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| # Contributing to Zulip | ||
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| Welcome to the Zulip community! | ||
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| ## Community | ||
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| The | ||
| [Zulip community server](https://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/chat-zulip-org.html) | ||
| is the primary communication forum for the Zulip community. It is a good | ||
| place to start whether you have a question, are a new contributor, are a new | ||
| user, or anything else. Make sure to read the | ||
| [community norms](http://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/chat-zulip-org.html#community-norms) | ||
| before posting. The Zulip community is also governed by a | ||
| [code of conduct](http://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/code-of-conduct.html). | ||
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| You can subscribe to [email protected] for a lower traffic (~1 | ||
| email/month) way to hear about things like mentorship opportunities with Google | ||
| Code-in, in-person sprints at conferences, and other opportunities to | ||
| contribute. | ||
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| ## Ways to contribute | ||
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| To make a code or documentation contribution, read our | ||
| [step-by-step guide](#your-first-codebase-contribution) to getting | ||
| started with the Zulip codebase. A small sample of the type of work that | ||
| needs doing: | ||
| * Bug squashing and feature development on our Python/Django | ||
| [backend](https://github.com/zulip/zulip), web | ||
| [frontend](https://github.com/zulip/zulip), React Native | ||
| [mobile app](https://github.com/zulip/zulip-mobile), or Electron | ||
| [desktop app](https://github.com/zulip/zulip-electron). | ||
| * Building out our | ||
| [Python API and bots](https://github.com/zulip/python-zulip-api) framework. | ||
| * [Writing an integration](http://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/integration-guide.html). | ||
| * Improving our [user](https://chat.zulip.org/help/) or | ||
| [developer](https://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) documentation. | ||
| * [Reviewing code](http://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/code-reviewing.html) | ||
| and manually testing pull requests. | ||
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| **Non-code contributions**: Some of the most valuable ways to contribute | ||
| don't require touching the codebase at all. We list a few of them below: | ||
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| * [Reporting issues](#reporting-issues), including both feature requests and | ||
| bug reports. | ||
| * [Giving feedback](#user-feedback) if you are evaluating or using Zulip. | ||
| * [Translating](https://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/translating.html) | ||
| Zulip. | ||
| * [Outreach](#zulip-outreach): Star us on GitHub, upvote us | ||
| on product comparison sites, or write for the Zulip blog. | ||
|
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| ## Your first (codebase) contribution | ||
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| This section has a step by step guide to starting as a Zulip codebase | ||
| contributor. It's long, but don't worry about doing all the steps perfectly; | ||
| no one gets it right the first time, and there are a lot of people available | ||
| to help. | ||
| * First, make an account on the | ||
| [Zulip community server](http://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/chat-zulip-org.html), | ||
| paying special attention to the community norms. If you'd like, introduce | ||
| yourself in | ||
| [#new members](https://chat.zulip.org/#narrow/stream/new.20members), using | ||
| your name as the topic. Bonus: tell us about your first impressions of | ||
| Zulip, and anything that felt confusing/broken as you started using the | ||
| product. | ||
| * Read [What makes a great Zulip contributor](#what-makes-a-great-zulip-contributor). | ||
| * [Install the development environment](https://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/dev-overview.html), | ||
| getting help in | ||
| [#development help](https://chat.zulip.org/#narrow/stream/development.20help) | ||
| if you run into any troubles. | ||
| * Read the | ||
| [Zulip guide to Git](http://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/git-guide.html) | ||
| and do the Git tutorial (coming soon) if you are unfamiliar with Git, | ||
| getting help in | ||
| [#git help](https://chat.zulip.org/#narrow/stream/git.20help) if you run | ||
| into any troubles. | ||
| * Sign the | ||
| [Dropbox Contributor License Agreement](https://opensource.dropbox.com/cla/). | ||
|
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| ### Picking an issue | ||
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| Now, you're ready to pick your first issue! There are hundreds of open issues | ||
| in the main codebase alone. This section will help you find an issue to work | ||
| on. | ||
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| * If you're interested in | ||
| [mobile](https://github.com/zulip/zulip-mobile/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue), | ||
| [desktop](https://github.com/zulip/zulip-electron/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue), | ||
| or | ||
| [bots](https://github.com/zulip/python-zulip-api/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue) | ||
| development, check the respective links for open issues, or post in | ||
| [#mobile](https://chat.zulip.org/#narrow/stream/mobile), | ||
| [#electron](https://chat.zulip.org/#narrow/stream/electron), or | ||
| [#bots](https://chat.zulip.org/#narrow/stream/bots). | ||
| * For the main server and web repository, start by looking through issues | ||
| with the label | ||
| [good first issue](https://github.com/zulip/zulip/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3A"good+first+issue"). | ||
| These are smaller projects particularly suitable for a first contribution. | ||
| * We also partition all of our issues in the main repo into areas like | ||
