Add a sponsor to an event

Sponsors are global, not per-event. data/sponsors/<id>.yml and assets/sponsors/<first-char>/<id>.png are shared by every event that has ever listed that sponsor. An event references a sponsor by id and level.

This matters: creating a duplicate sponsor entry when one already exists is the most common mistake here, and it fragments the shared directory.

Gather

• Event: year and city (→ <YYYY> and <city-slug>, e.g. 2026 / boston)
• Sponsor name as it should read
• Sponsorship level
• Sponsor URL, and whether this event needs its own tracking URL
• A logo, only if the sponsor is not already in the directory

1. Check whether the sponsor already exists — always do this first

ls data/sponsors/ | grep -i <name-fragment>

Search loosely. thoughtworks-gocd, ibmcode, and redhat are all real ids that a plain name search would miss. Also look for date-suffixed variants like pivotal-before-20190115.yml — those are historical entries kept so past events keep their old logo. Never point a current event at a -before- entry.

If it exists with the right name and URL, go to step 3 — you do not need a logo, a data file, or any change under assets/.

2. Only if it is genuinely new

Pick the id: lowercase, alphanumeric and hyphens, no spaces. It becomes the filename in both places and must match exactly.

Data file — data/sponsors/<id>.yml:

name: "Sponsor Display Name"
url: "https://sponsor.example.com"

twitter: is optional; add it without the @ if you have it. That is the whole schema.

Logo — assets/sponsors/<first-char>/<id>.png, where <first-char> is the first character of the id (assets/sponsors/d/datadog.png). Create the shard directory if it does not exist.

Requirements:

• At least 200px wide; 600px looks right on high-density displays
• White or transparent background
• Square is not required but usually looks better
• Lowercase filename, or the Lint Filenames CI job fails the PR

Do not put anything in static/img/sponsors/. A dedicated workflow (.github/workflows/no-sponsors-changes.yml) hard-fails any PR that touches it.

3. Add the sponsor to the event

Edit data/events/<YYYY>/<city-slug>/main.yml.

Check sponsor_levels: first — the level you are adding must have a matching id: there, and if that level has a max:, adding beyond it means the "Become a sponsor" link disappears for that level. If the level does not exist yet, add it to sponsor_levels: too.

Then add to sponsors::

sponsors:
  - id: cloudbees
    level: bronze

If this event needs its own tracking URL, override it here rather than editing the shared sponsor file — which would change the URL for every event that lists them:

  - id: netapp
    level: gold
    url: https://netapp.com/?campaign=devopsdays-boston

Set sponsors_accepted: "yes" if the event wants the "Become a sponsor" links shown at all.

4. Verify

• The id: in main.yml matches data/sponsors/<id>.yml exactly. A mismatch renders an empty logo slot silently — nothing fails.
• The logo exists at assets/sponsors/<first-char>/<id>.png. A missing one produces a Hugo warning and falls back to the legacy static path.
• The level: matches an id: under sponsor_levels:.
• Preview /events/<YYYY>-<city-slug>/sponsor/ and confirm the logo renders at the right level.

5. Submit

Follow .claude/skills/submit-changes/SKILL.md.

PR title: [BOS-2026] Add CloudBees as a Bronze sponsor.

If a sponsor wants their logo changed

That is a different job with history-preservation rules — use .claude/skills/change-sponsor-logo/SKILL.md. Do not simply overwrite the PNG; it would retroactively rewrite years of past events.