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Code of Conduct

Our Pledge​

We as members, contributors, and leaders pledge to make participation in the Cortex community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, caste, color, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.

We pledge to act and interact in ways that contribute to an open, welcoming, diverse, inclusive, and healthy community.

Our Standards​

Examples of behavior that contributes to a positive environment:​

  • Being Respectful: Showing empathy and kindness toward other people
  • Being Constructive: Giving and gracefully accepting constructive feedback
  • Being Responsible: Accepting responsibility and apologizing to those affected by our mistakes, and learning from the experience
  • Being Inclusive: Focusing on what is best not just for us as individuals, but for the overall community
  • Being Welcoming: Welcoming newcomers and helping them get started
  • Being Patient: Understanding that not everyone has the same level of expertise
  • Being Open: Considering different viewpoints and experiences

Examples of unacceptable behavior:​

  • Harassment: The use of sexualized language or imagery, and sexual attention or advances of any kind
  • Trolling: Insulting or derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
  • Intimidation: Public or private harassment of any kind
  • Privacy Violations: Publishing others' private information, such as a physical or email address, without their explicit permission
  • Disruption: Sustained disruption of discussions or events
  • Spam: Excessive self-promotion or off-topic content
  • Discrimination: Discriminatory jokes, language, or behavior
  • Professional Misconduct: Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting

Enforcement Responsibilities​

Community leaders are responsible for clarifying and enforcing our standards of acceptable behavior and will take appropriate and fair corrective action in response to any behavior that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.

Community leaders have the right and responsibility to remove, edit, or reject comments, commits, code, wiki edits, issues, and other contributions that are not aligned with this Code of Conduct, and will communicate reasons for moderation decisions when appropriate.

Scope​

This Code of Conduct applies within all community spaces, including:

  • GitHub repositories (issues, pull requests, discussions)
  • Discord server
  • Twitter and other social media when representing Cortex
  • Email communications
  • Events and conferences (virtual or in-person)
  • Any other forums where community members interact

This Code of Conduct also applies when an individual is officially representing the community in public spaces. Examples of representing our community include using an official email address, posting via an official social media account, or acting as an appointed representative at an online or offline event.

Enforcement​

Reporting​

Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported to the community leaders responsible for enforcement at:

All complaints will be reviewed and investigated promptly and fairly. All community leaders are obligated to respect the privacy and security of the reporter of any incident.

What to Include in a Report​

When reporting an incident, please include:

  1. Your contact information (so we can follow up)
  2. Names of people involved (including witnesses, if any)
  3. Description of the incident (what happened, when, where)
  4. Additional context (screenshots, links, etc.)
  5. Any other relevant information

Confidentiality​

All reports will be handled with discretion. We will not share reporter information without consent unless required by law.

Enforcement Guidelines​

Community leaders will follow these Community Impact Guidelines in determining the consequences for any action they deem in violation of this Code of Conduct:

1. Correction​

Community Impact: Use of inappropriate language or other behavior deemed unprofessional or unwelcome in the community.

Consequence: A private, written warning from community leaders, providing clarity around the nature of the violation and an explanation of why the behavior was inappropriate. A public apology may be requested.

2. Warning​

Community Impact: A violation through a single incident or series of actions.

Consequence: A warning with consequences for continued behavior. No interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, for a specified period of time. This includes avoiding interactions in community spaces as well as external channels like social media. Violating these terms may lead to a temporary or permanent ban.

3. Temporary Ban​

Community Impact: A serious violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior.

Consequence: A temporary ban from any sort of interaction or public communication with the community for a specified period of time. No public or private interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, is allowed during this period. Violating these terms may lead to a permanent ban.

4. Permanent Ban​

Community Impact: Demonstrating a pattern of violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior, harassment of an individual, or aggression toward or disparagement of classes of individuals.

Consequence: A permanent ban from any sort of public interaction within the community.

Appeal Process​

If you believe you have been unfairly accused or sanctioned, you may appeal the decision by:

  1. Sending an email to appeals@cortexmemory.dev
  2. Including your reasoning and any relevant context
  3. Waiting for a response from a different community leader

Appeals will be reviewed within 7 days.

Community Leadership​

The Cortex community is led by:

  • Project Maintainers: Core team members with commit access
  • Code of Conduct Committee: Dedicated team handling conduct issues
  • Community Moderators: Volunteers helping maintain community spaces

Current community leaders can be found in MAINTAINERS.md.

Questions​

If you have questions about this Code of Conduct, please:

Attribution​

This Code of Conduct is adapted from:

Changes​

This Code of Conduct may be updated from time to time. We will notify the community of any significant changes via:

  • GitHub release notes
  • Announcement in Discord
  • Email newsletter (if applicable)

The current version will always be available at CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.

License​

This Code of Conduct is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Version: 1.0
Last Updated: 2025-10-23
Effective Date: 2025-10-23

Summary​

In short:

  • Be kind, respectful, and professional
  • Welcome and help newcomers
  • Give constructive feedback
  • Accept responsibility for mistakes
  • Report unacceptable behavior
  • Trust that reports will be handled fairly

Thank you for helping make Cortex a welcoming community! 🎉