This document explains how to contribute changes to the Gitea project. \
It assumes you have followed the [installation instructions](https://docs.gitea.io/en-us/). \
Sensitive security-related issues should be reported to [security@gitea.io](mailto:security@gitea.io).
For configuring IDEs for Gitea development, see the [contributed IDE configurations](contrib/ide/).
## Issues
### How to report issues
Please search the issues on the issue tracker with a variety of related keywords to ensure that your issue has not already been reported.
If your issue has not been reported yet, [open an issue](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/issues/new)
and answer the questions so we can understand and reproduce the problematic behavior. \
Please write clear and concise instructions so that we can reproduce the behavior — even if it seems obvious. \
The more detailed and specific you are, the faster we can fix the issue. \
It is really helpful if you can reproduce your problem on a site running on the latest commits, i.e. <https://try.gitea.io>, as perhaps your problem has already been fixed on a current version. \
Please follow the guidelines described in [How to Report Bugs Effectively](http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html) for your report.
Please be kind, remember that Gitea comes at no cost to you, and you're getting free help.
-`bug`: Something in the frontend or backend behaves unexpectedly
-`security issue`: bug that has serious implications such as leaking another users data. Please do not file such issues on the public tracker and send a mail to security@gitea.io instead
-`feature`: Completely new functionality. You should describe this feature in enough detail that anyone who reads the issue can understand how it is supposed to be implemented
-`enhancement`: An existing feature should get an upgrade
-`refactoring`: Parts of the code base don't conform with other parts and should be changed to improve Gitea's maintainability
If you want to change or add something, please let everyone know what you're working on — [file an issue](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/issues/new) or comment on an existing one before starting your work!
For the frontend, we use [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/).
The same restrictions apply for frontend dependencies as for backend dependencies, with the exceptions that the files for it are `package.json` and `package-lock.json`, and that new versions must always reference an existing version.
## Design guideline
Depending on your change, please read the
- [backend development guideline](https://docs.gitea.com/contributing/guidelines-backend)
- [frontend development guideline](https://docs.gitea.com/contributing/guidelines-frontend)
The only translation that is maintained in this repository is [the English translation](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/main/options/locale/locale_en-US.ini).
Other locales on main branch **should not** be updated manually as they will be overwritten with each sync. \
Once a language has reached a **satisfactory percentage** of translated keys (~25%), it will be synced back into this repo and included in the next released version.
Please try to make your pull request easy to review for us. \
For that, please read the [*Best Practices for Faster Reviews*](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/blob/261cb0fd089b64002c91e8eddceebf032462ccd6/contributors/guide/pull-requests.md#best-practices-for-faster-reviews) guide. \
It has lots of useful tips for any project you may want to contribute to. \
Every PR should be labeled correctly with every label that applies. \
This includes especially the distinction between `bug` (fixing existing functionality), `feature` (new functionality), `enhancement` (upgrades for existing functionality), and `refactoring` (improving the internal code structure without changing the output (much)). \
Furthermore,
- the amount of pending required approvals
- whether this PR is `blocked`, a `backport` or `breaking`
- if it targets the `ui` or `api`
- if it increases the application `speed`
- reduces `memory usage`
are oftentimes notable labels.
### Breaking PRs
#### What is a breaking PR?
A PR is breaking if it meets one of the following criteria:
- It changes API output in an incompatible way for existing users
- It removes a setting that an admin could previously set (i.e. via `app.ini`)
- An admin must do something manually to restore the old behavior
If a PR has the `lgtm/done` label and there are no open discussions or merge conflicts anymore, any maintainer can add the `reviewed/wait-merge` label. \
This label means that the PR is part of the merge queue and will be merged as soon as possible. \
The merge queue will be cleared in the order of the list below:
If a PR has been ignored for more than 7 days with no comments or reviews, and the author or any maintainer believes it will not survive a long wait (such as a refactoring PR), they can send "final call" to the TOC by mentioning them in a comment.
After another 7 days, if there is still zero approval, this is considered a polite refusal, and the PR will be closed to avoid wasting further time. Therefore, the "final call" has a cost, and should be used cautiously.
