For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt. This page is also available as Markdown.

Corporate Contributor


A corporate contributor is someone who contributes code on behalf of their employer, not as an individual. If you are contributing code on your behalf, please refer to the Individual Contributor workflow.

When you create a pull request in GitHub, a merge request in GitLab, or submit code changes in Gerrit, EasyCLA verifies whether you are authorized under a signed CLA (Contributor License Agreement) for the project.

If you are contributing on behalf of your employer and authorization is missing, follow these steps to comply with the Corporate CLA (CCLA) requirements:

  1. Company Hasn't Signed a CCLA: If your company hasn't signed a CCLA yet, you can initiate the signing process.

  2. Not on the Approved List: If your company has signed a CCLA but you’re not on the approved list, you can request your CLA Manager to add you.

  3. CCLA Signed and You Are on the Approved List: If the CCLA is signed and your name is on the approved list, you must confirm your association with your employer. Once confirmed, you can proceed with your contribution.


GitHub

  1. Open the repository that is linked to your project.

  2. Make a code change and create a pull request.

  3. EasyCLA will automatically check the CLA status for all contributors involved in the pull request.

  • Status Display: EasyCLA shows a check mark (✔️) or a cross (❌) beside each contributor's name in the pull request, depending on their CLA status.

  • Cross Mark (❌): A cross indicates that the CLA check has failed because the contributor is not authorized under a signed CLA.

  • Check Mark (✔️): If the Auto Enable Acknowledgement workflow is enabled, the CLA check is automatically passed.

For more details, see Auto Enable Acknowledgement Workflow.

GitHub EasyCLA status: SIGNED AGREEMENT MISSING

4. Click or click Please click here to be authorized. When the commit is already linked to your GitHub identity, the EasyCLA status typically displays SIGNED AGREEMENT MISSING. If the commit is not linked to any GitHub user, EasyCLA can display UNKNOWN COMMIT AUTHOR. If you were already added to the approved list but have not yet acknowledged your company, EasyCLA can display MISSING COMPANY AFFILIATION.

5. Click Authorize LF-Engineering. (Subsequent contributions will not require authorization.)

Result: The CLA Contributor Console appears in a new tab.

CLA CCLA Flow

6. Click Proceed as a Corporate Contributor.

7. On Select Organization window, type your company's name in the field, select it from the drop-down, click the checkbox and click Proceed.

Note:

8. You will need to complete one of the following workflows:

Auto Enable Acknowledgement for Corporate Contributors

The Auto Enable Acknowledgement workflow streamlines the process for corporate contributors by reducing the need for multiple logins to the Corporate CLA Console.

Key Benefits:

  • Seamless Contribution: Corporate contributors can contribute to projects without repeatedly logging into the Corporate CLA Console.

  • Single Login Requirement: Contributors only need to log in once to the Corporate CLA Console. After that, they can focus on their contributions without additional authentication steps.

The following diagram shows the new auto-enable acknowledgement workflow for corporate contributors:

Auto enable acknowledgement workflow

To auto-enable acknowledgment workflow for Corporate Contributors, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to the EasyCLA Corporate Console.

  2. Search for the project and click EasyCLA.

EasyCLA
  1. Enable the Auto ECLA button.

Auto ECLA
  1. Once the Auto ECLA button is enabled, the CLA Manager will add your name to the approval list. For more information, refer Add Contributors.

  2. When the CLA Manager adds your name, you can submit your changes in GitHub without logging back in to the Corporate Console for an additional acknowledgement.

This additional step is eliminated by implementing the Auto Enable Acknowledgement workflow.

EasyCLA status updated to CLA SIGNED in GitHub

Gerrit

  1. In Gerrit, clone a repository under the Gerrit instance into your local machine.

  2. Make a change and push the code to your Gerrit repository.

  3. A warning link that you need to sign a CLA appears if CLA is not signed for the project:

CLA Gerrit Sign a CLA

4. Navigate to the Gerrit instance of your project. For example, if you are contributing to the ONAP project, navigate to https://gerrit.onap.org

5. Sign in using your LF Single Sign-On (SSO) account.

6. Navigate to Settings -— the gear icon on the upper right corner -- and click Agreements from the menu on the left:

Settings Icon​ ​Gerrit Agreements

7. Click New Contributor Agreement.

Agreement Link

8. Click Corporate CLA, and then click the Please review the agreement link.

9. Click Proceed To Corporate Authorization.

Result: You are redirected to the EasyCLA Corporate Console. Sign in with your LF SSO account if prompted.

10. On Select Organization window, type your company's name in the field, select it from the drop-down list, and click Proceed.

11. You will need to complete one of the following workflows:

GitLab

  1. In GitLab, clone the repository you want to contribute to.

  2. Make changes, commit change and create merge request.

  3. EasyCLA checks the CLA status of all committers involved in that pull request.

  1. EasyCLA displays a cross or a check mark beside the name of each contributor involved in that pull request based on their CLA status.

  2. A cross next to a contributor's name means the EasyCLA check has failed, because the contributor is not authorized under a signed CLA.

GitLab EasyCLA status: SIGNED AGREEMENT MISSING

4. Click or the SIGNED AGREEMENT MISSING EasyCLA status in the merge request to begin authorization.

5. Click Authorize (Subsequent contributions will not require authorization.).

Result: The CLA Contributor Console appears in a new tab. ​

CLA CCLA Flow

6. Select Proceed as a Corporate Contributor.

7. On the Select Organization window, type your company's name in the field, select it from the drop-down list, and click Proceed.

