There are many ways you can contribute to the BigchainDB project, some very easy and others more involved. We want to be friendly and welcoming to all potential contributors, so we ask that everyone involved abide by some simple guidelines outlined in our [Code of Conduct](./CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md).
The BigchainDB community has a Google Group and a Gitter chatroom. Our [Community page](https://www.bigchaindb.com/community) has more information about those.
If you want to file a bug report, suggest a feature, or ask a code-related question, please go to the `bigchaindb/bigchaindb` repository on GitHub and [create a new Issue](https://github.com/bigchaindb/bigchaindb/issues/new). (You will need a [GitHub account](https://github.com/signup/free) (free).) Please describe the issue clearly, including steps to reproduce when it is a bug.
We want you to feel like your contributions (pull requests) are welcome, but if you contribute something unnecessary, unwanted, or perplexing, then your experience may be unpleasant. Your pull request may sit gathering dust as everyone scratches their heads wondering what to do with it.
To prevent that situation, we ask that all pull requests should resolve, address, or fix an existing issue. If there is no existing issue, then you should create one first. That way there can be commentary and discussion first, and you can have a better idea of what to expect when you create a corresponding pull request.
When you submit a pull request, please mention the issue (or issues) that it resolves, e.g. "Resolves #123".
Exception: hotfixes and minor changes don't require a pre-existing issue, but please write a thorough pull request description.
* [Make sure you have the latest Python 3 version of pip and setuptools](https://docs.bigchaindb.com/projects/server/en/latest/appendices/install-latest-pip.html)
In your web browser, go to [the BigchainDB repository on GitHub](https://github.com/bigchaindb/bigchaindb) and click the `Fork` button in the top right corner. This creates a new Git repository named `bigchaindb` in _your_ GitHub account.
(This only has to be done once.) In your local terminal, use Git to clone _your_`bigchaindb` repository to your local computer. Also add the original GitHub bigchaindb/bigchaindb repository as a remote named `upstream` (a convention):
Switch to the `master` branch locally, fetch all `upstream` branches, and merge the just-fetched `upstream/master` branch with the local `master` branch:
The core of BigchainDB is a Python module you can install using the standard [Python packaging tools](http://python-packaging-user-guide.readthedocs.org/en/latest/).
If you need more information on how to do that, refer to the *Python Packaging User Guide* to [install `pip`](http://python-packaging-user-guide.readthedocs.org/en/latest/installing/#requirements-for-installing-packages) and to [create your first `virtualenv`](http://python-packaging-user-guide.readthedocs.org/en/latest/installing/#creating-virtual-environments).
Once you have `pip` installed and (optionally) you are in a virtualenv, go to the root of the repository (i.e. where the `setup.py` file is), and type:
-`[dev]` adds some [extra requirements](https://setuptools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/setuptools.html#declaring-extras-optional-features-with-their-own-dependencies) to the installation. (If you are curious, open `setup.py` and look for `dev` in the `extras_require` section.)
If your new branch is to **fix a bug** identified in a specific GitHub Issue with number `ISSNO`, then name your new branch `bug/ISSNO/short-description-here`. For example, `bug/67/fix-leap-year-crash`.
If your new branch is to **add a feature** requested in a specific GitHub Issue with number `ISSNO`, then name your new branch `feat/ISSNO/short-description-here`. For example, `feat/135/blue-background-on-mondays`.
Otherwise, please give your new branch a short, descriptive, all-lowercase name.
Once you're done commiting a set of new things and you're ready to submit them for inclusion, please be sure to run all the tests as per the instructions in [the README file in the `tests/` folder](./tests/README.md).
(When you submit your pull request [following the instructions below], we run all the tests automatically, so we will see if some are failing. If you don't know why some tests are failing, you can still submit your pull request, but be sure to note the failing tests and to ask for help with resolving them.)
Make sure you've commited all the additions or changes you want to include in your pull request. Then push your new branch to origin (i.e. _your_ remote bigchaindb repository).
See [GitHub's documentation on how to initiate and send a pull request](https://help.github.com/articles/using-pull-requests/). Note that the destination repository should be `bigchaindb/bigchaindb` and the destination branch will be `master` (usually, and if it's not, then we can change that if necessary).
If this is the first time you've submitted a pull request to BigchainDB, then you must read and accept the Contributor License Agreement (CLA) before we can merge your contributions. That can be found at [https://www.bigchaindb.com/cla](https://www.bigchaindb.com/cla).
Once you accept and submit the CLA, we'll email you with further instructions. (We will send you a long random string to put in the comments section of your pull request, along with the text, "I have read and agree to the terms of the BigchainDB Contributor License Agreement.")
Someone will then merge your branch or suggest changes. If we suggest changes, you won't have to open a new pull request, you can just push new code to the same branch (on `origin`) as you did before creating the pull request.