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How to Contribute to Chayn ⭐

First off, thank you so much for taking the time to contribute!

We ❤️ our contributors!

While Chayn is hybrid between paid staff and volunteers now, we cherish our volunteers for helping to create Chayn and keep us going! We hope to give back more than our contributors give. Please do not hesitate to give us feedback, so we can learn how to make this experience better for you. 😊 You can include feedback in your pull request, GitHub issue, or this anonymous form.

This guide below assumes you are an open-source contributor and NOT an official Chayn volunteer that has already completed the onboarding process. If you would like to become an official tech volunteer with Chayn, please visit our Getting Involved Guide. As an official Chayn volunteer, you will receive professional onboarding onto our platforms and more opportunities to volunteer outside of GitHub contributions!

Next, let's get started... 🎉

Table of Contents

New Contributor Guide

If you are experienced in making open-source contributions, please feel free to skip ahead to the Contribution Process Guide.

Prerequisites

If you are new to GitHub and git version control, here are some resources to help you get started:

Here are prerequisites you should meet before contributing to Chayn's GitHub:

  • git version control configuration
  • a GitHub account
  • fundamental knowledge of the GitHub and git version control flow (fork, clone, push, commit, branches, etc.)

It is not required that you have experience contributing to open-source projects on GitHub! Chayn aims to be a safe space for contributors of all skill-levels to build their skills while making an impact in digital public goods. If this is your first contribution, we recommend saving the cheatsheet linked above for future reference, learning how to navigate the GitHub and git version control docs, and in general -- learn as you go. The Chayn team is here to help. You got this! 💪

Where can I get help?

Chayn maintainers and developers are here to help! We aim to give a safe space for contributors of all skill levels to build their skills while making an impact. 🤝

You can ask Chayn team members questions at any point during your contribution in the following places on GitHub:

  • Issue discussions in an issue you're assigned to or interested in.
  • Pull request discussions for your contribution.
  • Or, create a new issue with the type: question / suggestion label.

Chayn team members will respond within 3 business days.

What kind of contributions does Chayn want?

Chayn is open to all kinds of contributions, such as:

  • no-code (improved documentation and translations)
  • additional software tests
  • code of any kind (enhancements, new features, maintenance)

Just no spamming (such as unwanted, minor documentation and HTML/CSS changes) please! 🚫

The Contribution Process Guide:

The Contribution Process Outline:

  1. Read the README and Code of Conduct
  2. Claim an Issue
  3. Fork the Repo and Create a New Branch
  4. Commit Changes Using Open-Source Standards
  5. Sync Fork if Needed
  6. Push Changes to GitHub
  7. Make a Pull Request to Chayn

1. Read the README and Code of Conduct:.

First, read the project's README for project-specific directions on how to set up your development environment and git flow.

Contributing means you have agreed to our Code of Conduct.

Note: For no-code contributors, if you are editing the README file or any other markdown / text files, it is NOT required to set up environment variables, run the app locally, and pass tests. You can make your changes entirely in the GitHub UI (in the web browser) after forking the Chayn repository you are working on and creating a new feature branch.

2. Claim an Issue:

First, please ask to be assigned an issue, this helps us keep track of contributor progress. We may deny your PR if the issue is already assigned to someone who asked.

  • If creating an issue: Check that your issue doesn't already exist and follow our issue templates for creating new issues. For a detailed guide on creating issues, read this guide on GitHub: Creating an Issue.
  • If contributing to an existing issue: Please comment on it asking for the issue to be assigned to you.

How to Use Issue Labels:

Note: all unassigned issues are available to contributors, regardless of their label.

  • Scan our issue labels to find issues that suit you:
    • The good first issue and first-timers-friendly labels are best for new contributors.
    • The help wanted label indicates that Chayn is inviting contributors to help. While contributors can contribute to any unassigned issue, issues with this label are specifically looking for help outside of Chayn's dev team.
    • The complexity: obvious label is for issues that take less than 1 day to complete, and require little to no prior experience with the codebase.
    • The complexity: moderate label is for issues that may take 1-2 days to complete, and will require some knowledge of the codebase.
    • The complexity: advanced is for issues that may take more time, possibly 3+ days. These will require more in-depth knowledge of the codebase.
  • We suggest starting with issues labeled good first issue or complexity: obvious to get comfortable with the codebase before moving onto more complex issues.

