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# Developer documentation

We welcome your contributions to the OpenSearch Project. Here are some helpful links to explore the OpenSearch repositories and learn how to contribute:

- [OpenSearch Project GitHub repo](https://github.com/opensearch-project/)
- [Javadoc documentation](https://opensearch.org/javadocs/)
- [Getting started as an OpenSearch contributor](https://github.com/opensearch-project/.github/blob/main/ONBOARDING.md)
- [OpenSearch Dashboards Developer Guide](https://github.com/opensearch-project/OpenSearch-Dashboards/blob/main/DEVELOPER_GUIDE.md)
- [OpenSearch release schedule and maintenance policy](https://opensearch.org/releases.html)
- [OpenSearch Project roadmap](https://github.com/orgs/opensearch-project/projects/1)
- [OpenSearch Community Forum](https://forum.opensearch.org/)

## What's new

New in version 2.9, OpenSearch introduces _extensions_---an easier-to-develop and more secure alternative to plugins---to simplify creating custom functionality for OpenSearch. To learn more about building extensions using _OpenSearch SDK for Java_, see [Extensions]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/developer-documentation/extensions/).