.. _contribute_guidelines: Contribution Guidelines ####################### As an open-source project, we welcome and encourage the community to submit patches directly to the project. In our collaborative open source environment, standards and methods for submitting changes help reduce the chaos that can result from an active development community. This document explains how to participate in project conversations, log bugs and enhancement requests, and submit patches to the project so your patch will be accepted quickly in the codebase. .. _help: Asking for Help *************** You can ask for help on a mailing list or on Slack. Please send bug reports and feature requests to GitHub. * **Mailing Lists**: users@lists.zephyrproject.org is usually the right list to ask for help. `Search archives and sign up here`_. * **Slack**: Zephyr's workspace is https://zephyrproject.slack.com; you can register with this `Slack invite`_. * **GitHub**: Use `GitHub issues`_ for bugs and feature requests. How to Ask =========== .. important:: Please search this documentation and the mailing list archives first. Your question may have an answer there. Don't just say "this isn't working" or ask "is this working?". Include as much detail as you can about: #. What you want to do #. What you tried (commands you typed, etc.) #. What happened (output of each command, etc.) Use Copy/Paste ============== Please **copy/paste text** instead of taking a picture or a screenshot of it. Text includes source code, terminal commands, and their output. Doing this makes it easier for people to help you, and also helps other users search the archives. When copy/pasting more than 5 lines of text into Slack, create a `snippet`_. .. _Search archives and sign up here: https://lists.zephyrproject.org/g/users .. _Slack invite: https://tinyurl.com/y5glwylp .. _GitHub issues: https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/issues .. _snippet: https://get.slack.help/hc/en-us/articles/204145658-Create-a-snippet Licensing ********* Licensing is very important to open source projects. It helps ensure the software continues to be available under the terms that the author desired. .. _Apache 2.0 license: https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/blob/master/LICENSE .. _GitHub repo: https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr Zephyr uses the `Apache 2.0 license`_ (as found in the LICENSE file in the project's `GitHub repo`_) to strike a balance between open contribution and allowing you to use the software however you would like to. The Apache 2.0 license is a permissive open source license that allows you to freely use, modify, distribute and sell your own products that include Apache 2.0 licensed software. (For more information about this, check out articles such as `Why choose Apache 2.0 licensing`_ and `Top 10 Apache License Questions Answered`_). .. _Why choose Apache 2.0 licensing: https://www.zephyrproject.org/faqs/#1571346989065-9216c551-f523 .. _Top 10 Apache License Questions Answered: https://www.whitesourcesoftware.com/whitesource-blog/top-10-apache-license-questions-answered/ A license tells you what rights you have as a developer, as provided by the copyright holder. It is important that the contributor fully understands the licensing rights and agrees to them. Sometimes the copyright holder isn't the contributor, such as when the contributor is doing work on behalf of a company. Components using other Licenses =============================== There are some imported or reused components of the Zephyr project that use other licensing, as described in :ref:`Zephyr_Licensing`. Importing code into the Zephyr OS from other projects that use a license other than the Apache 2.0 license needs to be fully understood in context and approved by the Zephyr governing board. By carefully reviewing potential contributions and also enforcing a :ref:`DCO` for contributed code, we can ensure that the Zephyr community can develop products with the Zephyr Project without concerns over patent or copyright issues. See :ref:`external-contributions` for more information about this contributing and review process for imported components. .. only:: latex .. toctree:: :maxdepth: 1 ../LICENSING.rst .. _DCO: Developer Certification of Origin (DCO) *************************************** To make a good faith effort to ensure licensing criteria are met, the Zephyr project requires the Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO) process to be followed. The DCO is an attestation attached to every contribution made by every developer. In the commit message of the contribution, (described more fully later in this document), the developer simply adds a ``Signed-off-by`` statement and thereby agrees to the DCO. When a developer submits a patch, it is a commitment that the contributor has the right to submit the patch per the license. The DCO agreement is shown below and at http://developercertificate.org/. .. code-block:: none Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.1 By making a contribution to this project, I certify that: (a) The contribution was created in whole or in part by me and I have the right to submit it under the open source license indicated in the file; or (b) The contribution is based upon previous work that, to the best of my knowledge, is covered under an appropriate open source license and I have the right under that license to submit that work with modifications, whether created in whole or in part by me, under the same open source license (unless I am permitted to submit under a different license), as Indicated in