments - Posts coverage summary on pull requests
4. Workflow Linting - Validates GitHub Actions syntax
5. Logic Validation - Verifies approval logic correctness

Running Tests Locally

cd .github/workflows/lib

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run tests
npm test

# Run with coverage
npm test:coverage