[Discussion] mini-software projects to Apache: help from core developers and contributors #1038

shps951023 · 2026-11-08T16:09:43Z

shps951023
Nov 8, 2026
Maintainer

Good day team, open-source friends,

mini-software would like to join the Apache Software Foundation by donating projects through the Incubator. We hope this will help us give more back to the open-source community.

We plan to prepare proposal material for MiniExcel and MiniPdf. The submission scope still needs discussion and confirmation.

I have already consulted an Apache mentor. Once we have the items below ready, they will try to guide us through the application. This is not formal acceptance or a mentor appointment.

We will use this discussion space to work through the preparations and divide up the work. We need help from our core developers, and other contributors are welcome too.

🚩Key Considerations & Action Items

To avoid potential IP issues, we may need to rename MiniExcel (e.g., to 'Sheetra') and MiniPdf
We aim to require 3 reviewers for every PR. Can we set all core members as default reviewers?

Preparation checklist

Confirm willing participants and share development, review, testing, documentation, and release work.
Gather project descriptions, usage and community information, and complete the proposal material.
Contact a Champion and mentors to confirm guidance arrangements.
Check code, dependency, and asset licenses, including MiniExcel's .NET Foundation agreement and relevant rights.
Prepare ICLAs and software donation agreements as required by ASF, with company authorization where needed.
Prepare public decision-making and source-release processes, and plan names, repository, website, and package migration.
Discuss the proposal on the ASF Incubator mailing list and follow the application process.

@michelebastione @izanhzh @isdaniel @weilence @meld-cp @virzak @jiaguangli @eynarhaji @duszekmestre @DD-6677 @pszybiak @Discolai @tonyqus
@Sen-CaPoo @EnzoSam @JitendraRaula @dks50217 @OnlyMeNsPt @jeff377 @wooly905

Please share your suggestions🙌

Wei

tonyqus · 2026-11-09T00:59:27Z

tonyqus
Nov 9, 2026
Collaborator

Hi Wei and team, this is an exciting milestone!

When drafting the ASF Incubator proposal (especially the Rationale and Alignment sections), I suggest framing MiniExcel's ecosystem value and long-term vision around these three core pillars:

Clear Technical Niche & Boundaries

Unlike heavy, DOM-based libraries (such as NPOI or EPPlus) that excel at complex styling, charts, and formula engines at the cost of high memory consumption, MiniExcel fills a critical gap with its lightweight, stream-based, low-memory architecture for high-volume data throughput and simple templating.

Explicitly defining what MiniExcel does and does not aim to do will demonstrate strong architectural focus and complementarity within the ecosystem.

Ecosystem Timing & License Certainty

With major alternatives in the .NET space recently shifting toward commercial licenses or mandatory maintenance fees for binary distributions, enterprise users are increasingly anxious about supply-chain compliance.

Donating MiniExcel to the ASF guarantees permanent Apache 2.0 protection, directly addressing this vacuum and positioning MiniExcel as the go-to, vendor-neutral standard.

Free, Commercially Friendly & Sustainable

The core spirit of Apache 2.0 is remaining free and commercially safe while ensuring long-term sustainability through community governance. Transitioning from a small maintainer team to the ASF "Community Over Code" model eliminates the "bus factor," inviting broader contributions and ensuring MiniExcel thrives as reliable public infrastructure for years to come.