php-devops/CONTRIBUTING.md
Snider 6d34cbe33c docs: add contributor onboarding for distributed compute network
Host UK CIC mission: aggregate free tier compute to benefit OSS commons

Added:
- CONTRIBUTING.md: 5-minute contributor onboarding guide
- scripts/contribute.sh: One-command setup for new contributors
- Updated free-tier-services.md: Mission context, economics explained

The model:
- 100 contributors × free tiers = enterprise-scale compute
- core monitor aggregates findings from all sources
- Tasks routed to Host UK packages AND unfunded OSS projects
- LLMs learned from OSS, we give back

Who pays: Microsoft, Google, Groq (marketing budgets)
Who benefits: Open source commons

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-01-31 22:44:17 +00:00

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Contributing Compute to Host UK

Host UK is a UK Community Interest Company (CIC) - a social enterprise legally required to use our work for community benefit. Our assets are locked for public good, not shareholders.

The Mission

  1. Build tools that make development easier (core CLI, modules)
  2. Aggregate free compute from community members' unused allowances
  3. Give back by fixing security issues in unfunded OSS projects

The LLMs learned to code from open source. We're directing resources back to those projects.


Contribute Compute (5 minutes)

You don't need to write code. Your unused free tier allowances become part of a distributed network that fixes OSS.

Step 1: Fork this repo

gh repo fork host-uk/core-devops --clone
cd core-devops

Step 2: Add your free API keys

# Gemini (1500 req/day free)
# Get key: https://aistudio.google.com/apikey
gh secret set GEMINI_API_KEY

# Groq (14,400 req/day free) 
# Get key: https://console.groq.com/keys
gh secret set GROQ_API_KEY

# Optional: More services
gh secret set MISTRAL_API_KEY  # https://console.mistral.ai/
gh secret set COHERE_API_KEY   # https://dashboard.cohere.com/

Step 3: Enable GitHub Actions

Go to your fork → Actions tab → Enable workflows

Step 4: Done!

Your fork now:

  • Runs security scans (Semgrep, Trivy, Gitleaks) - free, no keys needed
  • Runs AI analysis when you work on PRs - uses your free tier
  • Contributes to the distributed verification network

Contribute Verification (10 min/week)

Help verify other agents' work (human or AI). No agent can verify their own work.

Find tasks:

# Install core CLI
make install-core

# Find tasks needing verification
core issues --label agent:review

# Or browse: https://github.com/orgs/host-uk/projects/2

Verify:

  1. Review the implementation
  2. Check tests pass
  3. Add verified or verify-failed label

Contribute Code

Standard PR workflow:

# Create branch
git checkout -b fix/issue-42

# Make changes, commit
git add . && git commit -m "fix: description"

# Push (CI runs on YOUR allowance, not ours)
git push origin fix/issue-42

# Create PR
gh pr create

Your PR will be:

  • Analyzed by AI (Gemini, Groq) - your free tier
  • Scanned for security issues - free
  • Reviewed by CodeRabbit - free
  • Verified by a different contributor

The Economics

Who Pays For
Microsoft GitHub Actions (2000 min/month per user)
Google Gemini API (1500 req/day per user)
Groq Llama 3 inference (14,400 req/day per user)
Contributors Nothing ($0)
Host UK Nothing ($0)
OSS Projects Get free security fixes

100 contributors × free tiers = enterprise-scale compute for public good


Where the Work Goes

  1. Host UK packages - Our tools and modules
  2. Unfunded OSS - Popular packages with no security budget
  3. Community requests - Projects our members depend on

We're not hoarding. We're redistributing tech resources to the commons.


Questions?

License: EUPL-1.2 (copyleft, EU-recognized, compatible with GPL)


Host UK CIC - Building ethical infrastructure for the open source community