oss-distribution-strategy skill (samber): keep an open-source project findable after launch

Designs how an open-source project keeps getting found after launch: registries, lists, packaging and releases, ranked by maintainer hours.

Installs: 12.7K; on skills.sh
Stars: 7; on GitHub
Files: 5; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Nov 2026; last repo commit

oss-distribution-strategy makes your agent audit the channels a project already has, then build a mix that fits the hours the maintainer really has. It ranks eleven channel families, proposes two or three mixes, sequences them in three stages, and writes a plan with refused channels and a review rhythm.

It triggers when a maintainer asks how people will keep finding the project, which registries or awesome lists to target, why adoption flattened after launch, or how often to release. It plans the mix; it does not publish packages or write posts. The folder holds SKILL.md and four reference files and bundles no scripts.

Good for

Maintainers whose downloads went flat after a launch
Maintainers with a few hours a month who need to pick channels
Teams that need a project installable through channels a company already trusts

Install oss-distribution-strategy

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the oss-distribution-strategy skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

/plugin marketplace add samber/developer-relations-skills
/plugin install developer-relations-skills@developer-relations-skills

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

The README recommends installing the whole collection because its skills reference each other, and oss-distribution-strategy names other skills in the collection to hand work to. The whole-collection routes add all 93 skills in the repo (counted from the git tree); the repo holds no hooks, agents, commands or MCP server files, and 14 of its skills bundle a script. Pick one route per agent.

From the project README. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Designs an open-source project's ongoing distribution mix after the launch window - registry metadata, code-host discovery surfaces, curated lists, downstream packaging, extension and connector marketplaces, the release stream, dependency-graph position, creator seeding, and procurement trust signals - ranked against real maintainer capacity. Use whenever a maintainer asks how people will keep finding the project, which registries or awesome lists to target, why adoption flattened after launch, how often to release for visibility, or how to spend limited maintainer hours on distribution - even if they only say nobody is using it. Not the launch itself - use samber/developer-relations-skills@oss-launch. Not the build-in-public practice.

Sections in SKILL.md

Interview
Step 1 - Audit the distribution that already exists
Step 2 - Brainstorm the channel space before choosing
Rank the families before proposing a mix
Then propose the mixes
Step 3 - Put every candidate channel through the adoption test
Step 4 - Match channels to the adopter type
Step 5 - Sequence the plan, do not just rank it
Step 6 - Make the release stream a channel
Step 7 - Write the plan and validate it section by section
Position today audit findings, current arrival sources, baseline numbers + date
Adopter individual / company / both, and what each needs
Foundation ring channels fixed now, with the exact gaps found
Sequence stages 1-3 with dates, and the triggers that reorder them
Test ring 2-3 experiments: hypothesis, signal, end date, cost
Core channel the one sustained channel, and why it beat the others

Key facts

Author: Samuel Berthe (samber)
License: MIT (LICENSE file, SKILL.md, plugin.json and README all say MIT)
Installs on skills.sh: 12,712 (as of Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars: 8 for the whole collection repo (Nov 2, 2026)
Last commit: Nov 1, 2026 (whole repo)
skills.sh audits: Gen Agent Trust Hub pass, Socket pass, Snyk pass
What is inside: 6 files including SKILL.md: 4 reference files and evals/evals.json
Version in SKILL.md: 1.0.6
Needs: SKILL.md lists nothing to install. Package publishing is handled by a skill in a different repo that this install does not include
Works in: Claude Code, Claude.ai (plugin marketplace), Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI and other Agent Skills-compatible tools
Part of: The developer-relations-skills plugin (one plugin in marketplace.json)
Collection size: 93 skills in the repo (counted from the git tree)

