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