| admin, compose, emoji, hotkeys, i18n, onboarding, search, etc. Look | ||
| through our [list of labels](https://github.com/zulip/zulip/labels), and | ||
| click on some of the `area:` labels to see all the issues related to your | ||
| areas of interest. | ||
| * If the lists of issues are overwhelming, post in | ||
| [#new members](https://chat.zulip.org/#narrow/stream/new.20members) with a | ||
| bit about your background and interests, and we'll help you out. The most | ||
| important thing to say is whether you're looking for a backend (Python), | ||
| frontend (JavaScript), mobile (React Native), desktop (Electron), | ||
| documentation (English) or visual design (JavaScript + CSS) issue, and a | ||
| bit about your programming experience. | ||
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| We also welcome suggestions of features that you feel would be valuable or | ||
| changes that you feel would make Zulip a better open source project. If you | ||
| have a new feature you'd like to add, we recommend you start by posting in | ||
| [#new members](https://chat.zulip.org/#narrow/stream/new.20members) with the | ||
| feature idea and the problem that you're hoping to solve. | ||
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| Other notes: | ||
| * For a first pull request, it's better to aim for a smaller contribution | ||
| than a bigger one. Many first contributions have fewer than 10 lines of | ||
| changes (not counting tests). | ||
| * The full list of issues looking for a contributor can be found with the | ||
| [help wanted](https://github.com/zulip/zulip/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3A%22help+wanted%22) | ||
| label. | ||
| * For most new contributors, there's a lot to learn while making your first | ||
| pull request. It's OK if it takes you a while; that's normal! You'll be | ||
| able to work a lot faster as you build experience. | ||
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| ### Working on an issue | ||
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| To work on an issue, claim it by adding a comment with `@zulipbot claim` to | ||
| the issue thread. [Zulipbot](https://github.com/zulip/zulipbot) is a GitHub | ||
| workflow bot; it will assign you to the issue and label the issue as "in | ||
| progress". Some additional notes: | ||
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| * You're encouraged to ask questions on how to best implement or debug your | ||
| changes -- the Zulip maintainers are excited to answer questions to help | ||
| you stay unblocked and working efficiently. You can ask questions on | ||
| chat.zulip.org, or on the GitHub issue or pull request. | ||
| * We encourage early pull requests for work in progress. Prefix the title of | ||
| work in progress pull requests with `[WIP]`, and remove the prefix when | ||
| you think it might be mergeable and want it to be reviewed. | ||
| * After updating a PR, add a comment to the GitHub thread mentioning that it | ||
| is ready for another review. GitHub only notifies maintainers of the | ||
| changes when you post a comment, so if you don't, your PR will likely be | ||
| neglected by accident! | ||
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| ### And beyond | ||
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| A great place to look for a second issue is to look for issues with the same | ||
| `area:` label as the last issue you resolved. You'll be able to reuse the | ||
| work you did learning how that part of the codebase works. Also, the path to | ||
| becoming a core developer often involves taking ownership of one of these area | ||
| labels. | ||
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| ## What makes a great Zulip contributor? | ||
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| Zulip runs a lot of internship programs, so we have a lot of experience with | ||
| new contributors. In our experience, these are the best predictors of success: | ||
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| * Posting good questions. This generally means explaining your current | ||
| understanding, saying what you've done or tried so far, and including | ||
| tracebacks or other error messages if appropriate. | ||
| * Learning and practicing | ||
| [Git commit discipline](http://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/version-control.html#commit-discipline). | ||
| * Submitting carefully tested code. This generally means checking your work | ||
| through a combination of automated tests and manually clicking around the | ||
| UI trying to find bugs in your work. See | ||
| [things to look for](http://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/code-reviewing.html#things-to-look-for) | ||
| for additional ideas. | ||
| * Posting | ||
| [screenshots or GIFs](http://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/screenshot-and-gif-software.html) | ||
| for frontend changes. | ||
| * Being responsive to feedback on pull requests. This means incorporating or | ||
| responding to all suggested changes, and leaving a note if you won't be | ||
| able to address things within a few days. | ||
| * Being helpful and friendly on chat.zulip.org. | ||
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| These are also the main criteria we use to select interns for all of our | ||
| internship programs. | ||
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| ## Reporting issues | ||
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| If you find an easily reproducible bug and/or are experienced in reporting | ||
| bugs, feel free to just open an issue on the relevant project on GitHub. | ||
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| If you have a feature request or are not yet sure what the underlying bug | ||
| is, the best place to post issues is | ||
| [#issues](https://chat.zulip.org/#narrow/stream/issues) (or | ||
| [#mobile](https://chat.zulip.org/#narrow/stream/mobile) or | ||
| [#electron](https://chat.zulip.org/#narrow/stream/electron)) on the | ||
| [Zulip community server](http://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/chat-zulip-org.html). | ||
| This allows us to interactively figure out what is going on, let you know if | ||
| a similar issue has already been opened, and collect any other information | ||
