Core Builders FAQ

What are core builders?

The core builders are the builders that show up on this page:

​http://build.webkit.org/waterfall?category=core

Core developers of the WebKit engine use this page to see whether their changes have caused test regressions. Having a builder on the "core" page does not guarantee that folks working on the engine will keep the builder green, but those builders are more visible and therefore more likely to be actively maintained.

Can my favorite builder become a core builder?

If your favorite builder is consistently green for two weeks, you should write a patch that adds it to the set of core builders. Generally I (abarth) will happily review patches that add a core builder that has been green for 90% of its past 200 cycles, especially if the builder has been hitting that mark consistently.

Why did you remove my favorite builder from the core set?

If your favorite builder is consistently red, it's likely someone will remove it from the set of core builders. For example, if I (abarth) notice that your favorite builder is often red for 90% of its past 200 cycles, I'll likely post a patch to remove it from the core set, especially if the redness is due to compile failures and not just a handful of test failures.

Please don't take it personally if someone removes your favorite builder from the core set. It's not really helpful to have a consistently red builder in the core set. If the builder is consistently red, that means the core contributors aren't putting in the effort to keep it green, which means it's just noise on the core page. Having a core builder isn't a good way to convince folks to care about your favorite builder. The causality flows the other way: if folks care about your builder, it's helpful to them to put it on the front page.