instana · pvital · Apr 2, 2026 · Mar 31, 2026
@@ -1,57 +1,64 @@
-## Contributing In General
+# Contributing to the Instana Python Sensor
+
 Our project welcomes external contributions. If you have an itch, please feel
 free to scratch it.
 
-To contribute code or documentation, please submit a [pull request](https://github.com/instana/python-sensor/pulls).
+To contribute with code, please submit a [pull request].
 
 A good way to familiarize yourself with the codebase and contribution process is
-to look for and tackle low-hanging fruit in the [issue tracker](https://github.com/instana/python-sensor/issues).
+to look for and tackle low-hanging fruit in the [issue tracker].
+
 <!--Before embarking on a more ambitious contribution, please quickly [get in touch](#communication) with us.-->
 
-**Note: We appreciate your effort, and want to avoid a situation where a contribution
-requires extensive rework (by you or by us), sits in backlog for a long time, or
-cannot be accepted at all!**
+**Note: We appreciate your effort, and want to avoid a situation where a 
+contribution requires extensive rework (by you or by us), sits in backlog for a 
+long time, or cannot be accepted at all!**
 
-### Proposing new features
+## Proposing new features
 
-If you would like to implement a new feature, please [raise an issue](https://github.com/instana/python-sensor/issues)
-before sending a pull request so the feature can be discussed. This is to avoid
+If you would like to implement a new feature, please [raise an issue] before 
+sending a pull request so the feature can be discussed. This is to avoid
 you wasting your valuable time working on a feature that the project developers
 are not interested in accepting into the code base.
 
-### Fixing bugs
+Do not forget to add the labels `enhancement` or `feature` to your issue.
+
+## Fixing bugs
 
-If you would like to fix a bug, please [raise an issue](https://github.com/instana/python-sensor/issues) before sending a
+If you would like to fix a bug, please [raise an issue] before sending a
 pull request so it can be tracked.
 
-### Merge approval
+Do not forget to add the label `bug` to your issue.
 
-The project maintainers use LGTM (Looks Good To Me) in comments on the code
-review to indicate acceptance. A change requires LGTMs from two of the
-maintainers of each component affected.
+## Merge approval
+
+The project maintainers use `LGTM` (Looks Good To Me) in comments on the code
+review to indicate acceptance. A pull request requires LGTMs from, at least, one
+of the maintainers of each component affected.
 
 For a list of the maintainers, see the [MAINTAINERS.md](MAINTAINERS.md) page.
 
 ## Legal
 
-Each source file must include a license header for the MIT
-License. Using the SPDX format is the simplest approach.
-e.g.
+### Copyright
+
+Each source file must include a Copyright header to IBM. When submitting a pull 
+request for review which contains new source code files, the developer must 
+include the following content in the beginning of the file.
 
 ```
-/*
-Copyright <holder> All Rights Reserved.
+# (c) Copyright IBM Corp. <YEAR>
 
-SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
-*/
 ```
 
+### Sign your work
+
 We have tried to make it as easy as possible to make contributions. This
-applies to how we handle the legal aspects of contribution. We use the
-same approach - the [Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.1 (DCO)](https://github.com/hyperledger/fabric/blob/master/docs/source/DCO1.1.txt) - that the Linux® Kernel [community](https://elinux.org/Developer_Certificate_Of_Origin)
-uses to manage code contributions.
+applies to how we handle the legal aspects of contribution. 
+
+We use the same approach - the [Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.1 (DCO)] - that the [Linux® Kernel community] uses to manage code contributions.
 
-We simply ask that when submitting a patch for review, the developer
+We simply ask that when submitting a pull request for review, the developer
 must include a sign-off statement in the commit message.
 
