[libgit2.git] / CONTRIBUTING.md

# Welcome to libgit2!

We're making it easy to do interesting things with git, and we'd love to have
your help.

## Discussion & Chat

We hang out in the #libgit2 channel on irc.freenode.net.

## Reporting Bugs

First, know which version of libgit2 your problem is in.  Compile and test
against the `development` branch to avoid re-reporting an issue that's already
been fixed.

It's *incredibly* helpful to be able to reproduce the problem.  Please include
a bit of code and/or a zipped repository (if possible).  Note that some of the
developers are employees of GitHub, so if your repository is private, find us
on IRC and we'll figure out a way to help you.

## Pull Requests

Life will be a lot easier for you if you create a named branch for your
contribution, rather than just using your fork's `development`.

It's helpful if you include a nice description of your change with your PR; if
someone has to read the whole diff to figure out why you're contributing in the
first place, you're less likely to get feedback and have your change merged in.

## Porting Code From Other Open-Source Projects

The most common case here is porting code from core Git.  Git is a GPL project,
which means that in order to port code to this project, we need the explicit
permission of the author.  Check the
[`git.git-authors`](https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/blob/development/git.git-authors)
file for authors who have already consented; feel free to add someone if you've
obtained their consent.

Other licenses have other requirements; check the license of the library you're
porting code *from* to see what you need to do.

## Styleguide

We like to keep the source code consistent and easy to read.  Maintaining this
takes some discipline, but it's been more than worth it.  Take a look at the
[conventions file](https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/blob/development/CONVENTIONS.md).
Commit	Line	Data
41b00ccc BS	1	# Welcome to libgit2!
	2
	3	We're making it easy to do interesting things with git, and we'd love to have
	4	your help.
	5
	6	## Discussion & Chat
	7
	8	We hang out in the #libgit2 channel on irc.freenode.net.
	9
	10	## Reporting Bugs
	11
	12	First, know which version of libgit2 your problem is in. Compile and test
	13	against the `development` branch to avoid re-reporting an issue that's already
	14	been fixed.
	15
	16	It's incredibly helpful to be able to reproduce the problem. Please include
	17	a bit of code and/or a zipped repository (if possible). Note that some of the
	18	developers are employees of GitHub, so if your repository is private, find us
	19	on IRC and we'll figure out a way to help you.
	20
	21	## Pull Requests
	22
	23	Life will be a lot easier for you if you create a named branch for your
	24	contribution, rather than just using your fork's `development`.
	25
	26	It's helpful if you include a nice description of your change with your PR; if
	27	someone has to read the whole diff to figure out why you're contributing in the
	28	first place, you're less likely to get feedback and have your change merged in.
	29
	30	## Porting Code From Other Open-Source Projects
	31
	32	The most common case here is porting code from core Git. Git is a GPL project,
	33	which means that in order to port code to this project, we need the explicit
	34	permission of the author. Check the
	35	[`git.git-authors`](https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/blob/development/git.git-authors)
	36	file for authors who have already consented; feel free to add someone if you've
	37	obtained their consent.
	38
	39	Other licenses have other requirements; check the license of the library you're
	40	porting code from to see what you need to do.
	41
	42	## Styleguide
	43
	44	We like to keep the source code consistent and easy to read. Maintaining this
	45	takes some discipline, but it's been more than worth it. Take a look at the
ee72ffd0	46	[conventions file](https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/blob/development/CONVENTIONS.md).
41b00ccc	47