Create a repository mapping with descriptions for the project

docs/_toc.yml

@@ -207,6 +207,7 @@ subtrees:
             - entries:
               - file: developers/contributing/documentation/docs_template
               - file: developers/contributing/documentation/docs_deployment
+      - file: developers/repositories
       - file: developers/coredev/core_dev_guide
         subtrees:
         - entries:

docs/developers/contributing/index.md

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 We welcome your contributions! Here you will find a guide to the contribution
 workflow and tips for contributing to napari.
 If you are looking to learn more about the napari code base, see the [napari architecture guide](architecture-index).
+If you are looking for an overview of all the repositories in the napari organization, see the [repository map](napari-repositories).
 Please [contact](contact) us if you have any queries.
 
 ```{note}

docs/developers/index.md

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ If you are looking to create and deploy your own napari workshop material, check
 
 Resources for contributors
 
+- [Repository map](napari-repositories)
 - [Contributing guide](napari-contributing)
   - [Development installation](dev-installation)
   - [Testing](napari-testing)

docs/developers/repositories.md

@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+(napari-repositories)=
+
+# napari repository map
+
+This page gives contributors a high-level map of the repositories in the
+[napari GitHub organization](https://github.com/napari) and related projects.
+
+The status labels are approximate and should be read as contributor guidance:
+
+- **Active**: regular feature work or frequent cross-repository coordination.
+  We welcome contributors to these repositories to help drive forward new features and improvements.
+  Contributions to these repositories are likely to be more visible, but 
+  may also require more coordination with the core team and other contributors.
+- **Maintenance**: stable and useful; bug fixes, documentation updates, and
+  dependency work are usually the most common changes.
+  Contributions within this scope will be attended to in a timely manner, while
+  larger feature contributions may require more discussion and coordination to
+  ensure they fit with the current direction and scope of the project.
+- **Early Development**: new or still changing quickly. Contributions are especially
+  welcome and can help shape the direction of these projects. These repositories
+  may be fast changing, but can be easier to contribute to since they have 
+  fewer established conventions and patterns.
+- **Backlog**: still relevant, but not a current priority for the core team.
+  We encourage contributions to these repos to bring them up to speed and 
+  bring functionality to match the original vision for the project.
+
+## Core application and extensions
+
+These are the repositories that are most central to the central napari experience.
+See [](upstream-dependencies) for libraries that are fundamental to napari functionality
+but are developed outside of the napari organization.
+
+| Repo | Description | Status |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| [napari](https://github.com/napari/napari) | Main viewer application and the central repo for layers, events, settings, rendering integration, and releases. | **Active** |
+| [napari-console](https://github.com/napari/napari-console) | In-viewer Python console plugin. | Maintenance |
+| [napari-svg](https://github.com/napari/napari-svg) | SVG export plugin for napari layers. | Backlog |
+| [napari-metadata](https://github.com/napari/napari-metadata) | Metadata editing plugin for layers; included with bundled installs and `napari[optional]`. | Active |
+
+## Documentation, websites, and communication
+
+These repos shape how users and contributors discover napari, learn about it,
+and interact with project resources online. These repositories are a great place to
+contribute, even if you don't have experience with Python, since they mostly involve
+writing and design.
+
+| Repo | Description | Status |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| [docs](https://github.com/napari/docs) | Main narrative documentation sources for napari.org, excluding most autogenerated API docs. | Active |
+| [workshops](https://github.com/napari/workshops) | Current workshop materials and publishing infrastructure for napari workshops. | Active |
+| [napari-sphinx-theme](https://github.com/napari/napari-sphinx-theme) | Shared Sphinx theme and site UI used across napari websites. | Active |
+| [island-dispatch](https://github.com/napari/island-dispatch) | Blog for napari news, announcements, and community updates. | Active |
+| [weather-report](https://github.com/napari/weather-report) | Public analytics dashboard for project and ecosystem metrics. | Maintenance |
+| [resources](https://github.com/napari/resources) | Shared graphics, copy, and brand resources for the project. | Maintenance |
+| [napari.github.io](https://github.com/napari/napari.github.io) | Website content and generated assets used to publish napari/docs on napari.org. | Maintenance |
+| [meeting-notes](https://github.com/napari/meeting-notes) | Notes from recurring project meetings. | Active |
+
+## Plugin System
+
+The plugin ecosystem is built around the `npe2` plugin engine and manifest specification.
+The repositories below are focused on supporting the plugin ecosystem,
+whether through core plugin infrastructure and development resources. 
+
+| Repo | Description | Status |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| [npe2](https://github.com/napari/npe2) | Plugin manifest and engine v2 for the napari plugin ecosystem. | Active |
+| [napari-plugin-manager](https://github.com/napari/napari-plugin-manager) | Graphical plugin installer and management UI inside the viewer. | Active |
+| [napari-plugin-template](https://github.com/napari/napari-plugin-template) | Main template for creating new napari plugins. | Active |
+| [npe2api](https://github.com/napari/npe2api) | API documentation and schema reference site for the npe2 plugin manifest system. | Active |