Mergers are able and required to rewrite the PR title and summary (the first comment of a PR) so that it can produce an easily understandable commit message if necessary. \
The final commit message should no longer contain any uncertainty such as `hopefully, <x> won't happen anymore`. Replace uncertainty with certainty.
If you add a new feature or change an existing aspect of Gitea, the documentation for that feature must be created or updated in the same PR.
## API v1
The API is documented by [swagger](http://try.gitea.io/api/swagger) and is based on [the GitHub API](https://docs.github.com/en/rest).
### GitHub API compatability
Gitea's API should use the same endpoints and fields as the GitHub API as far as possible, unless there are good reasons to deviate. \
If Gitea provides functionality that GitHub does not, a new endpoint can be created. \
If information is provided by Gitea that is not provided by the GitHub API, a new field can be used that doesn't collide with any GitHub fields. \
Updating an existing API should not remove existing fields unless there is a really good reason to do so. \
The same applies to status responses. If you notice a problem, feel free to leave a comment in the code for future refactoring to API v2 (which is currently not planned).
### Adding/Maintaining API routes
All expected results (errors, success, fail messages) must be documented ([example](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/c620eb5b2d0d874da68ebd734d3864c5224f71f7/routers/api/v1/repo/issue.go#L319-L327)). \
All JSON input types must be defined as a struct in [modules/structs/](modules/structs/) ([example](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/c620eb5b2d0d874da68ebd734d3864c5224f71f7/modules/structs/issue.go#L76-L91)) \
and referenced in [routers/api/v1/swagger/options.go](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/c620eb5b2d0d874da68ebd734d3864c5224f71f7/routers/api/v1/swagger/options.go). \
They can then be used like [this example](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/c620eb5b2d0d874da68ebd734d3864c5224f71f7/routers/api/v1/repo/issue.go#L318). \
All JSON responses must be defined as a struct in [modules/structs/](modules/structs/) ([example](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/c620eb5b2d0d874da68ebd734d3864c5224f71f7/modules/structs/issue.go#L36-L68)) \
and referenced in its category in [routers/api/v1/swagger/](routers/api/v1/swagger/) ([example](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/c620eb5b2d0d874da68ebd734d3864c5224f71f7/routers/api/v1/swagger/issue.go#L11-L16)) \
They can be used like [this example](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/c620eb5b2d0d874da68ebd734d3864c5224f71f7/routers/api/v1/repo/issue.go#L277-L279).
- **GET** endpoints return the requested object(s) and status **OK (200)**
- **DELETE** endpoints return the status **No Content (204)** and no content either
- **POST** endpoints are used to **create** new objects (e.g. a User) and return the status **Created (201)** and the created object
- **PUT** endpoints are used to **add/assign** existing Objects (e.g. a user to a team) and return the status **No Content (204)** and no content either
- **PATCH** endpoints are used to **edit/change** an existing object and return the changed object and the status **OK (200)**
- support pagination (`page` &`limit` options in query)
- set `X-Total-Count` header via **SetTotalCountHeader** ([example](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/blob/7aae98cc5d4113f1e9918b7ee7dd09f67c189e3e/routers/api/v1/repo/issue.go#L444))
We backport PRs given the following circumstances:
1. Feature freeze is active, but `<version>-rc0` has not been released yet. Here, we backport as much as possible. <!-- TODO: Is that our definition with the new backport bot? -->
2.`rc0` has been released. Here, we only backport bug- and security-fixes, and small enhancements. Large PRs such as refactors are not backported anymore. <!-- TODO: Is that our definition with the new backport bot? -->
3. We never backport new features.
4. We never backport breaking changes except when
1. The breaking change has no effect on the vast majority of users
2. The component triggering the breaking change is marked as experimental
### How to backport?
In the past, it was necessary to manually backport your PRs. \
Now, that's not a requirement anymore as our [backport bot](https://github.com/GiteaBot) tries to create backports automatically once the PR is merged when the PR
- does not have the label `backport/manual`
- has the label `backport/<version>`
The `backport/manual` label signifies either that you want to backport the change yourself, or that there were conflicts when backporting, thus you **must** do it yourself.
