Contributing

Contributions to the SODAR Core package are welcome and they are greatly appreciated! Every little bit helps, and credit will always be given. You can contribute in many ways detailed in the following subsection.

Types of Contributions

Report Bugs

Report bugs through the SODAR Core issue tracker in GitHub.

When reporting a bug, please follow the provided template. Make sure to include the following information:

  • Your operating system name and version.

  • Any details about your local setup that might be helpful in troubleshooting.

  • Detailed steps to reproduce the bug.

Fix Bugs

Look through the issue tracker for bugs. Anything tagged with bug and help wanted is open to whoever wants to implement it.

Implement Features

Look through the issue tracker for features. Anything tagged with feature and help wanted is open to whoever wants to implement it.

Write Documentation

SODAR Core can always use more documentation, whether as part of the official SODAR Core docs, in docstrings, or even on the web in blog posts, articles, and such.

For contributing to the official documentation, see Documentation Guidelines.

For editing docstrings, see Code Conventions.

Submit Feedback

The best way to send feedback is to file an issue in the issue tracker.

If you are proposing a feature:

  • Follow the provided template.

  • Explain in detail how it would work.

  • Keep the scope as narrow as possible, to make it easier to implement.

  • Separate multiple suggestions into separate issues, avoiding “umbrella tickets” and ensuring simple assignment and follow-up.

  • Remember that this is a volunteer-driven project, and that contributions are welcome :)

Get Started

Ready to contribute code to SODAR Core? Here are the steps to get started.

  1. Fork the sodar-core repo on GitHub.

  2. Clone your fork locally.

    $ git clone git@github.com:your_name_here/sodar-core.git

  3. Set up SODAR Core for development. For instructions see Development Installation.

  4. Create a branch for local development. Make sure to base it on the dev branch. You can now make your changes locally.

    $ git checkout -b 123-branch-name dev

  5. When you’re done making changes, make sure to apply proper formatting using Black. Next, check linting with flake8. Finally, run the tests.:

    $ make black
$ flake8 .
$ make test

  6. Once flake8 and tests, commit your changes and push your branch to GitHub.

    $ git add .
$ git commit -m "add/update/fix issue-description-here (#issue-id)"
$ git push origin 123-branch-name

  7. Submit a pull request through the GitHub website.

For specific requirements and recommendations on work branches, commits and pull requirements, see SODAR Core Development Guidelines.

For guidelines regarding the code itself, see Code Conventions.