the file; or (c) The contribution was provided directly to me by some other person who certified (a), (b) or (c) and I have not modified it. (d) I understand and agree that this project and the contribution are public and that a record of the contribution (including all personal information I submit with it, including my sign-off) is maintained indefinitely and may be redistributed consistent with this project or the open source license(s) involved. DCO Sign-Off Methods ==================== The DCO requires a sign-off message in the following format appear on each commit in the pull request:: Signed-off-by: Zephyrus Zephyr The DCO text can either be manually added to your commit body, or you can add either ``-s`` or ``--signoff`` to your usual Git commit commands. If you forget to add the sign-off you can also amend a previous commit with the sign-off by running ``git commit --amend -s``. If you've pushed your changes to GitHub already you'll need to force push your branch after this with ``git push -f``. Notes ===== Any contributions made as part of submitted pull requests are considered free for the Project to use. Developers are permitted to cherry-pick patches that are included in pull requests submitted by other contributors. It is expected that * the content of the patches will not be substantially modified, * the cherry-picked commits or portions of a commit shall preserve the original sign-off messages and the author identity. :ref:`modifying_contributions` describes additional recommended policies around working with contributions submitted by other developers. Prerequisites ************* .. _Zephyr Project website: https://zephyrproject.org As a contributor, you'll want to be familiar with the Zephyr project, how to configure, install, and use it as explained in the `Zephyr Project website`_ and how to set up your development environment as introduced in the Zephyr :ref:`getting_started`. You should be familiar with common developer tools such as Git and CMake, and platforms such as GitHub. If you haven't already done so, you'll need to create a (free) GitHub account on https://github.com and have Git tools available on your development system. .. note:: The Zephyr development workflow supports all 3 major operating systems (Linux, macOS, and Windows) but some of the tools used in the sections below are only available on Linux and macOS. On Windows, instead of running these tools yourself, you will need to rely on the Continuous Integration (CI) service ``buildkite``, which runs automatically on GitHub when you submit your Pull Request (PR). You can see any failure results in the Shippable details link near the end of the PR conversation list. See `Continuous Integration`_ for more information Repository layout ***************** To clone the main Zephyr Project repositories use the instructions in :ref:`get_the_code`. The Zephyr project directory structure is described in :ref:`source_tree_v2` documentation. In addition to the Zephyr kernel itself, you'll also find the sources for technical documentation, sample code, supported board configurations, and a collection of subsystem tests. All of these are available for developers to contribute to and enhance. Pull Requests and Issues ************************ .. _Zephyr Project Issues: https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/issues .. _open pull requests: https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/pulls .. _Zephyr devel mailing list: https://lists.zephyrproject.org/g/devel .. _Zephyr Slack channel: https://zephyrproject.slack.com Before starting on a patch, first check in our issues `Zephyr Project Issues`_ system to see what's been reported on the issue you'd like to address. Have a conversation on the `Zephyr devel mailing list`_ (or the the `Zephyr Slack channel`_) to see what others think of your issue (and proposed solution). You may find others that have encountered the issue you're finding, or that have similar ideas for changes or additions. Send a message to the `Zephyr devel mailing list`_ to introduce and discuss your idea with the development community. It's always a good practice to search for existing or related issues before submitting your own. When you submit an issue (bug or feature request), the triage team will review and comment on the submission, typically within a few business days. You can find all `open pull requests`_ on GitHub and open `Zephyr Project Issues`_ in Github issues. .. _Continuous Integration: Tools and Git Setup ******************* Signed-off-by ============= The name in the commit message ``Signed-off-by:`` line and your email must match the change authorship information. Make sure your :file:`.gitconfig` is set up correctly: .. code-block:: console git config --global user.name "David Developer" git config --global user.email "david.developer@company.com" gitlint ========= When you submit a pull request to the project, a series of checks are performed to verify your commit messages meet the requirements. The same step done during the CI process can be performed locally using the the ``gitlint`` command. Run ``gitlint`` locally in your tree and branch where your patches have been committed: .. code-block:: console gitlint Note, gitlint only checks HEAD (the most recent commit), so you should run it after each commit, or use the ``--commits`` option to specify a commit range covering all the development patches to be submitted. twister ======= .. note:: twister does not currently run on Windows. To verify that your changes did not break any tests or samples, please run the ``twister`` script locally