transports-wg/CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributing to the Transports Working Group

We welcome contributions from anyone interested in improving MCP transports!

Quick Start

1. Join the community — Connect on the #transports-wg channel in MCP Discord
2. Understand the scope — Review the CHARTER and README
3. Start contributing — Attend meetings (find the next meeting at https://meet.modelcontextprotocol.io/), open issues, or submit PRs

Ways to Contribute

Participate in Discussions

• Join weekly meetings (no approval needed!). Find the next meeting at https://meet.modelcontextprotocol.io/
• Engage in Discord conversations
• Comment on GitHub issues and PRs
• Share your transport implementation experiences

Improve Documentation

• Fix typos or clarify existing docs
• Add examples or guides
• Document edge cases or gotchas

Review and Provide Feedback

• Review open PRs
• Test proposed changes
• Share implementation feedback

Proposing Changes

Have an idea for improving MCP transports? We'd love to hear it!

Process

1. Open an issue to discuss the idea first. This helps avoid duplicate work and ensures initial alignment.
2. Draft a proposal following the template in the proposals/ directory.
3. Submit a PR with your proposal for community review.
4. Iterate based on feedback from the community and maintainers.

Guidelines

When developing transport proposals, keep these principles in mind:

• Propose first — Always start with an issue before investing time in a full proposal.
• Follow MCP standards — Align with existing MCP conventions and patterns.
• Document thoroughly — Include rationale, examples, and edge cases.
• Consider breadth — Think about applicability across different implementations and languages.

Promoting Proposals to Core Spec

For proposals with broad applicability:

1. Gather implementation experience — Get real-world validation
2. Present to the working group — Build consensus and support
3. Coordinate with core maintainers — Work with the MCP maintainer liaison
4. Draft a SEP — Follow the MCP Spec Enhancement Proposal process

Guidelines

Code of Conduct

All participants must follow the MCP Code of Conduct.

Antitrust Compliance

Per the MCP Antitrust Policy, discussions must focus on:

• Technical standards and specifications
• Open collaboration

And must avoid:

• Pricing, costs, or margins
• Customer lists or strategies
• Competitive information

Recognition and Advancement

The Transports Working Group follows the MCP Contributor Ladder.

Contributors who demonstrate sustained engagement can become Members of the Working Group. Members have additional privileges and are listed in GOVERNANCE.md.

To learn more about the roles (Contributor, Member, Maintainer) and how to advance, please see GOVERNANCE.md and the full MCP Contributor Ladder.

Communication Channels

Channel	Purpose
Discord #transports-wg	Real-time discussion and Q&A
GitHub Issues	Proposals, bugs, and feature requests
GitHub Discussions	Longer-form conversations
Weekly Meetings	Synchronous collaboration and decisions

If you need help, feel free to ask in any of these channels (Discord is usually fastest for quick questions). You can also reach out to the maintainers listed in GOVERNANCE.md.