diff --git a/project-lifecycle.md b/project-lifecycle.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..88e36fa2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/project-lifecycle.md
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+# Protocol Labs Project Lifecycle
+
+* Outline
+  * Active States
+    * L0: Prototype
+    * L1: “In Org”
+    * L2: Contributors Welcome!
+    * L3: Growth
+    * L4: Top Project
+    * L5: Flagship Project
+  * Inactive States
+    * D0: Actively Maintained
+    * D1: Critical Fixes Only
+    * D2: Hard Deprecated
+
+## Lifecycles and API Stability
+
+For the most part, a project’s place in the lifecycle does not describe it’s API stability. 
+API stability is required once enough people depend on that API and can’t always be planned for.
+
+However, it is assumed that once a project reaches L3 the project is actively soliciting 
+users and is dedicated to supporting them by not breaking API unless absolutely necessary. 
+Similarly, API changes should not happen in inactive states as we are no longer soliciting 
+users and are only investing to the extent that people already depend on them.
+
+## L0: Prototype
+
+*Examples: proto.school*
+
+During the initial stages of development projects exist either on developer’s personal GitHub 
+accounts or in specific orgs like shipyard that are intended to house experimental development 
+and demo’s.
+
+At this stage, attention is a liability, and providing a nice website, good documentation, 
+or other promotion would only bring unwanted attention too early.
+
+## L1: “In Org”
+
+*Examples: interface-ipld*
+
+When projects are moving into relevant PL orgs they are expected to have:
+
+* Guaranteed test coverage at a reasonable level.
+* TBD: other automation.
+
+## L2: Contributors Welcome!
+
+*Examples: peerpad*
+
+At this stage the project is ready to solicit additional contributors from 
+the community. It should expect.
+
+* Occasional features in the newsletter and in social media.
+* Community Engineering Support:
+  * Issue Triage and cleanliness
+  * TBD: other automation.
+
+## L3: Growth
+
+*Examples: dag-cbor, js-libp2p*
+
+At this stage the project is ready to solicit many more users and dependents than it currently has. 
+It should expect:
+
+* Frequent features in the newsletter and in social media.
+* Featured talks and videos in YouTube channel.
+* Content Creation: workshops, tutorials, documentation, conference talks.
+
+## L4: Top Project
+
+*Example: js-ipfs, go-ipfs*
+
+At this stage the project has reached a level of maturity in users and community that we feature it often.
+
+* Frequent talks and workshops at our events.
+* Featured spot in the GitHub org (if available).
+
+## L5: Flagship Project
+
+*Examples: libp2p, IPFS, IPLD*
+
+Most project repositories do not reach this point. This status is reserved for broader “project” contexts. 
+Projects should expect:
+
+* Fancy website
+* Dedicated social media accounts
+
+## D0: Actively Maintained
+
+*Examples: dag-protobuf*
+
+This status is for libraries we still maintain and possibly even rely on but have already made a strategic 
+decision to move away from.
+
+## D1: Critical Fixes Only
+
+We’ve deprecated our own use to the extent that we can and encourage the community to do the same.
+
+## D2: Hard Deprecated
+
+Using this library is actively harmful.