before submitting your pull request to GitHub. To run the same tests the CI system runs, follow these steps from within your local Zephyr source working directory: .. code-block:: console source zephyr-env.sh ./scripts/twister The above will execute the basic twister script, which will run various kernel tests using the QEMU emulator. It will also do some build tests on various samples with advanced features that can't run in QEMU. We highly recommend you run these tests locally to avoid any CI failures. uncrustify ========== The `uncrustify tool `_ can be helpful to quickly reformat large amounts of new source code to our `Coding Style`_ standards together with a configuration file we've provided: .. code-block:: bash # On Linux/macOS uncrustify --replace --no-backup -l C -c $ZEPHYR_BASE/.uncrustify.cfg my_source_file.c # On Windows uncrustify --replace --no-backup -l C -c %ZEPHYR_BASE%\.uncrustify.cfg my_source_file.c But note that you should not use uncrustify to reformat existing Zephyr code, or to modify files in which you only introduce a small fix. This would create a lot of unwelcome extra changed lines. On Linux systems, you can install uncrustify with .. code-block:: bash sudo apt install uncrustify For Windows installation instructions see the `sourceforge listing for uncrustify `_. .. _coding_style: Coding Style ************ Use these coding guidelines to ensure that your development complies with the project's style and naming conventions. .. _Linux kernel coding style: https://kernel.org/doc/html/latest/process/coding-style.html In general, follow the `Linux kernel coding style`_, with the following exceptions: * Add braces to every ``if``, ``else``, ``do``, ``while``, ``for`` and ``switch`` body, even for single-line code blocks. Use the ``--ignore BRACES`` flag to make *checkpatch* stop complaining. * Use spaces instead of tabs to align comments after declarations, as needed. * Use C89-style single line comments, ``/* */``. The C99-style single line comment, ``//``, is not allowed. * Use ``/** */`` for doxygen comments that need to appear in the documentation. The Linux kernel GPL-licensed tool ``checkpatch`` is used to check coding style conformity. .. note:: checkpatch does not currently run on Windows. Checkpatch is available in the scripts directory. To invoke it when committing code, make the file *$ZEPHYR_BASE/.git/hooks/pre-commit* executable and edit it to contain: .. code-block:: bash #!/bin/sh set -e exec exec git diff --cached | ${ZEPHYR_BASE}/scripts/checkpatch.pl - Instead of running checkpatch at each commit, you may prefer to run it only before pushing on zephyr repo. To do this, make the file *$ZEPHYR_BASE/.git/hooks/pre-push* executable and edit it to contain: .. code-block:: bash #!/bin/sh remote="$1" url="$2" z40=0000000000000000000000000000000000000000 echo "Run push hook" while read local_ref local_sha remote_ref remote_sha do args="$remote $url $local_ref $local_sha $remote_ref $remote_sha" exec ${ZEPHYR_BASE}/scripts/series-push-hook.sh $args done exit 0 If you want to override checkpatch verdict and push you branch despite reported issues, you can add option --no-verify to the git push command. A more complete alternative to this is using check_compliance.py script from ci-tools repo. Coding Guidelines ***************** Beyond the :ref:`coding_style` that Zephyr enforces for all code that is submitted for inclusion, the project targets compliance with a series of coding guidelines. Refer to the :ref:`coding_guidelines` section of the documentation for additional details. .. _Contribution Tools: .. _Contribution workflow: Contribution Workflow ********************* One general practice we encourage, is to make small, controlled changes. This practice simplifies review, makes merging and rebasing easier, and keeps the change history clear and clean. When contributing to the Zephyr Project, it is also important you provide as much information as you can about your change, update appropriate documentation, and test your changes thoroughly before submitting. The general GitHub workflow used by Zephyr developers uses a combination of command line Git commands and browser interaction with GitHub. As it is with Git, there are multiple ways of getting a task done. We'll describe a typical workflow here: .. _Create a Fork of Zephyr: https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr#fork-destination-box #. `Create a Fork of Zephyr`_ to your personal account on GitHub. (Click on the fork button in the top right corner of the Zephyr project repo page in GitHub.) #. On your development computer, change into the :file:`zephyr` folder that was created when you :ref:`obtained the code `:: cd zephyrproject/zephyr Rename the default remote pointing to the `upstream repository `_ from ``origin`` to ``upstream``:: git remote rename origin upstream Let Git know about the fork you just created, naming it ``origin``:: git remote add origin https://github.com//zephyr and verify the remote repos:: git remote -v The output should look similar to:: origin https://github.com//zephyr (fetch) origin https://github.com//zephyr (push) upstream https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr (fetch) upstream https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr (push) #. Create a topic branch (off of master) for your work (if you're addressing an issue, we suggest including the issue number in the branch name):: git checkout master git checkout -b fix_comment_typo Some Zephyr subsystems do development work on a separate branch from master so you may need to indicate this in your checkout:: git