+| [hub-lite](https://github.com/napari/hub-lite) | Static implementation of the napari plugin hub website. | Active |
+| [napari-plugin-checks](https://github.com/napari/napari-plugin-checks) | Checks and helper tooling for validating napari plugins. | Backlog |
+
+## Specialized plugins
+
+These repos are useful to contributors working on particular workflows or newer
+features, but they are not as central as the core application and docs repos.
+
+| Repo | Description | Status |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| [napari-animation](https://github.com/napari/napari-animation) | Plugin for building and exporting animations from viewer state. | Active |
+| [napari-geojson](https://github.com/napari/napari-geojson) | GeoJSON support for reading and writing geographic annotation data in napari. | Active |
+| [napari-graph](https://github.com/napari/napari-graph) | Graph data structures and algorithms for visualization and editing workflows. | Backlog |
+| [napari-tiff](https://github.com/napari/napari-tiff) | TIFF reader and writer plugin maintained by the napari team. | Active |
+| [napari-xarray](https://github.com/napari/napari-xarray) | Integration work for xarray-based data and labeled nD arrays in napari. | Backlog |
+| [bermuda](https://github.com/napari/bermuda) | Performance-oriented spatial algorithms project, including compiled Rust components. | Maintenance |
+| [midi-app-controller](https://github.com/napari/midi-app-controller) | MIDI controller integration for driving the napari UI. | Maintenance |
+| [update-checker](https://github.com/napari/update-checker) | Viewer extension for checking whether a bundled napari app has an available update. | Backlog |
+
+## Release, packaging, and ecosystem tooling
+
+These repos support packaging, automation, plugin infrastructure, and other
+project-level operations.
+
+| Repo | Description | Status |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| [packaging](https://github.com/napari/packaging) | Build and packaging infrastructure for bundled installers and app distribution. | Maintenance |
+| [napari-release-tools](https://github.com/napari/napari-release-tools) | Scripts and automation used to streamline the release process. | Active |
+| [shared-workflows](https://github.com/napari/shared-workflows) | Reusable GitHub Actions workflows shared across napari repositories. | Active |
+| [pins](https://github.com/napari/pins) | Version constraints and compatibility pins for the napari plugin ecosystem. | Backlog |
+| [constructor-manager](https://github.com/napari/constructor-manager) | Tooling related to managing constructor-based app bundles. | Backlog |
+
+(upstream-dependencies)=
+## Important upstream dependencies
+
+The repositories below are not in the `napari` GitHub organization, but they
+are important friends of napari that are contributed to by members of the napari community.
+The following `pyapp-kit` projects were largely spun out of napari and
+continue to be developed in close coordination with napari's needs. 
+
+- [vispy/vispy](https://github.com/vispy/vispy): rendering backend and canvas
+  infrastructure used by napari.
+- [pyapp-kit/magicgui](https://github.com/pyapp-kit/magicgui): automatic widget
+  generation from Python type hints, widely used in plugins and some napari UI.
+- [pyapp-kit/superqt](https://github.com/pyapp-kit/superqt): extended Qt widgets
+  used by napari and related plugins.
+- [pyapp-kit/app-model](https://github.com/pyapp-kit/app-model): action and
+  command model used by modern napari UI infrastructure.
+- [pyapp-kit/psygnal](https://github.com/pyapp-kit/psygnal): typed event and
+  signal system used across the pyapp-kit and napari ecosystem.
+
+````{dropdown} Archived and historical repositories
+
+Archived repositories are included here for completeness. In most cases, new
+work should start in a different repository.
+
+- [cookiecutter-napari-plugin](https://github.com/napari/cookiecutter-napari-plugin): predecessor to `napari-plugin-template`.
+- [dummy-test-plugin](https://github.com/napari/dummy-test-plugin): testing plugin used for plugin-system development.
+- [image-types](https://github.com/napari/image-types): type-definition experiment for image-oriented Python code.
+- [jupyterlab-bot](https://github.com/napari/jupyterlab-bot): historical fork.
+- [magicgui](https://github.com/napari/magicgui): mirror of the upstream `pyapp-kit/magicgui` project.
+- [napari-core](https://github.com/napari/napari-core): early core repository from before the current `napari` layout.
+- [napari-data](https://github.com/napari/napari-data): example-data repository.
+- [napari-hello-world](https://github.com/napari/napari-hello-world): example plugin repository.
+- [napari-io](https://github.com/napari/napari-io): early IO plugin repository.
+- [napari-language-packs](https://github.com/napari/napari-language-packs): repository for downloadable language packs for the napari UI.
+- [napari-plugin-devtools](https://github.com/napari/napari-plugin-devtools): tooling repo for plugin developers.
+- [napari-plugin-engine](https://github.com/napari/napari-plugin-engine): legacy plugin engine based on pluggy.
+- [napari-scipy2025-workshop](https://github.com/napari/napari-scipy2025-workshop): workshop-specific repository for the SciPy 2025 napari tutorial materials.
+- [napari-web-experimental](https://github.com/napari/napari-web-experimental): archived exploration of a possible web front end.
+- [napari-workshop-template](https://github.com/napari/napari-workshop-template): template for creating napari workshop websites and materials.
+- [old-docs](https://github.com/napari/old-docs): documentation repository from an older docs system.
+- [plugin-cookiecutter](https://github.com/napari/plugin-cookiecutter): early plugin cookiecutter repository.
+- [product-heuristics-2020](https://github.com/napari/product-heuristics-2020): product-heuristics snapshot from 2020.
+- [superqt](https://github.com/napari/superqt): mirror of the upstream `pyapp-kit/superqt` project.
+- [surveys](https://github.com/napari/surveys): Analysis workflows for napari survey data.
+
+````