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Babel RFCs
Many changes, including bug fixes and documentation improvements, can be implemented and reviewed via the normal GitHub pull request workflow.
Some changes are "substantial", and we ask that these be put through a design process and produce a consensus among the Babel team.
The "RFC" (request for comments) process is intended to provide a consistent and controlled path for new features to enter the project.
When you need to follow this process
Like other projects, Babel is still actively developing this process.
You need to follow this process if you intend to make "substantial" changes to any part of Babel. Some examples that would benefit from an RFC are:
- A new feature that creates new API surface area, and would require a config option if introduced.
- A breaking change or the removal of features that already shipped.
- The introduction of new idiomatic usage or conventions, even if they do not include code changes to Babel itself.
The RFC process is a great opportunity to get more eyeballs on your proposal before it becomes released. Quite often, even proposals that seem "obvious" can be significantly improved once a wider group of interested people have a chance to weigh in.
Some changes do not require an RFC:
- Rephrasing, reorganizing or refactoring
- Addition or removal of warnings
- Additions that strictly improve objective, numerical quality criteria (speedup, better browser support)
What the process is
In short, to get a major feature added, one usually first gets the RFC merged into the RFC repo as a markdown file. At that point the RFC is 'active' and may be implemented with the goal of eventual inclusion into Babel.
- Fork the RFC repo.
- Copy
0000-template.mdtorfcs/0000-my-feature.md(where 'my-feature' is descriptive. Don't assign an RFC number yet). - Fill in the RFC. Put care into the details: RFCs that do not present convincing motivation, demonstrate understanding of the impact of the design, or are disingenuous about the drawbacks or alternatives tend to be poorly-received.
- Submit a pull request. As a pull request the RFC will receive design feedback from the larger community, and the author should be prepared to revise it in response.
- Build consensus and integrate feedback. RFCs that have broad support are much more likely to make progress than those that don't receive any comments.
- Eventually, the team will decide whether the RFC is a candidate for inclusion.
- RFCs that are candidates for inclusion will enter a "final comment period" lasting one week. The beginning of this period will be signaled with a comment and tag on the RFCs pull request. Upon request of a Babel core team member, this period can be extended by an additional week.
- An RFC can be modified based upon feedback from the team and community. Significant modifications may trigger a new final comment period.
- An RFC may be rejected by the team after public discussion has settled and comments have been made summarizing the rationale for rejection. A member of the team should then close the RFCs associated pull request.
- An RFC may be accepted at the close of its final comment period. A team member will merge the RFCs associated pull request, at which point the RFC will become 'active'.
- If an RFC does not receive any comment for six months, it will be considered as 'stale' and closed. This does not mean that it is rejected, and the community can pick it up again.
The RFC Lifecycle
Once an RFC is merged into this repo, then the authors may implement it and submit a pull request to the appropriate Babel repo without opening an issue. Note that the implementation still needs to be reviewed separate from the RFC, so you should expect more feedback and iteration.
Changes to the design during implementation should be reflected by updating the related RFC with new PRs. The goal of having RFCs is to have something to look back upon to understand the motivation and design of shipped features/changes. If the person writing the RFC is not the same person implementing it, we expect them to actively collaborate. If needed, this communication can be mediated by a team member.
Implementing an RFC
The author of an RFC is not obligated to implement it, but the RFC author (like any other developer) is welcome to post an implementation for review after the RFC has been accepted.
If you are interested in working on the implementation for an 'active' RFC, but cannot determine if someone else is already working on it, feel free to ask (e.g. by leaving a comment on the associated issue).
Reviewing RFCs
We try to make sure that any RFC that we accept is discussed at a team meeting. Every accepted feature should have a core team champion, who will represent the feature and its progress.
An RFC is considered as accepted if it receives at least 3 approving reviews, and no rejection from core team members. If the RFC is proposed by a core team member, this number is lowered to 2.