What it includes

Asks up to eleven questions one at a time until it knows ecosystem, adopter and capacity.
Questions 5, 6 and 7 (hours, deadline, one-off or compounding) set the channel order and can delete whole families.
Interview
Checks the channels you already have before planning new ones.
It follows references/coverage-audit.md and expects two findings: a half-configured foundation channel and a few wrong listings.
Step 1 - Audit existing distribution
Uses a three-ring Bullseye adaptation: foundation, test and core.
It ranks eleven channel families by value per maintainer hour and proposes three mixes: coverage-first, ecosystem-depth and downstream-first.
Step 2 - Brainstorm the channel space
Asks four questions per channel: cost, decay, observable signal and kill date.
A channel with no observable signal is called a hobby, not a channel.
Step 3 - Adoption test
Separates individual adoption from company adoption.
Company adoption needs the project to be installable through a trusted channel and legible to an approver.
Step 4 - Match the adopter type
Runs three stages: foundation, passive discovery and active seeding.
Four triggers reorder it, for example enterprise adoption stalling despite strong docs.
Step 5 - Sequence the plan
Treats release cadence and the changelog as distribution assets.
It recommends a predictable maximum interval, not a mandatory minimum.
Step 6 - Make the release stream a channel
Writes a ten-section plan, agreed one section at a time.
Position today, Adopter, Foundation ring, Sequence, Test ring, Core channel, Refused, Release rhythm, Review and Threshold check.
Try: “We have 3 hours a month. Give us the plan.”
Step 7 - Distribution plan

From the official docs

Permissions

Low risk

The agent can save notes about your company or project to a file called devrel-context.md, so check that file before you commit or share the folder.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

It may keep notes in devrel-context.md
SKILL.md tells the agent to store a few details about the current task or project, and to use a file called devrel-context.md when its memory lives in a file. Our advice: open that file before you commit or share the folder. github.com
The plugin route installs the whole collection
The README's plugin and extension routes add every skill in the repo; its git tree holds 93. The repo has no hooks, agents, commands or MCP server files, and 14 of its skills bundle a script. Our advice: use the skills CLI command for this skill if you want only it. github.com

Security advisories

No published security advisories as of Nov 2, 2026.

Technical details

Turning on read-only	SKILL.md describes no read-only mode.
Scopes	May store project notes in devrel-context.md when its memory lives in a file

Questions

How do I install oss-distribution-strategy?

The README says to install every skill in the collection, because its skills reference each other. In Claude Code that is the plugin route in the install box above, which adds all 93 skills in the repo. The skills CLI can add just this one. Our advice: pick one route per agent.

What do I get at the end?

A distribution plan with ten sections, including a Refused list (channel, reason, condition that reopens it) and a threshold check reported as pass or fail with numbers.

oss-distribution-strategy vs oss-launch?

Use oss-launch for the one-time launch window and this skill for ongoing distribution after it. SKILL.md says "Not the launch itself" and hands that to oss-launch.

Does it publish my package or submit to lists?

It does not. SKILL.md says you decide the mix and other skills run it, and it names per-registry publishing execution as belonging to samber/developer-platform-skills@sdk-package-publishing, which lives in a different repo from this one.

Will a supply-chain score grow my downloads?

SKILL.md says no evidence supports that and treats signing and provenance as procurement enablement, not an adoption driver. It lists a score above 7 as an adopted bar for enterprise review, not an industry standard.

Does oss-distribution-strategy need an API key, and where does it work?

SKILL.md names no API key, account or environment variable. The README documents installs for Claude Code, Claude.ai (add the repo as a plugin marketplace), Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI and any Agent Skills-compatible tool through the skills CLI. The install box has the steps for each.

Is oss-distribution-strategy safe to install?

It is instructions plus four reference files, and the folder bundles no scripts. SKILL.md tells the agent to keep project notes in memory, with devrel-context.md as the file when memory is a file. Our advice: if you plan to act on its channel list, check each listing and registry page yourself before you submit anything.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: samber/developer-relations-skills
Folder: skills/oss-distribution-strategy

samber/developer-relations-skills skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 2

developer-relations-skills README · github.com
oss-distribution-strategy SKILL.md · github.com