# Contributing to Blockstack

Looking to contribute something to Blockstack? **Here's how you can help.**

Please take a moment to review this document in order to make the contribution process easy and effective for everyone in the community.

Following these guidelines helps to communicate that you respect the time of everyone involved in the Blockstack open source community. In return, the community will address your issue or assess patches and features as quickly as possible.


## Using the issue tracker

The [issue tracker](https://github.com/blockstack/blockstack-browser/issues) is the preferred channel for [bug reports](#bug-reports), [features requests](#feature-requests) and [submitting pull requests](#pull-requests), but please respect the following
restrictions:

* Please **do not** use the issue tracker for personal support requests.  Please use the [Forum](https://forum.blockstack.org) or [Slack](https://chat.blockstack.org) as they are better places to get help.

* Please **do not** derail or troll issues. Keep the discussion on topic and respect the opinions of others.

* Please **do not** post comments consisting solely of "+1" or ":thumbsup:". Use [GitHub's "reactions" feature](https://github.com/blog/2119-add-reactions-to-pull-requests-issues-and-comments) instead. We reserve the right to delete comments which violate this rule.


## Issues and labels

Our bug tracker utilizes several labels to help organize and identify issues. Here's what they represent and how we use them:

- `bug` - Issues where code is demonstrably a problem
- `chore` - Issues that are not 
- `design` - Issues related to design
- `documentation` - Issue that is specifically for addition, creation or editing of documentation
- `enhancement` - Issues that enhance the product
- `feature` - Issues that identify a new feature
- `release-overview` - Overview of release

For a complete look at our labels, see the [project labels page](https://github.com/blockstack/blockstack-browser/labels).


## Bug reports

A bug is a _demonstrable problem_ that is caused by the code in the repository. Good bug reports are extremely helpful, so thanks!

Guidelines for bug reports:

0. **Validate and lint your code** &mdash; [validate your HTML](https://html5.validator.nu) and [lint your HTML](https://github.com/twbs/bootlint) to ensure your problem isn't caused by a simple error in your own code.

1. **Use the GitHub issue search** &mdash; check if the issue has already been reported.

2. **Check if the issue has been fixed** &mdash; try to reproduce it using the latest `master` or development branch in the repository.

3. **Isolate the problem** &mdash; ideally create a [reduced test case](https://css-tricks.com/reduced-test-cases/) and a live example. [This JS Bin](https://jsbin.com/lolome/edit?html,output) is a helpful template.


A good bug report shouldn't leave others needing to chase you up for more information. Please try to be as detailed as possible in your report. What is your environment? What steps will reproduce the issue? What browser(s) and OS experience the problem? Do other browsers show the bug differently? What would you expect to be the outcome? All these details will help people to fix any potential bugs.

Example:

> Short and descriptive example bug report title
>
> A summary of the issue and the browser/OS environment in which it occurs. If
> suitable, include the steps required to reproduce the bug.
>
> 1. This is the first step
> 2. This is the second step
> 3. Further steps, etc.
>
> `<url>` - a link to the reduced test case
>
> Any other information you want to share that is relevant to the issue being
> reported. This might include the lines of code that you have identified as
> causing the bug, and potential solutions (and your opinions on their
> merits).


## Feature requests

Feature requests are welcome. But take a moment to find out whether your idea fits with the scope and aims of the project. It's up to *you* to make a strong case to convince the project's developers of the merits of this feature. Please provide as much detail and context as possible.


## Pull requests

Good pull requests—patches, improvements, new features—are a fantastic help. They should remain focused in scope and avoid containing unrelated commits.

**Please ask first** before embarking on any significant pull request (e.g. implementing features, refactoring code, porting to a different language), otherwise you risk spending a lot of time working on something that the project's developers might not want to merge into the project.

Please adhere to the [coding guidelines](#code-guidelines) used throughout the project (indentation, accurate comments, etc.) and any other requirements (such as test coverage).

When contributing to Blockstack's documentation, you should edit the documentation source files in [the `/app/` directory of the `master` branch](https://github.com/blockstack/blockstack-browser/tree/master/app).

Adhering to the following process is the best way to get your work included in the project:

1. [Fork](https://help.github.com/fork-a-repo/) the project, clone your fork,
   and configure the remotes:

   ```bash
   # Clone your fork of the repo into the current directory
   git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/blockstack-browser.git
   # Navigate to the newly cloned directory
   cd blockstack-browser
   # Assign the original repo to a remote called "upstream"
   git remote add upstream https://github.com/blockstack/blockstack-browser.git
   ```

2. If you cloned a while ago, get the latest changes from upstream:

   ```bash
   git checkout master
   git pull upstream master
   ```

3. Create a new topic branch (off the main project development branch) to
   contain your feature, change, or fix:

   ```bash
   git checkout -b <topic-branch-name>
   ```

4. Commit your changes in logical chunks. Please adhere to these [git commit
   message guidelines](http://tbaggery.com/2008/04/19/a-note-about-git-commit-messages.html)
   or your code is unlikely be merged into the main project. Use Git's
   [interactive rebase](https://help.github.com/articles/interactive-rebase)
   feature to tidy up your commits before making them public.

5. Locally merge (or rebase) the upstream development branch into your topic branch:

   ```bash
   git pull [--rebase] upstream master
   ```

6. Push your topic branch up to your fork:

   ```bash
   git push origin <topic-branch-name>
   ```

7. [Open a Pull Request](https://help.github.com/articles/using-pull-requests/)
    with a clear title and description against the `master` branch.

**IMPORTANT**: By submitting a patch, you agree to allow the project owners to
license your work under the terms of the [MPL-2.0 License](LICENSE.md) (if it
includes code changes) and under the terms of the
[Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License](docs/LICENSE.md)
(if it includes documentation changes).


## Code guidelines

### HTML

[Adhere to the Code Guide.](http://codeguide.co/#html)

- Use tags and elements appropriate for an HTML5 doctype (e.g., self-closing tags).

### JS

- No semicolons (in client-side JS)
- 2 spaces (no tabs)
- strict mode
- "Attractive"
- Don't use jQuery (no "$" allowed)

### Checking code

Run `npm run dev` before committing to ensure your changes follow our coding standards.


## License

By contributing your code, you agree to license your contribution under the [MPL-2.0 License](LICENSE.md).