How We Manage Issues:

  • Issues can be assigned to multiple people if everyone agrees to collaborate!
  • Consider if an issue would be best broken up into multiple, smaller issues. If so, feel free to create those issues!
  • If an assigned issue is abandoned, we will unassign the issue after tagging you if we receive no response.
  • If you can no longer complete an issue you're assigned to, we understand life happens! Please comment on the issue and we will unassign you.
  • For complex issues, please report your progress in the issue discussions by tagging the issue author or Chayn maintainer who assigned you, and ticking off the checkboxes in the issue description.

🤝 If you need more clarifying information about the issue, please tag us (issue author or Chayn maintainer who assigned the issue to you) to ask questions in the issues discussions at any point during your contribution. We are happy to help! You should hear back from us within 3 days.

3. Fork the Repo and Create a New Branch:

First, read the Git Flow and Deployment section in your project's README file to learn of any project-specific requirements. Generally, the git flow is the same among all repositories, however, each project may slightly vary.

Next, follow the five-step process below to create your own copy of Chayn's code to work on.

Make Your Own Copy of Chayn's Code To Work On:

  1. Fork the Chayn repository you want to make changes on in GitHub:

    • In the GitHub web browser, navigate to the Chayn repository you want to contribute to, then select "Fork" in the top-right menu. For more in-depth guidance, read this forking guide in the GitHub Docs: How to Fork a Repo.
    • Ensure that you are forking from the default branch. Depending on the project, the default branch may not be main. In general, GitHub will automatically fork the default branch, but it's important to verify the default branch for your project in the README file.

  2. Create a new feature branch on your fork. This feature branch will be where you make changes.

    • Navigate to your forked repository (found on your GitHub profile in your list of repositories) then select the drop-down menu of branches in the top-left corner. There will be an option to create a new branch. For more in-depth guidance, read this guide on creating new branches in the GitHub Docs: Branching Guide.
    • We recommend naming your new feature branch intuitively:
      • Branch naming option 1: use label and description, such as dependencies/update-node.
      • Branch naming option 2: use your GitHub name and descriptive title, such as chayntech/update-node.

  3. Clone the fork to your computer where you will run the application locally. Cloning will be an option in the top right drop-down menu titled "Code" on your forked repo. If making no-code changes to markdown / text files, you can bypass this step and edit directly in GitHub inside your new feature branch. For more guidance on cloning, visit this GitHub guide: How to Clone a Repo.

  4. Switch to your feature branch locally before making code changes by running the following command:

git checkout <feature-branch-name>

To create new branches locally, run this git command to create a new branch and switch to it:

git checkout -b <feature-branch-name>
  1. Verify that you working in the correct feature branch by running this command (you should see your feature branch as the selected branch):
git branch

For more guidance on managing branches with git version control, visit this guide: Git Basic Branching.

What if I Clone from Chayn's Repo and Not My Fork?

Cloning from a forked repository is necessary because contributors do not have permission to push directly to Chayn's repositories. To verify that your cloned repo is from your fork, use the git remote -v command and check that your forked repo is set as the origin.

For more guidance on updating your remote origin, please visit this guide on GitHub: Getting Started with Managing Remote Repositories.

4. Commit Changes Using Open-Source Standards:

Whether you are a beginner developer or experienced, we recommend all contributors use open-source best practices by following the six standards listed below.

How to Properly Commit Changes:

  1. Keep commits small and distinct. A PR can have multiple commits, but only if each commit is distinctive and relevant in the PR.

  2. Comment your code to describe what it's doing, especially if making extensive code changes.

  3. Run linters to properly format your code before making commits. Directions for running linters are in the repository's README file.

  4. Run tests and check that they pass. Directions for running tests are in the repository's README file.

    Important Note about Tests: We are currently making upgrades to our products performances. Therefore, some tests may need to be ran multiple times before they pass, and some may not pass at all. We recommend frequently running tests as you make code changes, then at your own discretion, deciding which tests fail due to your code changes, and fixing them so that they pass. Please reach out to Chayn staff in issue discussions if you encounter any issues with tests. Thank you for your patience!

