1 # Contribution guidelines
3 Thanks for taking the time to contribute to the [collectd
4 project](https://collectd.org/)! This document tries to give some guidance to
5 make the process of contributing to *collectd* as pleasant as possible.
7 ## Bug reports
9 Please report bugs as [GitHub
10 Issues](https://github.com/collectd/collectd/issues). Try to answer the
11 following questions:
13 * Which version of *collectd* are you using?
14 * Which operating system (distribution) are you using at which version?
15 * What is the expected behavior / output?
16 * What is the actual (observed) behavior / output?
17 * How can we reproduce the problem you're having?
18 * If *collectd* crashes, try to get a
19 [stack trace](https://collectd.org/wiki/index.php/Core_file).
21 Please monitor your issue for a couple of days and reply to questions. To keep
22 the project manageable, we have to do some housekeeping; meaning we will close
23 issues that have become stale.
25 ## Code contributions
27 Please open a [GitHub Pull Request](https://github.com/collectd/collectd/pulls)
28 (PR) to contribute bug fixes, features, cleanups, new plugins, … Patches sent to
29 the mailing list have a tendency to fall through the cracks.
31 * *Focus:* Fix *one thing* in your PR. The smaller your change, the faster it
32 will be reviewed and merged.
33 * *Coding style:* Please run `clang-format -style=file -i $FILE` on new files.
34 For existing files, please blend into surrounding code, i.e. mimic the
35 coding style of the code around your changes.
36 * *Documentation:* New config options need to be documented in two places: the
37 manpage (`src/collectd.conf.pod`) and the example config
38 (`src/collectd.conf.in`). New plugins need to be added to the `README` file.
39 * *Continuous integration:* Once your PR is created, our continuous
40 integration environment will try to build it on a number of platforms. If
41 this reports a failure, please investigate and fix the problem. We will at
42 best do a very casual review for failing PRs.
43 * *Don't rebase:* Rebasing your branch destroys the review history. If a review
44 takes a long time, we may ask you to rebase on a more recent *master*, but
45 please don't do it without being asked.
46 * *types.db:* One of the most common mistakes made by new contributors is the
47 addition of (many) new *types* in the file `src/types.db`. The majority of
48 usecases can be met with one of the existing entries. If you plan to add new
49 entries to `src/types.db`, you should talk to us early in the design
50 process.
52 ## Other resources
54 * [Mailing list](http://mailman.verplant.org/listinfo/collectd)
55 * [#collectd IRC channel](https://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=#collectd)
56 on *freenode*.
57 * [Old patch submission guideline](https://collectd.org/wiki/index.php/Submitting_patches)