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Contributing Guide

Fast track developing a contribution guide for your new contributors.

contributing-screenshot-example

Example CONTRIBUTING.md template rendering

Introduction​

Background: A well-defined contribution guide is crucial for open-source projects. It helps new contributors understand the expectations and processes for contributing effectively. We walk you through developing a contribution guide for your project via our template, which sets clear standards for contributions and details a recommended process to follow.

Use Cases:

  • Guiding new contributors on making meaningful contributions.
  • Ensuring contributions align with project norms and requirements.
  • Facilitating a transparent and efficient contribution process.

Prerequisites​

  • Understanding of basic project management and version control systems.
  • Familiarity with GitHub and Markdown formatting.

Quick Start​

⬇️ Contributing Guide Template (see example)

Download our customizable template to create a contributing guide for your project.

Step-by-Step Guide​

  1. Team Discussion: Collaborate with your team to decide on adopting a contribution guide template. This step is essential to establish project norms and contribution expectations. Our template touches the following topics that you'll want to consider:
    • License overview
    • Code of Conduct
    • Governance Model
    • Developer environment setup
    • Communication channels
    • How-to in interacting with the codebase
    • Pull requests
    • Ways to contribute (e.g. code, docs, media, etc.)
    • etc.
  1. Customize the Template: Modify the Contributing Guide Template to fit your project's specifics.
    • Copy the template and create a CONTRIBUTING.md file at the root level of your repository.
    • Replace [INSERT ...] placeholders with your project's details. These markers are used throughout to designate customization options.
  2. Integrate with Project:
    • Add a link to CONTRIBUTING.md in your project's README.md file under the Contributing section.
  3. Communicate:
    • Share the guide with existing contributors and all new contributors as their starting point.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)​

  • Q: Why should I even bother with a contributing guide?
  • A: Do you want to constantly re-explain your project's philosophy and contribution norms? If not - a contribution guide helps set clear expectations and processes, ensuring contributions are consistent and aligned with your project's goals.

Credits​

Authorship:

Acknowledgements: This template is influenced by guidelines from the following:

Feedback and Contributions​

Feedback and contributions are encouraged to refine this guide. Visit our contribution guidelines for more information.