  5. Check that no secrets (sensitive API keys and environment variables) and no unwanted, irrelevant files are commited. Everything you commit to Chayn will be public, please be vigilant about not commiting sensitive information. Be sure to update .gitignore as needed, making sure to clean the .gitignore cache whenever new files are added to it. Learn more about properly using the .gitignore file to ignore specific files in this GitHub guide: Ignoring Files Guide.

  6. Write readable commit messages as demonstrated below:

How to Write Readable Commit Messages:

Basic Anatomy of a Commit Message:

git commit -m <title> -m <description>

Commit Title:

  • (< 50 char) first line is the commit title. This should be capitalized and contain a short, one-line summary.
  • Blank line to separate title from body. This ensures “git log” can parse logs correctly.

Commit Description:

  • (< 72 char) explains the why of a commit rather than how.
  • To keep commit messages readable, your commit message should wrap text to avoid long, single lines of text.
  • See link for more detail on structuring commits.

Example: Git Commit Message (Good):

fix: fix foo to enable bar

Fix bug preventing users from submitting the subscribe form

Example: Git Commit Message (Bad):

fixed bug on landing page

Note: While following these directions perfectly is not expected, Chayn maintainers may ask you to implement these standards during your pull request review.

5. Sync Your Fork if Needed:

If the default branch of the Chayn repository you forked from has been updated (referred to as the "upstream repository"), it is recommended to keep your forked repository up to date with these changes.

How Can I Tell if the Upstream Repository has been Updated?

Navigate to the GitHub UI (in the web browser) and view your forked repository, you will see a notification alerting you that your fork has less commits than the the upstream. See an example in the guide linked below.

How Do I Update my Fork?

We highly recommend referring to this guide in GitHub's docs on how to sync your fork: GitHub Docs: Syncing Your Fork. You can sync your fork using the GitHub UI (web browser), command line, or GitHub's CLI by following the directions in the GitHub Docs.

In addition to following the guide linked above, always make sure that your default branch is up-to-date first before your feature branch. After syncing your default branch with the upstream, then merge those updates into your feature branch.

Next, verify that the git history on your feature branch is correctly synced with the upstream. One way to do this is to use the git log command to check commit history. In your feature branch history, you should see the updated commits pulled from upstream, then your new commits, followed by a merge commit.

Finally, please resolve any merge conflicts by manually editing the conflicting files and deciding how the conflicting changes should be merged. You can refer to the resources linked below for more guidance on how to handle merge conflicts.

For more guidance on updating forks, read the following guides:

Note: We understand merge conflicts can feel scary for new devs! While we encourage contributors to update their forks prior to pull request, please do not hesitate to submit a pull request despite fork syncing issues or merge conflicts. If you have any questions or concerns, please let Chayn maintainers know in GitHub. Chayn maintainers are here to help!

6. Push Changes to GitHub:

Before pushing changes to GitHub, please check that you have followed the standards listed in the Commit Changes Using Open-Source Standards section of this document.

In addition to following the best practices listed here, we ask that you carefully ensure that there are no secrets and unwanted files being pushed.

We recommend using the git status command to verify that the right files are being pushed.

For more guidance on pushing changes to GitHub, read the following guides:

7 . Make a Pull Request to Chayn:

For a more in-depth guide on creating pull requests, please refer to this guide in the GitHub Docs: Creating a Pull Request Guide. We recommend opening a pull request in the GitHub UI (GitHub in the web browser.)

Important Note: Check that you are forking against the correct default branch in the upstream Chayn repository. While GitHub should automatically fork against the default branch, if the default branch is not called main (some Chayn repositories use the develop branch as the default), GitHub is known to accidentally fork against main instead of the correct default branch. However, this is not a common issue.

Next, complete the tasklist in the pull request template. This is a brief tasklist that is only viewable when creating a pull request.

Finally, submit your pull request, and be available for discussions that may arise and to make suggested changes that may be required before merging.

Get merged and celebrate! 🎉

Woohoo! Once your PR is merged, your changes will be public on GitHub!

Thank you for contributing to Chayn! 👏

If you enjoyed the contributing to Chayn, give our repo a star to help our projects reach more developers like you! ⭐