Showcasing Your Achievements as a User and a Contributor
Layer5 Recognition Program
Layer5 badges are one of the many ways that we recognize the efforts of our contributors and uplift our users. Layer5 badges represent milestones that you achieve both in using and in contributing to Layer5-supported open source projects. As a contributor, this is how you demonstrate your ownership, dedication, skills and commitment. As a user, this is how you demonstrate your prowess, milestones, and meaningful engagement.
See the Recognition section of the Layer5 Community Handbook for details of when and how each badge is awarded.
General
The Layer5 Recognition Program is a system wherein badges symbolize users' and contributors' achievements and skills in the Layer5 community.
These badges showcase dedication, ownership, and proficiency, representing various contributions and skill sets, underlining the importance of individual contributions, and fostering loyalty within the community.
Yes, it doesn't matter if you are an experienced developer, a newbie figuring out your way into open source, documentation enthusiast, a community socialite... we have a badge you can earn and display proudly!
Layer5 badges are divided into two categories, namely 'Achievement Badges' and 'Project and Contribution' badges.
Project and Contribution badges are assigned by community managers when you contribute to a particular project.
Achievements badges are assigned automatically when you complete a task like sharing a design, using the interactive terminal, creating a design for the first time, and so on.
There is no set limit to the number of badges you can earn within the Layer5 Recognition Program. Your achievements and contributions determine the badges you receive, showcasing your dedication and skills within the community.
To share your badges on other social profiles, utilize the provided embedded code and direct share functionality. Access your badges from the Layer5 Cloud profile badges section, and then use it to seamlessly post your achievements on social media platforms. This enables you to showcase your Layer5 contributions and milestones to a wider audience.
New badges are being developed, so keep your eyes peeled for their emergence... or help us design a new one!
Yes, we aim to expand badge categories to recognize a broader range of achievements and contributions, fostering a more inclusive and diverse community.
Yes, incorporating Layer5 recognition badges into your résumé showcases your technical proficiency, commitment, and collaborative spirit, adding credibility to your open source contributions and skills.
Yes, Layer5 encourages collaboration and welcomes your ideas to enhance the badge design process and community engagement.
Certifications
The CMC is an official certification created by the Meshery maintainers under the CNCF.
It validates and recognizes technical proficiency in contributing to the Meshery open-source project.
It is designed for developers, technical writers, and community contributors.
The Meshery Certification Program includes multiple certification tracks tailored to different professional roles.
These certifications include tracks for administrators, developers, and open-source contributors working within the Meshery ecosystem.
Learn more: https://www.cncf.io/blog/2025/10/27/announcing-the-certified-meshery-contributor-cmc/
Intermediate knowledge of Go, React, and working with OpenAPI schemas is recommended.
Basic understanding of Meshery’s components and contribution processes is useful.
The certification spans five architectural domains: Meshery Server, CLI, UI, Models, and Extensibility.
Each domain has an exam focused on validating contributions and understanding of that area.
The exam is taken online.
It consists of single-choice, multiple-choice and short-answer questions.
Each exam session lasts 2 hours.
You are expected to complete all questions within this time window.
You must score at least 70% to pass.
This passing threshold applies to all Meshery exam domains.
No, the CMC certification is completely free.
You can register and take the exam without paying any fees.
The certification is valid for 2 years from the date it is earned.
After this period, you may need to renew or retake exams as required.
No, there is no minimum number of PRs or contributions required.
Anyone interested in contributing to Meshery can take the exam.
The exams were designed and reviewed by Meshery maintainers.
Each maintainer contributed expertise from one of Meshery’s core architectural domains.
CMC is part of a multi-tier certification program covering Contributor and Developer tracks.
It serves as an entry-level credential before advancing to higher certifications such as Certified Meshery Developer.
You receive an official digital CMC badge recognizing your achievement.
The certification demonstrates your proficiency to the community and potential employers.
You can begin by visiting the Meshery Academy and the official CMC exam page.
There, you will find guidance on training materials, exam registration, and preparation steps.
You will receive the Certified Meshery Contributor badge.
You can continue advancing through the Meshery Contributor and Developer certification tracks.
Special Edition Badges
This is a special edition badge and it is awarded to Docker Captains.
This is a special edition badge and it is awarded to CNCF Ambassadors.
This badge is awarded to the contributors who contribute to any Layer5 project during Hacktoberfest 2025.
This badge is awarded to community members who actively support and guide others, embodying the spirit of collaboration and knowledge sharing in the Layer5 community.
Achievement Badges
This badge is awarded to the Layer5 cloud users when they create their first application.
This badge is awarded upon creating your first design.
This badge is awarded to contributors who help maintain code quality and cleanliness.
