.. _contributing: ============ Contributing ============ There is a great need for contributions to Salt and patches are welcome! The goal here is to make contributions clear, make sure there is a trail for where the code has come from, and most importantly, to give credit where credit is due! There are a number of ways to contribute to Salt development, including (but not limited to): * filing well-written bug reports * enhancing the documentation * providing workarounds, patches, and other code without tests * engaging in constructive discussion * helping out in `#salt on Freenode <#salt on freenode_>`_, the `Community Slack `_, the `salt-users `_ mailing list, a `SaltStack meetup `_, or `Server Fault `_. * telling others about problems you solved with Salt If this or other Salt documentation is unclear, please review :ref:`Writing Salt Documentation `. PRs are welcome! Quickstart ---------- If you just want to get started before reading the rest of this guide, you can get the process started by running the following: .. code-block:: bash python3 -m pip install --user pre-commit git clone --origin upstream https://github.com/saltstack/salt.git cd salt pre-commit install While those commands are running, finish reading the rest of this guide. Pre-commit ---------- To reduce friction during the development process, SaltStack uses `pre-commit `_. This tool adds pre-commit hooks to git to automate several processes that used to be manual. Rather than having to remember to run several different tools before you commit, you only have to run ``git commit``, and you will be notified about style and lint issues before you ever open a PR. .. warning:: Currently there is an issue with the pip-tools-compile pre-commit hook on windows. The details around this issue are included here: https://github.com/saltstack/salt/issues/56642. Please ensure you export ``SKIP=pip-tools-compile`` to skip pip-tools-compile. Salt Coding Style ----------------- After the 3000 release, SaltStack is `joining the ranks `_ of projects in adopting the `Black code formatter `_ in order to ease the adoption of a unified code formatting style. Where Black is silent, SaltStack has its own coding style guide that informs contributors on various style points. Please review the :ref:`Salt Coding Style ` documentation for information about Salt's particular coding patterns. Within the :ref:`Salt Coding Style ` documentation, there is a section about running Salt's ``.testing.pylintrc`` file. SaltStack recommends running the ``.testing.pylintrc`` file on any files you are changing with your code contribution before submitting a pull request to Salt's repository. If you've installed ``pre-commit``, this will automatically happen before each commit. Otherwise, see the :ref:`Linting` documentation for more information. Copyright Headers ----------------- Copyright headers are not needed for files in the Salt project. Files that have existing copyright headers should be considered legacy and not an example to follow. .. _github-pull-request: New Features ------------ Feature requests through Salt go through a multi-stage process. All features are added to major releases only. Salt does not accept feature additions in bug-fix branches. Therefore, all feature work is done exclusively in the develop branch. To formally propose a new feature, the proposal must take the form of an RFC. To create an RFC, copy the template file found in the rfcs/ directory of the Salt codebase and fill the outline with the reasoning for the new feature and with implementation details. Upon submitting the written RFC via a pull-request, it will be reviewed by the core development team as well as the community. Once discussed and agreed upon, the RFC may be merged. A merged RFC indicates that a feature has been accepted and will be added to an upcoming release of Salt. Sending a GitHub pull request ----------------------------- Sending pull requests on GitHub is the preferred method for receiving contributions. The workflow advice below mirrors `GitHub's own guide `_ and is well worth reading. #. `Fork saltstack/salt`_ on GitHub. #. Make a local clone of your fork. (Skip this step if you followed the Quickstart) .. code-block:: bash git clone git@github.com:my-account/salt.git cd salt #. Add `saltstack/salt`_ as a git remote. .. code-block:: bash git remote add upstream https://github.com/saltstack/salt.git If you followed the Quickstart, you'll add your own remote instead .. code-block:: bash git remote add my-account git@github.com:my-account/salt.git #. Create a new branch in your clone. .. note:: A branch should have one purpose. For example, "Fix bug X," or "Add feature Y". Multiple unrelated fixes and/or features should be isolated into separate branches. .. code-block:: bash git fetch upstream git checkout -b fix-broken-thing upstream/master #. Edit and commit changes to your branch. .. code-block:: bash vim path/to/file1 path/to/file2 tests/test_file1.py tests/test_file2.py git diff git add path/to/file1 path/to/file2 git commit Write a short, descriptive commit title and a longer commit message if necessary. Use an imperative style for the title. GOOD .. code-block:: bash Fix broken things in file1 and file2 Fixes #31337 We needed to make this