CHAOSS: measure whether a community can sustain its work

CHAOSS develops metrics, models and software for understanding open-source community health. Its resources are useful when raw activity counts do not explain whether a project is responsive, welcoming or sustainable. The starting point is a practical question about the community, not a dashboard filled with every available number. Choose a decision you need to make, such as whether unanswered contributions are accumulating or whether a small number of people carry essential work. Read the relevant metric definitions and document what your data includes. Compare quantitative patterns with conversations and the actual contribution process. Use the result to test a change, then review whether that change helped. A metric can reflect platform behavior, data gaps or workflow choices as much as community health. Avoid ranking individuals by simplistic activity totals or collecting personal information without a clear purpose. Measures should support the people doing the work. Explain limitations and resist turning one convenient number into the definition of a healthy project.

Editorial review: 2026-09-23. New evidence may change this account.

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