When contributing to SerenityOS, make sure that the changes you wish to make are in line with the project direction. If you are not sure about this, open an issue first, so we can discuss it.
**For your first couple of PRs, start with something small to get familiar with the project and its development processes. Please do not start by adding a new application, library or other large component.**
Unlike many other software projects, SerenityOS is not concerned with gaining the largest possible userbase. Its target audience is its own developers. As such, we have limited interest in feature requests from non-contributors.
That said, please do file any bugs you find, keeping the following in mind:
* One issue per bug. Putting multiple things in the same issue makes both discussion and completion unnecessarily complicated.
* No build issues (or other support requests). If the GitHub Actions CI build succeeds, the build problem is most likely on your side. Work it out locally, or ask in the `#build-problems` channel on Discord.
* For bare metal issues, please include the complete debug log from the serial console and what you tried to do to solve the issue before opening the issue. Don't forget to add the hardware model of your machine and relevant details about it, to help us diagnose what the problem is.
* Conform to the project coding style found in [CodingStyle.md](https://github.com/SerenityOS/serenity/blob/master/Documentation/CodingStyle.md). Use `clang-format` (version 16 or later) to automatically format C++ files. See [AdvancedBuildInstructions.md](https://github.com/SerenityOS/serenity/blob/master/Documentation/AdvancedBuildInstructions.md#clang-format-updates) for instructions on how to get an up-to-date version if your OS distribution does not ship clang-format-16.
* The first line of the commit message is the subject line, and must have the format "Category: Brief description of what's being changed". The category should be the name of a library, application, service, utility, etc.
* Don't use a category like "`Userland`" or "`Utilities`", except for generic changes that affect a large portion of code within these directories.
* Don't use specific component names, e.g. C++ class names, as the category either - mention them in the summary instead. E.g. `LibGUI: Brief description of what's being changed in FooWidget` rather than `FooWidget: Brief description of what's being changed`
* Several categories may be combined with `+`, e.g. `LibJS+LibWeb+Browser: ...`
* If you have images that go along with your code, run `optipng -strip all` on them to optimize and strip away useless metadata - this can reduce file size from multiple kilobytes to a couple hundred bytes.
### Are there specific people to reach out to for different subsystems (e.g. Kernel, Browser, GUI, etc)?
In theory, the best person to speak with is whoever wrote most code adjacent to what you're working on. In practice, asking in one of the development channels on Discord is usually easier/better, since that allows many people to join the discussion.
### Is Discord the place to ask for review help, or is Github preferred?
It's definitely better to ask on Discord. Due to the volume of GitHub notifications, many of us turn them off and rely on Discord for learning about review requests.
The repository contains a file called `.pre-commit-config.yaml` that defines several 'commit hooks' that can be run automatically just before and after creating a new commit. These hooks lint your commit message, and the changes it contains to ensure they will pass the automated CI for pull requests.
To enable these hooks firstly follow the installation instructions available at https://pre-commit.com/#install and then enable one or both of the following hooks:
- pre-commit hook - Runs Meta/lint-ci.sh and Meta/lint-ports.py to ensure changes to the code will pass linting:
```console
pre-commit install
```
- post-commit hook - Lints the commit message to ensure it will pass the commit linting:
Sometimes good PRs get abandoned by the author for one reason or another. If the PR is fundamentally good, but the author is not responding to requests, the PR may be manually integrated with minor changes to code and commit messages.
This is a purely technical project. As such, it is not an appropriate arena to advertise your personal politics or religious beliefs. Any changes that appear ideologically motivated will be rejected.