change because the underlying dependency changed. Now this uses the up-to-date API. # Please enter the commit message for your changes. Lines starting # with '#' will be ignored, and an empty message aborts the commit. # On branch fix-broken-thing # Changes to be committed: # modified: path/to/file1 # modified: path/to/file2 BAD .. code-block:: bash Fixes broken things # Please enter the commit message for your changes. Lines starting # with '#' will be ignored, and an empty message aborts the commit. # On branch fix-broken-thing # Changes to be committed: # modified: path/to/file1 # modified: path/to/file2 Taking a few moments to explain *why* you made a change will save time and effort in the future when others come to investigate a change. A clear explanation of why something changed can help future developers avoid introducing bugs, or breaking an edge case. .. note:: If your change fixes a bug or implements a feature already filed in the `issue tracker`_, be sure to `reference the issue `_ number in the commit message body. If you get stuck, there are many introductory Git resources on https://help.github.com/en. #. Push your locally-committed changes to your GitHub fork. .. code-block:: bash git push -u origin fix-broken-thing or .. code-block:: bash git push -u origin add-cool-feature .. note:: You may want to rebase before pushing to work out any potential conflicts: .. code-block:: bash git fetch upstream git rebase upstream/master fix-broken-thing git push -u origin fix-broken-thing If you do rebase, and the push is rejected with a ``(non-fast-forward)`` comment, then run ``git status``. You will likely see a message about the branches diverging: .. code-block:: text On branch fix-broken-thing Your branch and 'origin/fix-broken-thing' have diverged, and have 1 and 2 different commits each, respectively. (use "git pull" to merge the remote branch into yours) nothing to commit, working tree clean Do **NOT** perform a ``git pull`` or ``git merge`` here. Instead, add ``--force-with-lease`` to the end of the ``git push`` command to get the changes pushed to your fork. Pulling or merging, while they will resolve the non-fast-forward issue, will likely add extra commits to the pull request which were not part of your changes. #. Find the branch on your GitHub salt fork. https://github.com/my-account/salt/branches/fix-broken-thing #. Open a new pull request. Click on ``Pull Request`` on the right near the top of the page, https://github.com/my-account/salt/pull/new/fix-broken-thing #. Choose ``master`` as the base Salt branch. #. Review that the proposed changes are what you expect. #. Write a descriptive comment. If you added good information to your git commit message, they will already be present here. Include links to related issues (e.g. 'Fixes #31337.') in the comment field. #. Click ``Create pull request``. #. Salt project members will review your pull request and automated tests will run on it. If you recognize any test failures as being related to your proposed changes or if a reviewer asks for modifications: #. Make the new changes in your local clone on the same local branch. #. Push the branch to GitHub again using the same commands as before. #. New and updated commits will be added to the pull request automatically. #. Feel free to add a comment to the discussion. .. note:: Jenkins Pull request against `saltstack/salt`_ are automatically tested on a variety of operating systems and configurations. On average these tests take a couple of hours. Depending on your GitHub notification settings you may also receive an email message about the test results. Test progress and results can be found at https://jenkinsci.saltstack.com/. .. _which-salt-branch: Salt's Branch Topology ---------------------- Salt will only have one active branch - ``master``. This will include bug fixes, features and CVE “Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures”. The release will be cut from the master when the time comes for a new release, which should be every 3 to 4 months. To be able to merge code: #. The code must have a well-written test. Note that you are only expected to write tests for what you did, not the whole modules or function. #. All tests must pass. The SaltStack employee that reviews your pull request might request changes or deny the pull request for various reasons. Salt uses a typical branch strategy - ``master`` is the next expected release. Code should only make it to ``master`` once it's production ready. This means that typical changes (fixes, features) should have accompanying tests.