| we need. Choose a 2-4 word topic that describes the issue, explain the issue | ||
| and how to reproduce it if known, your browser/OS if relevant, and a | ||
| [screenshot or screenGIF](http://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/screenshot-and-gif-software.html) | ||
| if appropriate. | ||
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| **Reporting security issues**. Please do not report security issues | ||
| publicly, including on public streams on chat.zulip.org. You can email | ||
| [email protected]. We create a CVE for every security issue. | ||
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| ## User feedback | ||
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| Nearly every feature we develop starts with a user request. If you are part | ||
| of a group that is either using or considering using Zulip, we would love to | ||
| hear about your experience with the product. If you're not sure what to | ||
| write, here are some questions we're always very curious to know the answer | ||
| to: | ||
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| * Evaluation: What is the process by which your organization chose or will | ||
| choose a group chat product? | ||
| * Pros and cons: What are the pros and cons of Zulip for your organization, | ||
| and the pros and cons of other products you are evaluating? | ||
| * Features: What are the features that are most important for your | ||
| organization? In the best case scenario, what would your chat solution do | ||
| for you? | ||
| * Onboarding: If you remember it, what was your impression during your first | ||
| few minutes of using Zulip? What did you notice, and how did you feel? Was | ||
| there anything that stood out to you as confusing, or broken, or great? | ||
| * Organization: What does your organization do? How big is the organization? | ||
| A link to your organization's website? | ||
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| ## Internship programs | ||
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| Zulip runs internship programs with [Outreachy](https://www.outreachy.org/), | ||
| [Google Summer of Code](https://developers.google.com/open-source/gsoc/), | ||
| and the | ||
| [MIT Externship program](https://alum.mit.edu/students/NetworkwithAlumni/ExternshipProgram), | ||
| and also takes summer interns from Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. | ||
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| The application process and selection criteria for all our internship | ||
| programs is the same. A few notes: | ||
| * We try to make the application process as valuable for the applicant as | ||
| possible. Expect high quality code reviews, a supportive community, and | ||
| publicly viewable patches you can link to from your resume, regardless of | ||
| whether you are selected. | ||
| * To apply, you'll have to submit at least one pull request to a Zulip | ||
| repository. Strong applicants for most of our programs typically have | ||
| several complete pull requests by the time of the application deadline. | ||
| * The main criteria we use is quality of your strongest contributions, and | ||
| the bullets listed at | ||
| [What makes a great Zulip contributor](#what-makes-a-great-zulip-contributor). | ||
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| Zulip also participates in | ||
| [Google Code-In](https://developers.google.com/open-source/gci/). Our | ||
| selection criteria for Finalists and Grand Prize Winners is the same as our | ||
| selection criteria for interns above. | ||
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| Most of our interns end up sticking around the project long-term, and many | ||
| quickly become core team members. We hope you apply! | ||
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| ## Zulip Outreach | ||
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| **Upvoting Zulip**. Upvotes and reviews make a big difference in the public | ||
| perception of projects like Zulip. We've collected a few sites below | ||
| where we know Zulip has been discussed. Doing everything in the following | ||
| list typically takes about 15 minutes. | ||
| * Star us on GitHub. There are four main repositories: | ||
| [server/web](https://github.com/zulip/zulip), | ||
| [mobile](https://github.com/zulip/zulip-mobile), | ||
| [desktop](https://github.com/zulip/zulip-electron), and | ||
| [Python API](https://github.com/zulip/python-zulip-api). | ||
| * [Follow us](https://twitter.com/zulip) on Twitter. | ||
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| For both of the following, you'll need to make an account on the site if you | ||
| don't already have one. | ||
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| * [Like Zulip](https://alternativeto.net/software/zulip-chat-server/) on | ||
| AlternativeTo. We recommend upvoting a couple of other products you like | ||
| as well, both to give back to their community, and since single-upvote | ||
| accounts are generally given less weight. You can also | ||
| [upvote Zulip](https://alternativeto.net/software/slack/) on their page | ||
| for Slack. | ||
| * [Add Zulip to your stack](https://stackshare.io/zulip) on StackShare, star | ||
| it, and upvote the reasons why people like Zulip that you find most | ||
| compelling. Again, we recommend adding a few other products that you like | ||
| as well. | ||
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| We have a doc with more detailed instructions and a few other sites, if you | ||
| have been using Zulip for a while and want to contribute more. | ||
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| **Blog posts**. Writing a blog post about your experiences with Zulip, or | ||
| about a technical aspect of Zulip can be a great way to spread the word | ||
| about Zulip. | ||
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| We also occasionally publish longer form articles related to Zulip. Our | ||
| posts typically get tens of thousands of views, and we always have good | ||
| ideas for blog posts that we can outline but don't have time to write. If | ||
| you are an experienced writer or copyeditor, send us a portfolio; we'd love | ||
| to talk! |
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