1# Contributing to Phoenix
2
3Please take a moment to review this document in order to make the contribution
4process easy and effective for everyone involved!
5Also make sure you read our [Code of Conduct](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md) that outlines our commitment towards an open and welcoming environment.
6
7## Using the issue tracker
8
9Use the issues tracker for:
10
11* [bug reports](#bug-reports)
12* [submitting pull requests](#pull-requests)
13
14Please **do not** use the issue tracker for personal support requests nor feature requests. Support requests should be sent to:
15
16* [the phoenix-talk mailing list](http://groups.google.com/group/phoenix-talk)
17* **[#elixir-lang](irc://chat.freenode.net/elixir-lang)** IRC channel on [chat.freenode.net](http://www.freenode.net/)
18
19Development issues can be discussed on [the phoenix-core mailing list](http://groups.google.com/group/phoenix-core).
20
21We do our best to keep the issue tracker tidy and organized, making it useful
22for everyone. For example, we classify open issues per perceived difficulty,
23making it easier for developers to [contribute to Phoenix](#pull-requests).
24
25## Bug reports
26
27A bug is a _demonstrable problem_ that is caused by the code in the repository.
28Good bug reports are extremely helpful - thank you!
29
30Guidelines for bug reports:
31
321. **Use the GitHub issue search** — check if the issue has already been
33   reported.
34
352. **Check if the issue has been fixed** — try to reproduce it using the
36   `master` branch in the repository.
37
383. **Isolate and report the problem** — ideally create a reduced test
39   case.
40
41Please try to be as detailed as possible in your report. Include information about
42your Operating System, as well as your Erlang, Elixir and Phoenix versions. Please provide steps to
43reproduce the issue as well as the outcome you were expecting! All these details
44will help developers to fix any potential bugs.
45
46Example:
47
48> Short and descriptive example bug report title
49>
50> A summary of the issue and the environment in which it occurs. If suitable,
51> include the steps required to reproduce the bug.
52>
53> 1. This is the first step
54> 2. This is the second step
55> 3. Further steps, etc.
56>
57> `<url>` - a link to the reduced test case (e.g. a GitHub Gist)
58>
59> Any other information you want to share that is relevant to the issue being
60> reported. This might include the lines of code that you have identified as
61> causing the bug, and potential solutions (and your opinions on their
62> merits).
63
64## Feature requests
65
66Feature requests are welcome and should be discussed on [the phoenix-core mailing list](http://groups.google.com/group/phoenix-core). But take a moment to find
67out whether your idea fits with the scope and aims of the project. It's up to *you*
68to make a strong case to convince the community of the merits of this feature.
69Please provide as much detail and context as possible.
70
71## Contributing Documentation
72
73Code documentation (`@doc`, `@moduledoc`, `@typedoc`) has a special convention:
74the first paragraph is considered to be a short summary.
75
76For functions, macros and callbacks say what it will do. For example write
77something like:
78
79```elixir
80@doc """
81Marks the given value as HTML safe.
82"""
83def safe({:safe, value}), do: {:safe, value}
84```
85
86For modules, protocols and types say what it is. For example write
87something like:
88
89```elixir
90defmodule Phoenix.HTML do
91  @moduledoc """
92  Conveniences for working HTML strings and templates.
93  ...
94  """
95```
96
97Keep in mind that the first paragraph might show up in a summary somewhere, long
98texts in the first paragraph create very ugly summaries. As a rule of thumb
99anything longer than 80 characters is too long.
100
101Try to keep unnecessary details out of the first paragraph, it's only there to
102give a user a quick idea of what the documented "thing" does/is. The rest of the
103documentation string can contain the details, for example when a value and when
104`nil` is returned.
105
106If possible include examples, preferably in a form that works with doctests.
107This makes it easy to test the examples so that they don't go stale and examples
108are often a great help in explaining what a function does.
109
110## Pull requests
111
112Good pull requests - patches, improvements, new features - are a fantastic
113help. They should remain focused in scope and avoid containing unrelated
114commits.
115
116**IMPORTANT**: By submitting a patch, you agree that your work will be
117licensed under the license used by the project.
118
119If you have any large pull request in mind (e.g. implementing features,
120refactoring code, etc), **please ask first** otherwise you risk spending
121a lot of time working on something that the project's developers might
122not want to merge into the project.
123
124Please adhere to the coding conventions in the project (indentation,
125accurate comments, etc.) and don't forget to add your own tests and
126documentation. When working with git, we recommend the following process
127in order to craft an excellent pull request:
128
1291. [Fork](https://help.github.com/articles/fork-a-repo/) the project, clone your fork,
130   and configure the remotes:
131
132   ```bash
133   # Clone your fork of the repo into the current directory
134   git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/phoenix
135   # Navigate to the newly cloned directory
136   cd phoenix
137   # Assign the original repo to a remote called "upstream"
138   git remote add upstream https://github.com/phoenixframework/phoenix
139   ```
140
1412. If you cloned a while ago, get the latest changes from upstream, and update your fork:
142
143   ```bash
144   git checkout master
145   git pull upstream master
146   git push
147   ```
148
1493. Create a new topic branch (off of `master`) to contain your feature, change,
150   or fix.
151
152   **IMPORTANT**: Making changes in `master` is discouraged. You should always
153   keep your local `master` in sync with upstream `master` and make your
154   changes in topic branches.
155
156   ```bash
157   git checkout -b <topic-branch-name>
158   ```
159
1604. Commit your changes in logical chunks. Keep your commit messages organized,
161   with a short description in the first line and more detailed information on
162   the following lines. Feel free to use Git's
163   [interactive rebase](https://help.github.com/articles/about-git-rebase/)
164   feature to tidy up your commits before making them public.
165
1665. Make sure all the tests are still passing.
167
168   ```bash
169   mix test
170   ```
171
1726. Push your topic branch up to your fork:
173
174   ```bash
175   git push origin <topic-branch-name>
176   ```
177
1787. [Open a Pull Request](https://help.github.com/articles/about-pull-requests/)
179    with a clear title and description.
180
1818. If you haven't updated your pull request for a while, you should consider
182   rebasing on master and resolving any conflicts.
183
184   **IMPORTANT**: _Never ever_ merge upstream `master` into your branches. You
185   should always `git rebase` on `master` to bring your changes up to date when
186   necessary.
187
188   ```bash
189   git checkout master
190   git pull upstream master
191   git checkout <your-topic-branch>
192   git rebase master
193   ```
194
195Thank you for your contributions!
196