Layer Publishing Guide

Note: this page is a draft and is not yet complete.

There are a few important steps you should take in order to publish a layer for the community:

1. Existing layers: Ideally, ensure your layer does not overlap with other layers. If there must be an overlap and it is not practical to resolve it with the maintainer of the existing layer(s), document what the overlap is and why it is there.
2. Maintainer: If you are publishing the layer as a repository, ensure there is a commitment from at least one person to be the maintainer for the layer. The maintainer's role is to accept, review and (if satisfactory) merge patches from the community.
3. README: Ensure the layer has a README text file in the root which describes briefly what the layer is for, who it is maintained by, and most importantly where and how people should submit patches for it.
4. Publish: Publish the layer in a place where it can be easily accessed. git.yoctoproject.org and openembedded.org can provide hosting, otherwise it is common to host layers on sites such as github or gitorious.
5. Announcement: Send an announcement to both of the following mailing lists telling people about the new layer:
   • yocto@yoctoproject.org (list info)
   • openembedded-devel@lists.openembedded.org (list info)
6. Index: Add the layer to the OpenEmbedded layer index.