90 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
90 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
|
# How to get started helping out in the curl project
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
We are always in need of more help. If you are new to the project and are
|
||
|
|
looking for ways to contribute and help out, this document aims to give a few
|
||
|
|
good starting points.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
You may subscribe to the [curl-library mailing
|
||
|
|
list](https://lists.haxx.se/listinfo/curl-library) to keep track of the
|
||
|
|
current discussion topics; or if you are registered on GitHub, you can use the
|
||
|
|
[Discussions section](https://github.com/curl/curl/discussions) on the main
|
||
|
|
curl repository.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
## Scratch your own itch
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
One of the best ways is to start working on any problems or issues you have
|
||
|
|
found yourself or perhaps got annoyed at in the past. It can be a spelling
|
||
|
|
error in an error text or a weirdly phrased section in a man page. Hunt it
|
||
|
|
down and report the bug. Or make your first pull request with a fix for that.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
## Smaller tasks
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Some projects mark small issues as "beginner friendly", "bite-sized" or
|
||
|
|
similar. We do not do that in curl since such issues never linger around long
|
||
|
|
enough. Simple issues get handled fast.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
If you are looking for a smaller or simpler task in the project to help out
|
||
|
|
with as an entry-point into the project, perhaps because you are a newcomer or
|
||
|
|
even maybe not a terribly experienced developer, here's our advice:
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
- Read through this document to get a grasp on a general approach to use
|
||
|
|
- Consider adding a test case for something not currently tested (correctly)
|
||
|
|
- Consider updating or adding documentation
|
||
|
|
- One way to get started gently in the project, is to participate in an
|
||
|
|
existing issue/PR and help out by reproducing the issue, review the code in
|
||
|
|
the PR etc.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
## Help wanted
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
In the issue tracker we occasionally mark bugs with [help
|
||
|
|
wanted](https://github.com/curl/curl/labels/help%20wanted), as a sign that the
|
||
|
|
bug is acknowledged to exist and that there is nobody known to work on this
|
||
|
|
issue for the moment. Those are bugs that are fine to "grab" and provide a
|
||
|
|
pull request for. The complexity level of these will of course vary, so pick
|
||
|
|
one that piques your interest.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
## Work on known bugs
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Some bugs are known and have not yet received attention and work enough to get
|
||
|
|
fixed. We collect such known existing flaws in the
|
||
|
|
[KNOWN_BUGS](https://curl.se/docs/knownbugs.html) page. Many of them link
|
||
|
|
to the original bug report with some additional details, but some may also
|
||
|
|
have aged a bit and may require some verification that the bug still exists in
|
||
|
|
the same way and that what was said about it in the past is still valid.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
## Fix autobuild problems
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
On the [autobuilds page](https://curl.se/dev/builds.html) we show a
|
||
|
|
collection of test results from the automatic curl build and tests that are
|
||
|
|
performed by volunteers. Fixing compiler warnings and errors shown there is
|
||
|
|
something we value greatly. Also, if you own or run systems or architectures
|
||
|
|
that are not already tested in the autobuilds, we also appreciate more
|
||
|
|
volunteers running builds automatically to help us keep curl portable.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
## TODO items
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Ideas for features and functions that we have considered worthwhile to
|
||
|
|
implement and provide are kept in the
|
||
|
|
[TODO](https://curl.se/docs/todo.html) file. Some of the ideas are
|
||
|
|
rough. Some are well thought out. Some probably are not really suitable
|
||
|
|
anymore.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Before you invest a lot of time on a TODO item, do bring it up for discussion
|
||
|
|
on the mailing list. For discussion on applicability but also for ideas and
|
||
|
|
brainstorming on specific ways to do the implementation etc.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
## You decide
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
You can also come up with a completely new thing you think we should do. Or
|
||
|
|
not do. Or fix. Or add to the project. You then either bring it to the mailing
|
||
|
|
list first to see if people will shoot down the idea at once, or you bring a
|
||
|
|
first draft of the idea as a pull request and take the discussion there around
|
||
|
|
the specific implementation. Either way is fine.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
## CONTRIBUTE
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
We offer [guidelines](https://curl.se/dev/contribute.html) that are
|
||
|
|
suitable to be familiar with before you decide to contribute to curl. If
|
||
|
|
you are used to open source development, you will probably not find many
|
||
|
|
surprises there.
|