Committer
Individual permitted to modify the source code of a software project
A committer is an individual who is permitted to modify the source code of a software project, that will be used in the project's official releases. To contribute source code to most large software projects, one must make modifications and then "commit" those changes to a central version control system.
In open-source software development, the committer role may be used to distinguish commit access, a specific type of responsibility, from other forms of contribution, such as triaging issues or organizing events. Typically, an author submits a software patch containing changes and a committer integrates the patch into the main code base of the project.
01Commit bit
To have a "commit bit" on one's user account means that the user is permitted to contribute source code changes. This dates to the use of a literal binary digit to represent yes-or-no privileges in access control systems of legacy version control and software systems, such as BSD. The commit bit represents the permission to contribute to the shared code of a software project. It can be resigned or may be removed due to inactivity in the project, as dormant committer accounts can represent security risks.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Committer”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
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