 Here is an example Signed-off-by line, which indicates that the
@@ -64,7 +71,7 @@ Signed-off-by: John Doe <john.doe@example.com>
 You can include this automatically when you commit a change to your
 local git repository using the following command:
 
-```
+```shell
 git commit -s
 ```
 
@@ -84,3 +91,11 @@ before submitting.
 **FIXME** Optional, but recommended: please share any specific style guidelines you might
 have for your project.
 -->
+
+<!-- Reference links -->
+
+[pull request]: https://github.com/instana/python-sensor/pulls "Python Sensor Pull Requests"
+[issue tracker]: https://github.com/instana/python-sensor/issues "Python Sensor Issue Tracker"
+[raise an issue]: https://github.com/instana/python-sensor/issues "Raise an issue"
+[Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.1 (DCO)]: https://github.com/hyperledger/fabric/blob/master/docs/source/DCO1.1.txt "DCO1.1"
+[Linux® Kernel community]: https://elinux.org/Developer_Certificate_Of_Origin  "Linux Kernel DCO"
@@ -1,34 +1,18 @@
 # Release Steps
 
-## PyPI
-
-_Note: To release a new Instana package, you must be a project member of the [Instana package project on Pypi](https://pypi.org/project/instana/).
-Contact [Peter Giacomo Lombardo](https://github.com/pglombardo) to be added._
-
-1. Before releasing, assure that [tests have passed](https://circleci.com/gh/instana/workflows/python-sensor) and that the package has also been manually validated in various stacks.
-2. `git checkout main && git pull --rebase && pip install -U twine`
-3. Bump the package version in `instana/version.py`. `git` commit & push the version change to the `main` branch
-4. Create a [draft Release on Github](https://github.com/instana/python-sensor/releases) using [./bin/create_general_release.py](https://github.com/instana/python-sensor/blob/main/bin/create_general_release.py)
-5. Run `python setup.py sdist bdist_wheel` to create the packages file in `./dist/`
-6. Upload the package to Pypi with twine: `twine upload dist/instana-<version>*`
-7. Validate the new release on https://pypi.org/project/instana/
-8. Update Python documentation with latest changes: https://docs.instana.io/ecosystem/python/
-9. Publish the draft release on [Github](https://github.com/instana/python-sensor/releases)
-10. Ensure that the new [Concourse CI resource version](
-    https://ci.instana.io/teams/tracer-community/pipelines/tracer-test-suite:main/resources/instana-python-package)
-    has been discovered. Trigger it manually if the automation doesn't do it. Also ensure that the [update job](
-    https://ci.instana.io/teams/tracer-community/pipelines/tracer-test-suite%3Amain/jobs/update-python-package/)
-    and its downstream jobs are successfull. In particular the `run-test-suite` doesn't report any errors.
+## PyPI and GitHub
+
+The project has a GitHub Action that publishes new versions of the Instana Python Tracer to GitHub and [PyPI] using the [Trusted Publisher Management System].
+
+Only the GitHub `@instana/python-eng` team members are allowed to publish a new version of the Instana Python Tracer.
 
 ## AWS Lambda Layer
 
-To release a new AWS Lambda layer, see `bin/aws-lambda/lambda_build_publish_layer.py`.
+On top of the common Instana Python Tracer release, the GitHub `@instana/python-eng` team members also publish versions of the Instana Python Tracer AWS Lambda layer.
 
-```bash
-./bin/aws-lambda/build_and_publish_lambda_layer.py [-dev|-prod]
-./bin/create_lambda_release.py <version>
-```
+These releases are available on the GitHub Releases page.
 
-These scripts assume that you have the AWS CLI and Github CLI installed and credentials already configured.
+<!-- Reference links -->
 
-Post release, remember to update documentation and the Instana UI.
+[PyPI]: https://pypi.org/project/instana/ "Instana Python Tracer on PyPI"
+[Trusted Publisher Management System]: https://docs.pypi.org/trusted-publishers/ "Trusted Publisher Management System"
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ keywords = [
     "distributed-tracing",
 ]
 authors = [
-    { name = "Instana Team Python Tracer Engineers" },
+    { name = "Instana Python Tracer Engineers", email = "pythonrubyinstana@ibm.com" },
 ]
 classifiers = [
     "Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable",