Contributor Guide
Everything you need to submit a prototype to Autheo Labs
Internal Contributors
Autheo team members. No pre-approval required. Follow the standard submission checklist and open a Prototype Submission issue in Autheo-Labs/submissions.
External Contributors
Builders outside the Autheo team. CPO approval is required before submitting. Open a GitHub Issue in autheo-labs/submissions to request review.
Pre-Submission Checklist
All items must be complete before your submission enters CPO review. Incomplete submissions are returned without entering the scoring process.
1. Research evidence documented
Include prior art review, competitive analysis, or references supporting the technical approach.
2. Technical feasibility confirmed
Prototype lead has verified the approach is buildable within the Autheo testnet environment.
3. Sandbox isolation verified
No dependencies on mainnet validators, nodes, bridges, or deployed contracts. Entirely self-contained.
4. Mainnet-blocking safeguard in place
Code includes explicit guards preventing any connection to or impact on the Autheo mainnet.
5. Detailed README complete
README uses the official Autheo Labs template (see below). All required fields populated.
6. Testing and monitoring plan documented
Describe how the prototype will be tested, what metrics will be observed, and how failures are surfaced.
7. Risk disclosure present
Known bugs, failure modes, security considerations, and limitations are clearly documented in the README.
8. Testnet resource estimate included
Estimate of testnet compute, storage, and network resources required during the testing period.
9. CPO pre-approval obtained (external contributors only)External only
External contributors must receive written CPO approval via a GitHub Issue in autheo-labs/submissions before submitting.
README Template
Every prototype repository must include a README using the following template. All fields are required unless marked optional.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Prototype Name | Official name of the prototype |
| Prototype Lead | Named accountable individual (full name + GitHub handle) |
| Status | Current status: Submitted / Active–Experimental / Under Review |
| Risk Level | Self-assessed: Low / Medium / High |
| Testnet Environment | Which testnet environment the prototype runs on |
| Alignment Tags | Autheo strategic goals this prototype addresses |
| Description | Plain-language explanation of what the prototype does |
| Hypothesis | The specific testable claim this prototype is designed to prove or disprove |
| Testing Period | Expected community testing duration (minimum 30 days) |
| Success Metrics | How success or failure will be objectively determined |
| Risks / Mitigation | Known risks and how they are mitigated |
| Repo URL | Full GitHub URL within the autheo-labs organization |
| Dependencies | External libraries, services, or testnet contracts this prototype depends on |
[prototype-name]-labsExample:
quantum-bridge-alpha-labsSubmission Process
Follow these six steps to submit your prototype:
Create your prototype repository
Create a repo named [prototype-name]-labs in the Autheo-Labs GitHub org. Populate the README using the template above — all fields are required.
External contributors: open an Intake issue first
External contributors must open an External Contributor Intake issue in Autheo-Labs/submissions and receive written CPO approval before submitting a prototype. Internal Autheo team members skip this step.
Open a Prototype Submission issue
Go to github.com/Autheo-Labs/submissions/issues/new/choose and select the "Prototype Submission" template. Fill in every required field, including the Catalog Metadata YAML block — the website reads this block to populate the catalog card.
CPO review
The CPO scores your submission against the 5-dimension qualification rubric and applies status, risk, and alignment labels within 5 business days of a complete submission. Medium- and high-risk prototypes are routed to the CISO for additional review.
Acceptance or feedback
Passing submissions (score ≥ 10/15, no disqualifying conditions) are admitted to Active–Experimental status. Failing submissions receive written feedback and may be resubmitted after 30 days.
Prototype goes live
Within roughly one hour of admission labels being applied, your prototype appears on autheolabs.com/prototypes. Community testing begins; you are responsible for triaging feedback and resolving P0/P1 issues per the published SLAs.
Qualification Scoring
Submissions are scored on a 5-dimension rubric, each dimension rated 1–3. The minimum passing score is 10 out of 15.
Full scoring criteria are documented in the Prototype Qualification Criteria.