Note:

  1. You will need to complete one of the following workflows:

If your Company is not in the list

  1. Click +Click Here next to the Organization not listed?

company not listed

2. Provide organization website URL, and organization name in the respective fields. Note: If the website URL is already associated with an organization, the organization name appears in the Organization Name field, and you cannot edit the name.

3. Click Next.

Create New Organization

4. Click an answer: Are you authorized to be a CLA Manager for your organization?

  • Yes: Follow the procedure, and click Proceed to coordinate the CCLA signing process.

  • No: Provide name and email address of the person who is authorized to be the CLA Manager from your company for this project, and click Submit Request. If you do not know who should be the CLA Manager from your company for this project, you should consult with your management or legal department to confirm.

    Note: After the authorized person signs CLA, and adds you to the approved list, you must complete your company acknowledgement before you can contribute.

If your Company has not yet signed a CCLA

If your company has not yet signed a CLA, the No Signed CLA Found window appears after selecting your company.

company has not signed cla
  1. Click an answer: Are you authorized to be a CLA Manager for your organization?

  • Yes — By clicking Yes, you will become the initial CLA Manager after the CCLA is signed.

  • No — By clicking No, you will enter the details of someone else who will become the initial CLA Manager.

Yes (If you will become the initial CLA Manager)

  1. Click Proceed on the window that appears.

Proceed to Sign with SSO Account

Note: If you don't have a username (LF SSO Account) associated with The Linux Foundation, you will be redirected to the LF SSO Account creation page.

2. Click Proceed again.

Redirecting to CLA Manager Console

3. You will be redirected to the corporate console to coordinate the CCLA signing process.

No (If someone else will become the initial CLA Manager)

  1. An Identify CLA Manager window appears.

  2. Complete the form, and click Submit Request. If you don't know the email address of the person who should become the CLA Manager of your company, then (unless you just created the company record) you can click the Contact Company Admin link, which may let you reach out to your company's LFX administrative contact if your company has set someone up with this role.

  3. Click Exit EasyCLA. You can contribute after your company signs the project's CCLA, and the CLA Manager adds you to the approved list.

If you have not yet been added to the approved list

If your company has signed a CCLA, but you have not yet been added to the approved list, the Request Authorization to Contribute window appears that shows the CLA Manager(s) for your company.

  1. Select one or more CLA Managers from the drop-down list whom you want to request to add you to the approved list.

Request Authorization

2. Click Request Authorization.

3. Click Exit EasyCLA.

Acknowledge Company Contribution

After the CCLA is signed and the CLA Manager adds you to the approved list, the pull request or merge request will typically still show MISSING COMPANY AFFILIATION until you re-select your company association. You must complete that company acknowledgement before you can contribute code under that company's signed CCLA.

For GitHub and GitLab:

  1. Navigate to the GitHub PR page or GitLab merge request page.

  2. Click MISSING COMPANY AFFILIATION, and then click Proceed as a Corporate Contributor.

  3. On the Select Organization window, select your company, and click Proceed.

A window appears confirming your association with the company. Click Exit EasyCLA, and you will be redirected back to the GitHub or GitLab page where the CLA status will be updated. If it does not immediately update, please wait a moment and then refresh the page.

For Gerrit:

Navigate to the Gerrit instance of your project, and re-complete the procedure by following step 4 through step 10 as described above under Gerrit section to complete company acknowledgement.

A window appears confirming your association with the company. Click Exit EasyCLA, and start contributing.

If your organization is flagged by sanctions screening

EasyCLA automatically screens organizations against government sanctions lists. If the organization you select is flagged by the screening, a Sanctions Screening dialog appears, and you cannot complete the company acknowledgement (ECLA) for that organization:

Sanctions Screening dialog in the EasyCLA Contributor Console
The ECLA acknowledgement is blocked because the selected organization is flagged by sanctions screening

Click Go Back to return to the organization selection. Because the acknowledgement cannot be completed, the EasyCLA check on your pull request, merge request, or Gerrit change continues to fail until the organization is cleared.

  • If your organization was flagged during an earlier screening, EasyCLA can show an advisory warning right after you select the organization. You can still proceed — EasyCLA re-verifies the status in the next step, and blocks the acknowledgement only if the organization is still flagged.

  • If you believe your organization is flagged in error, contact EasyCLA support via the chat widget. After the organization is cleared, allow a few minutes, and then retry the acknowledgement — no other action is needed. For details, see Automated Sanctions Screening.

If you are additionally asked to sign an ICLA

For certain projects, in addition to being authorized under your company's signed CCLA, you may also be required to individually sign an ICLA on your own behalf.

  1. If this is the case for your project, then after your CLA Manager adds you to the approved list, and after you complete your company acknowledgement, then the following screen appears:

  2. Click Proceed.

  3. On CLA Ready For Signature window, click SIGN CLA.

  4. Follow the instructions in DocuSign, sign the ICLA, and click FINISH.

  • GitHub/GitLab Contributors: Navigate to the GitHub/GitLab page. Wait a few seconds for the CLA status to be updated or refresh the page.

  • Gerrit Contributors: If the status on Git command line still shows "No contributor agreement" when you push the code change, you need to navigate to the Gerrit window, sign out, sign in again, and then push the code.

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