checkout -b fix_out_of_date_patch origin/net #. Make changes, test locally, change, test, test again, ... (Check out the prior chapter on `twister`_ as well). #. When things look good, start the pull request process by adding your changed files:: git add [file(s) that changed, add -p if you want to be more specific] You can see files that are not yet staged using:: git status #. Verify changes to be committed look as you expected:: git diff --cached #. Commit your changes to your local repo:: git commit -s The ``-s`` option automatically adds your ``Signed-off-by:`` to your commit message. Your commit will be rejected without this line that indicates your agreement with the `DCO`_. See the `Commit Guidelines`_ section for specific guidelines for writing your commit messages. #. Push your topic branch with your changes to your fork in your personal GitHub account:: git push origin fix_comment_typo #. In your web browser, go to your forked repo and click on the ``Compare & pull request`` button for the branch you just worked on and you want to open a pull request with. #. Review the pull request changes, and verify that you are opening a pull request for the appropriate branch. The title and message from your commit message should appear as well. #. If you're working on a subsystem branch that's not ``master``, you may need to change the intended branch for the pull request here, for example, by changing the base branch from ``master`` to ``net``. #. GitHub will assign one or more suggested reviewers (based on the CODEOWNERS file in the repo). If you are a project member, you can select additional reviewers now too. #. Click on the submit button and your pull request is sent and awaits review. Email will be sent as review comments are made, or you can check on your pull request at https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/pulls. #. While you're waiting for your pull request to be accepted and merged, you can create another branch to work on another issue. (Be sure to make your new branch off of master and not the previous branch.):: git checkout master git checkout -b fix_another_issue and use the same process described above to work on this new topic branch. #. If reviewers do request changes to your patch, you can interactively rebase commit(s) to fix review issues. In your development repo:: git fetch --all git rebase --ignore-whitespace upstream/master The ``--ignore-whitespace`` option stops ``git apply`` (called by rebase) from changing any whitespace. Continuing:: git rebase -i ^ In the interactive rebase editor, replace ``pick`` with ``edit`` to select a specific commit (if there's more than one in your pull request), or remove the line to delete a commit entirely. Then edit files to fix the issues in the review. As before, inspect and test your changes. When ready, continue the patch submission:: git add [file(s)] git rebase --continue Update commit comment if needed, and continue:: git push --force origin fix_comment_typo By force pushing your update, your original pull request will be updated with your changes so you won't need to resubmit the pull request. .. note:: While amending commits and force pushing is a common review model outside GitHub, and the one recommended by Zephyr, it's not the main model supported by GitHub. Forced pushes can cause unexpected behavior, such as not being able to use "View Changes" buttons except for the last one - GitHub complains it can't find older commits. You're also not always able to compare the latest reviewed version with the latest submitted version. When rewriting history GitHub only guarantees access to the latest version. #. If the CI run fails, you will need to make changes to your code in order to fix the issues and amend your commits by rebasing as described above. Additional information about the CI system can be found in `Continuous Integration`_. Commit Guidelines ***************** Changes are submitted as Git commits. Each commit message must contain: * A short and descriptive subject line that is less than 72 characters, followed by a blank line. The subject line must include a prefix that identifies the subsystem being changed, followed by a colon, and a short title, for example: ``doc: update wiki references to new site``. (If you're updating an existing file, you can use ``git log `` to see what developers used as the prefix for previous patches of this file.) * A change description with your logic or reasoning for the changes, followed by a blank line. * A Signed-off-by line, ``Signed-off-by: `` typically added automatically by using ``git commit -s`` * If the change addresses an issue, include a line of the form:: Fixes #. All changes and topics sent to GitHub must be well-formed, as described above. Commit Message Body =================== When editing the commit message, please briefly explain what your change does and why it's needed. A change summary of ``"Fixes stuff"`` will be rejected. .. warning:: An empty change summary body is not permitted. Even for trivial changes, please include a summary body in the commit message. The description body of the commit message must include: * **what** the change does, * **why** you chose that approach, * **what** assumptions were made, and * **how** you know it works -- for example, which tests you ran. For examples of accepted commit messages, you can refer to the Zephyr GitHub `changelog `__. Other Commit Expectations ========================= * Commits must build cleanly when applied on top of each other, thus avoiding breaking bisectability. * Commits must pass all CI checks (see `Continuous Integration`_ for more information) * Each commit must address a single identifiable issue and must be logically self-contained. Unrelated changes should be submitted as separate commits. * You may submit pull request RFCs (requests for comments) to send work proposals, progress snapshots of your work, or to get early feedback on features or changes that will affect multiple areas in the code base. * When major new functionality is added, tests for the new functionality MUST be added to the automated test suite. All new APIs MUST be documented and tested and tests MUST cover at least 80% of the added functionality using the code coverage tool and reporting provided by the project. Submitting Proposals ==================== You can request a new feature or submit a proposal by submitting an issue to our GitHub Repository. If you would like to implement a new feature, please submit an issue with a proposal (RFC) for your work first, to be sure that we can use it. Please consider what kind of change it is: * For a Major Feature, first open an issue and outline your proposal so that it can be discussed. This will also allow us to better coordinate our efforts, prevent duplication of work, and help you to craft the change so that it is successfully accepted into the project. Providing the following information will increase the chances of your issue being dealt with quickly: * Overview of the Proposal * Motivation for or Use Case * Design Details * Alternatives * Test Strategy * Small Features can be crafted and directly submitted as a Pull Request. Identifying Contribution Origin =============================== When adding a new file to the tree, it is important to detail the source of origin on the file, provide attributions, and detail the intended usage. In cases where the file is an original to Zephyr, the commit message should include the following ("Original" is the assumption if no Origin tag is present):: Origin: Original In cases where the file is :ref:`imported from an external project `, the commit message shall contain details regarding the original project, the location of the project, the SHA-id of the origin commit for the file and the intended purpose. For example, a copy of a locally maintained import:: Origin: Contiki OS License: BSD 3-Clause URL: http://www.contiki-os.org/ commit: 853207acfdc6549b10eb3e44504b1a75ae1ad63a Purpose: Introduction of networking stack. For example, a copy of an externally maintained import in a module repository:: Origin: Tiny Crypt License: BSD 3-Clause URL: https://github.com/01org/tinycrypt commit: 08ded7f21529c39e5133688ffb93a9d0c94e5c6e Purpose: Introduction of TinyCrypt Continuous Integration (CI) *************************** The Zephyr Project operates a Continuous Integration (CI) system that runs on every Pull Request (PR) in order to verify several aspects of the PR: * Git commit formatting * Coding Style * Twister builds for multiple architectures and boards * Documentation build to verify any doc changes CI is run both on the ``buildkite`` cloud service and Github Actions and it uses the same tools described in the `Contribution Tools`_ section. The CI results must be green indicating "All checks have passed" before the Pull Request can be merged. CI is run when the PR is created, and again every time the PR is modified with a commit. The current status of the CI run can always be found at the bottom of the GitHub PR page, below the review status. Depending on the success or failure of the run you will see: * "All checks have passed" * "All checks have failed" In case of failure you can click on the "Details" link presented below the failure message in order to navigate to ``buildkite`` or ``Github Actions`` and inspect the results. Once you click on the link you will be taken to the ``buildkite`` summary results page where a table with all the different builds will be shown. To see what build or test failed click on the row that contains the failed (i.e. non-green) build and then click on the "Tests" tab to see the console output messages indicating the failure. The `builds@lists.zephyrproject.org mailing list `_ archives the CI (buildkite) nightly build results. Contributions to External Modules ********************************** Follow the guidelines in the :ref:`modules` section for contributing :ref:`new modules ` and submitting changes to :ref:`existing modules `. Contributing External Components ******************************** .. toctree:: :maxdepth: 1 external.rst Contribution Roles and Responsibilities *************************************** .. toctree:: :maxdepth: 1 modifying_contributions.rst project_roles.rst The Zephyr project defines a development process workflow using GitHub **Issues** to track feature, enhancement, and bug reports together with GitHub **Pull Requests** (PRs) for submitting and reviewing changes. Zephyr community members work together to review these Issues and PRs, managing feature enhancements and quality improvements of Zephyr through its regular releases, as outlined in the `program management overview `_. We can only manage the volume of Issues and PRs, by requiring timely reviews, feedback, and responses from the community and contributors, both for initial submissions and for followup questions and clarifications. Read about the project's :ref:`development processes and tools ` and specifics about :ref:`review timelines ` to learn about the project's goals and guidelines for our active developer community. :ref:`project_roles` describes in detail the Zephyr project roles and associated permissions with respect to the development process workflow.