We consider the act of contributing to the code by submitting a Pull Request as the "Sign off" or agreement to the certifications and terms of the [DCO](DCO) and [MIT license](LICENSE). \
No further action is required. \
You can also decide to sign off your commits by adding the following line at the end of your commit messages:
We adopted a release schedule to streamline the process of working on, finishing, and issuing releases. \
The overall goal is to make a major release every three or four months, which breaks down into two or three months of general development followed by one month of testing and polishing known as the release freeze. \
At the start of 2023, the `Owners` team was dissolved. Instead, the governance charter proposed a technical oversight committee (TOC) which expands the ownership team of the Gitea project from three elected positions to six positions. Three positions would be elected as it has been over the past years, and the other three would consist of appointed members from the Gitea company.
When the new community members have been elected, the old members will give up ownership to the newly elected members. For security reasons, TOC members or any account with write access (like a bot) must use 2FA.
These funds will come from community sources like the OpenCollective rather than directly from the company.
Only non-company members are eligible for this compensation, and if a member of the community TOC takes the responsibility of release manager, they would only be compensated for their TOC duties.
Gitea Ltd employees are not eligible to receive any funds from the OpenCollective unless it is reimbursement for a purchase made for the Gitea project itself.
With Gitea covering many projects outside of the main repository, several groups will be created to help focus on specific areas instead of requiring maintainers to be a jack-of-all-trades. Maintainers are of course more than welcome to be part of multiple groups should they wish to contribute in multiple places.
- **Core Group**: maintain the primary Gitea repository
- **Integration Group**: maintain the Gitea ecosystem's related tools, including go-sdk/tea/changelog/bots etc.
- **Documentation Group**: maintain related documents and repositories
- **Translation Group**: coordinate with translators and maintain translations
- **Security Group**: managed by TOC directly, members are decided by TOC, maintains security patches/responsible for security items
## Roadmap
Each year a roadmap will be discussed with the entire Gitea maintainers team, and feedback will be solicited from various stakeholders.
TOC members need to review the roadmap every year and work together on the direction of the project.
When a vote is required for a proposal or other change, the vote of community elected TOC members count slightly more than the vote of company elected TOC members. With this approach, we both avoid ties and ensure that changes align with the mission statement and community opinion.
- Let $vmaj, $vmin and $vpat be Major, Minor and Patch version numbers, $vpat should be rc1, rc2, 0, 1, ...... $vmaj.$vmin will be kept the same as milestones on github or gitea in future.
- Before releasing, confirm all the version's milestone issues or PRs has been resolved. Then discuss the release on Discord channel #maintainers and get agreed with almost all the owners and mergers. Or you can declare the version and if nobody against in about serval hours.
- If this is a big version first you have to create PR for changelog on branch `main` with PRs with label `changelog` and after it has been merged do following steps:
- Create `-dev` tag as `git tag -s -F release.notes v$vmaj.$vmin.0-dev` and push the tag as `git push origin v$vmaj.$vmin.0-dev`.
- When CI has finished building tag then you have to create a new branch named `release/v$vmaj.$vmin`
- If it is bugfix version create PR for changelog on branch `release/v$vmaj.$vmin` and wait till it is reviewed and merged.
- Add a tag as `git tag -s -F release.notes v$vmaj.$vmin.$`, release.notes file could be a temporary file to only include the changelog this version which you added to `CHANGELOG.md`.
- And then push the tag as `git push origin v$vmaj.$vmin.$`. Drone CI will automatically create a release and upload all the compiled binary. (But currently it doesn't add the release notes automatically. Maybe we should fix that.)
- If needed send a frontport PR for the changelog to branch `main` and update the version in `docs/config.yaml` to refer to the new version.
- Send PR to [blog repository](https://gitea.com/gitea/blog) announcing the release.
- Verify all release assets were correctly published through CI on dl.gitea.io and GitHub releases. Once ACKed:
- bump the version of https://dl.gitea.io/gitea/version.json
- merge the blog post PR
- announce the release in discord `#announcements`