This badge is awarded to individuals who contribute to identifying and fixing security vulnerabilities.
This badge is awarded for long-term, sustained contributions to the project over the years.
This badge is awarded to individuals who provide thorough and valuable code reviews.
This badge is awarded to the users who invite someone to Layer5 Cloud.
This badge is awarded upon first-time sharing one of your Meshery designs.
This badge is awarded upon the success of your first design deployment.
This badge is awarded upon successful execution of your first Meshery performance test.
This badge is awarded the first time that you establish an interactive terminal session with a Kubernetes Pod.
This badge is awarded the first time that you stream logs from a Kubernetes Pod.
This badge is awarded the first time a collaborator saves changes to one of your designs.
This badge is awarded to users upon establishment of a connection with Meshery GitHub App.
This badge is awarded to users upon creation of their first infrastructure screenshot directly in their pull request.
This badge is awarded to the community members who make consistent and impactful contributions for a long period of time in Layer5 projects in recognition and appreciation of their efforts.
This badge is awarded to community members who publish verified designs to the Meshery Catalog in three consecutive months, in recognition and appreciation of their efforts.
Project Badges
This badge is awarded to the community members who create or improve designs for visual aspects or user flow for any of the websites, flyers, promotions, Meshery UI, and so on in recognition and appreciation of their efforts.
This badge is awarded to the community members who make with two or more published writings whether in article, blog post, project documentation or other form in recognition and appreciation of their efforts.
This badge is awarded to the community members who make consistent and impactful contributions to the Kanvas project (https://layer5.io/cloud-native-management/kanvas) in recognition and appreciation of their efforts. Community members who earn this badge occasionally become a project maintainer.
This badge is awarded to the community members who make consistent and impactful contributions to the Service Mesh Performance project. Community members who earn this badge occasionally become a project maintainer.
This badge is awarded to the community members who repeatedly engage in welcoming, encouraging, and supporting other Layer5 community members. Community members who earn this badge occasionally graduate to undertaking the Community Manager role.
This badge is awarded to the community members who make consistent and impactful contributions to the Meshery project. Community members who earn this badge occasionally become a project maintainer.
This badge is awarded to the community members who make consistent and impactful contributions to the Service Mesh Patterns project (https://service-mesh-patterns.github.io/service-mesh-patterns) in recognition and appreciation of their efforts.
This badge is awarded to the community members who make consistent and impactful contributions to the layer5.io website.
This badge is awarded to the community members who make consistent and impactful contributions to the NightHawk project in recognition and appreciation of their efforts. Community members who earn this badge occasionally become a project maintainer.
This badge is awarded to the community members who make consistent and impactful contributions to the Meshery Catalog (https://meshery.io/catalog) of Meshery project in recognition and appreciation of their efforts.
This badge is awarded to the community members who make consistent and impactful contributions to the Docker Extension of meshery project in recognition and appreciation of their efforts.
This badge is awarded to the community members who make consistent and impactful contributions to Meshery Operator of the Meshery project in recognition and appreciation of their efforts.
This badge is awarded to the community members who make consistent and impactful contributions to the Meshery Docs (https://docs.meshery.io) in recognition and appreciation of their efforts.
This badge is awarded to the community members who make consistent and impactful contributions to MeshSync in recognition and appreciation of their efforts.
This badge is awarded to the community members who make consistent and impactful contributions to the Sistent project as a recognition and appreciation of their efforts.
Certification Badges
This certificate recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a clear understanding of each major Meshery architectural component, the frameworks, and the process of contribution.
The Certified Meshery Developer (CMD) is an advanced certification for developers who build and integrate extensions for the Meshery platform. As a higher tier than the Meshery Certified Contributor (MCC), the CMD shifts focus from contributing to the core project to the specific development of user-facing components and backend integrations that plug into Meshery.
This entry-level certification validates a foundational knowledge of Meshery's core concepts and working knowledge of all major functional components.
This professional-level certification validates the practical ability to use Meshery for real-world infrastructure design, provisioning, and performance management.
This advanced-level certification validates deep expertise in operating, troubleshooting, and extending the Meshery platform through systems integration.
Archived Badges
This badge is awarded to the contributors who contribute to any Layer5 project during Hacktoberfest 2023.
This badge is awarded to the contributors who contribute to any Layer5 project during Hacktoberfest 2024.
Wear your badge proudly.
Embed your Layer5 badges in your GitHub profile. Follow these steps to display your badge:
- Visit your Layer5 Cloud user profile to see badges you have earned
- Click on the badge you want to display on your profile
- Copy the embed code that's displayed
- Paste the code in your GitHub profile README to showcase your achievement
Your badge will appear in your GitHub profile, showcasing your milestones!
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