\ Closing GitHub issues from commits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SaltStack encourages using `the magic keywords to close a GitHub issue `_. These should appear in the commit message text directly. Release Naming Convention ------------------------- A new convention will start when Salt releases Salt 3000. Every new release name will increment by one ‘Salt last_release_number + 1’. This naming convention is very different from past releases, which was 'YYYY.MM.PATCH'. Handling CVE -------------- If a CVE is discovered, Salt will create a new release that **only** contains the tests and patch for the CVE. This method should improve the upgrade process by reducing the chances of breaking something. .. _backporting-pull-requests: Backporting Pull Requests ------------------------- On rare occasions, a serious bug will be found in the middle of a release cycle. These bugs will require a point release. Contributors should still submit fixes directly to ``master``, but they should also call attention to the fact that it addresses a critical issue and will need to be back-ported. Keeping Salt Forks in Sync -------------------------- Salt advances quickly. It is therefore critical to pull upstream changes from upstream into your fork on a regular basis. Nothing is worse than putting hard work into a pull request only to see bunches of merge conflicts because it has diverged too far from upstream. .. seealso:: `GitHub Fork a Repo Guide`_ The following assumes ``origin`` is the name of your fork and ``upstream`` is the name of the main `saltstack/salt`_ repository. #. View existing remotes. .. code-block:: bash git remote -v #. Add the ``upstream`` remote. .. code-block:: bash # For ssh github git remote add upstream git@github.com:saltstack/salt.git # For https github git remote add upstream https://github.com/saltstack/salt.git #. Pull upstream changes into your clone. .. code-block:: bash git fetch upstream #. Update your copy of the ``master`` branch. .. code-block:: bash git checkout master git merge --ff-only upstream/master If Git complains that a fast-forward merge is not possible, you have local commits. * Run ``git pull --rebase origin master`` to rebase your changes on top of the upstream changes. * Or, run ``git branch `` to create a new branch with your commits. You will then need to reset your ``master`` branch before updating it with the changes from upstream. If Git complains that local files will be overwritten, you have changes to files in your working directory. Run ``git status`` to see the files in question. #. Update your fork. .. code-block:: bash git push origin master #. Repeat the previous two steps for any other branches you work with, such as the current release branch. Posting patches to the mailing list ----------------------------------- Patches will also be accepted by email. Format patches using `git format-patch`_ and send them to the `salt-users`_ mailing list. The contributor will then get credit for the patch, and the Salt community will have an archive of the patch and a place for discussion. Issue and Pull Request Labeling System -------------------------------------- SaltStack uses several labeling schemes to help facilitate code contributions and bug resolution. See the :ref:`Labels and Milestones ` documentation for more information. Mentionbot ---------- SaltStack runs a mention-bot which notifies contributors who might be able to help review incoming pull-requests based on their past contribution to files which are being changed. If you do not wish to receive these notifications, please add your GitHub handle to the blacklist line in the ``.mention-bot`` file located in the root of the Salt repository. Bootstrap Script Changes ------------------------ Salt's Bootstrap Script, known as `bootstrap-salt.sh`_ in the Salt repo, has its own repository, contributing guidelines, and release cadence. All changes to the Bootstrap Script should be made to `salt-bootstrap repo`_. Any pull requests made to the `bootstrap-salt.sh`_ file in the Salt repository will be automatically overwritten upon the next stable release of the Bootstrap Script. For more information on the release process or how to contribute to the Bootstrap Script, see the Bootstrap Script's `Contributing Guidelines`_. .. _`saltstack/salt`: https://github.com/saltstack/salt .. _`GitHub Fork a Repo Guide`: https://help.github.com/articles/fork-a-repo .. _`issue tracker`: https://github.com/saltstack/salt/issues .. _`Fork saltstack/salt`: https://github.com/saltstack/salt/fork .. _'Git resources`: https://help.github.com/articles/good-resources-for-learning-git-and-github/ .. _`Closing issues via commit message`: https://help.github.com/en/github/managing-your-work-on-github/linking-a-pull-request-to-an-issue .. _`git format-patch`: https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-format-patch.html .. _salt-users: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/salt-users .. _GPG Probot: https://probot.github.io/apps/gpg/ .. _help articles: https://help.github.com/articles/signing-commits-with-gpg/ .. _GPG Signature Verification feature announcement: https://github.com/blog/2144-gpg-signature-verification .. _bootstrap-salt.sh: https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/master/salt/cloud/deploy/bootstrap-salt.sh .. _salt-bootstrap repo: https://github.com/saltstack/salt-bootstrap .. _Contributing Guidelines: https://github.com/saltstack/salt-bootstrap/blob/develop/CONTRIBUTING.md .. _`Black`: https://pypi.org/project/black/ .. _`SEP 15`: https://github.com/saltstack/salt-enhancement-proposals/pull/21 .. _`pre-commit`: https://pre-commit.com/ .. _`SaltStack Community Slack`: https://saltstackcommunity.herokuapp.com/ .. _`#salt on freenode`: https://webchat.freenode.net/#salt .. _`saltstack meetup`: https://www.meetup.com/pro/saltstack/ .. _`saltstack on serverfault`: https://serverfault.com/questions/tagged/saltstack