# How to contribute Contributions to ER are highly encouraged and desired. Below are some guidelines that will help make the process as smooth as possible. ## Getting Started - Make sure you have a [Ludo Git account](https://git.ludoviko.ch/user/sign_up) - Submit a new issue, assuming one does not already exist. - Clearly describe the issue including steps to reproduce when it is a bug. - Make sure you fill in the earliest version that you know has the issue. - Fork the repository on GitHub ## Suggesting Enhancements - When submitting an issue for an enhancement, please be as clear as possible about why you think the enhancement is needed and what the benefit of it would be. ## Making Changes - From your fork of the repository, create a topic branch where work on your change will take place. - To quickly create a topic branch based on main; `git checkout -b my_contribution main`. Please avoid working directly on the `main` branche. - Make commits of logical units. - Check for unnecessary whitespace with `git diff --check` before committing. - Please follow the prevailing code conventions in the repository. Differences in style make the code harder to understand for everyone. - Make sure you have added all the necessary unit tests for your changes. - Run _all_ unit tests to assure nothing else was accidentally broken. - Make sure your commit messages are in the proper format. - The first line of the commit message should be a short description around 50 characters in length and be prefixed with the GitHub issue it refers to with parentheses surrounding that. If the GitHub issue is #25, you should have `(#25)` prefixed to the message. - If the commit is about documentation, the message should be prefixed with `(doc)`. - If it is a trivial commit or one of formatting/spaces fixes, it should be prefixed with `(maint)`. - After the subject, skip one line and fill out a body if the subject line is not informative enough. - Sometimes you will find that even a tiny code change has a commit body that needs to be very detailed and make take more time to do than the actual change itself! - The body: - Should wrap at `72` characters. - Explains more fully the reason(s) for the change and contrasts with previous behavior. - Uses present tense. "Fix" versus "Fixed". - Contains a sign off statement to confirm that you agree to the [DCO](#DCO) A good example of a commit message is as follows: ```text (#123) Add more cowbell to Get-Something The functionality of Get-Something would be greatly improved if there was a little more 'pizzazz' added to it. I propose a cowbell. Adding more cowbell has been shown in studies to both increase one's mojo, and cement one's status as a rock legend. Signed-off-by: Your Name ``` ## Documentation We are not infallible and as such the documentation may need corrections. Please feel free to contribute changes to improve the documentation as described in the [Making Changes](#making-changes) and [Submitting Changes](#submitting-changes) sections. ## Submitting Changes - Push your changes to a topic branch in your fork of the repository. - Submit a pull request to the main repository. - Once the pull request has been reviewed and accepted, it will be merged with the master branch. - Celebrate ## DCO ```text Developer Certificate of Origin Version 1.1 Copyright (C) 2004, 2006 The Linux Foundation and its contributors. 1 Letterman Drive Suite D4700 San Francisco, CA, 94129 Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is not allowed. Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.1 By making a contribution to this project, I certify that: (a) The contribution was created in whole or in part by me and I have the right to submit it under the open source license indicated in the file; or (b) The contribution is based upon previous work that, to the best of my knowledge, is covered under an appropriate open source license and I have the right under that license to submit that work with modifications, whether created in whole or in part by me, under the same open source license (unless I am permitted to submit under a different license), as indicated in the file; or (c) The contribution was provided directly to me by some other person who certified (a), (b) or (c) and I have not modified it. (d) I understand and agree that this project and the contribution are public and that a record of the contribution (including all personal information I submit with it, including my sign-off) is maintained indefinitely and may be redistributed consistent with this project or the open source license(s) involved. ``` ## Additional Resources - [General GitHub documentation](https://help.github.com/) - [GitHub forking documentation](https://guides.github.com/activities/forking/) - [GitHub pull request documentation](https://help.github.com/send-pull-requests/) - [GitHub Flow guide](https://guides.github.com/introduction/flow/) - [GitHub's guide to contributing to open source projects](https://guides.github.com/activities/contributing-to-open-source/)