Metadata

MetaCPAN uses the CPAN::Meta spec for much of the information about a distribution. It also supports some custom meta fields.

Contributors

Distributions can provide a list of contributors using the x_contributors field in the META.json or META.yml file. The list will be presented below the releaser and authors on the right sidebar. If possible, the list should include an email address either linked to the user on MetaCPAN or listed in PAUSE.

In META.yml:

...
x_contributors:
  - The First Contributor <contrib1@cpan.org>
  - The Second Contributor <second_contrib@cpan.org>
  - Yet Another Contributor <yacontrib@cpan.org>
...

In META.json:

...
"x_contributors" : [
  "The First Contributor <contrib1@cpan.org>",
  "The Second Contributor <second_contrib@cpan.org>",
  "Yet Another Contributor <yacontrib@cpan.org>"
],
...

Dist::Zilla users can automate adding this using the Dist::Zilla::Plugin::Git::Contributors plugin.

Chat

A link to an chat channel can be provided using the x_chat or x_IRC (or IRC in META.yml) resource field. This can be either in the form of a single URL, or a hash containing the url and web keys. Using a single URL is taken as equivalent to specifying a url key. This should be a link directly to the chat channel, such as using an irc:// link for IRC channels, or whatever form is appropriate for other chat systems. The web link should be a link that will open the chat channel directly in a browser.

For irc:// URLs, a web link will be automatically be generated if not provided. This will link to a web IRC client.

The web link will be shown in the left sidebar.

In META.yml:

...
resources:
  ...
  IRC: irc://irc.perl.org/#metacpan
...

In META.json:

...
"resources" : {
  ...
  "x_chat" : "irc://irc.perl.org/#metacpan"
},
...

Or:

...
"resources" : {
  ...
  "x_chat" : {
    "url" : "irc://irc.perl.org/#metacpan",
    "web" : "https://chat.mibbit.com/?channel=%23metacpan&server=irc.perl.org"
  }
},
...

Files

Change Logs

MetaCPAN will look for change logs in the following files: CHANGES, Changes, ChangeLog, Changelog, CHANGELOG, and NEWS. These will be shown when using the Changes link on the sidebar. If the change log follows the CPAN::Changes::Spec, the release page will include the entries for the release.