* Contribute to Spacemacs

** Table of Contents                                                 :TOC@4:
 - [[#contribute-to-spacemacs][Contribute to Spacemacs]]
     - [[#pull-request-guidelines][Pull Request Guidelines]]
         - [[#ideally-and-for-simple-prs][Ideally and for /simple/ PRs:]]
         - [[#for-complex-pull-requests][For complex pull requests:]]
         - [[#getting-help][Getting Help]]
     - [[#submitting-a-configuration-layer][Submitting a configuration layer]]
     - [[#submitting-a-banner][Submitting a banner]]
     - [[#credits][Credits]]
         - [[#license][License]]
         - [[#file-header][File header]]
         - [[#author-of-a-contribution-layer][Author of a contribution layer]]
         - [[#contributor-of-a-contribution-layer][Contributor of a contribution layer]]

** Pull Request Guidelines
=Spacemacs= branch model is inspired from the [[http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/][git-flow]] model:
You'll have to submit your contributions and fixes within a pull-request to
apply against the =develop= branch.

/PR = pull request/

*** Ideally and for /simple/ PRs:
-  branch from =develop=
-  one topic per PR
-  one commit per PR
-  if you have several commits on different topics, close the PR and
   create one PR per topic
-  if you still have several commits, squash them into only one commit
-  rebase your PR branch on top of upstream =develop= before submitting
   the PR

Those PRs are /fast-forwarded/ whenever it's possible and
/cherry-picked/ otherwise (most likely they will be cherry-picked).

*** For complex pull requests:
-  squash only the commits with uninteresting changes like typos, syntax
   fixes, etc... and keep the important and /isolated/ steps in
   different commits.

Those PRs are /merged/ and explicitly /not fast-forwarded/.

*** Getting Help
If you have any question on this process, join the [[https://gitter.im/syl20bnr/spacemacs][gitter
chatroom]] and ask your questions there. It will be a pleasure to help you to
contribute!

** Submitting a configuration layer
Contributed configuration layers are stored in the =contrib= folder. The
=contrib= folder also contains categories prefixed with =!= to put your
layers in. For example a layer for a language would go in the
=contrib/!lang= folder.

It is recommended to join a =README.md= file with your layer: - ideally
this file should document the packages of your layer as well as the key
bindings associated with them, - a template is provided in
=~/.emacs.d/core/templates/layer-README.template=, use it as much as
possible, - another good practice is to start from the =README.md= of an
existing layer, - if a logo exists for the layer you can
add it at the top of the =README.md= before the TOC. The maximum
recommended height is 200 pixels.

** Submitting a banner
The startup banner is by default randomly chosen among a pool of banners
each time =Spacemacs= starts. Banners are located in directory
=~/.emacs.d/core/banners=.

If you have some ASCII skills you can submit your artwork!

You are free to choose a reasonable height size but the width size
should be around 75 characters.

** Credits
*** License
The license is GPLv3 for all parts specific to =Spacemacs=, this
includes: - the initialization and core files - all the layer files.

For files not belonging to =Spacemacs= like extensions and libraries,
refer to the header file. Those files should not have an empty header,
please report any file imported in =Spacemacs= without a proper header.

*** File header
Template:

#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
    ;;; extensions.el --- NAME Layer extensions File for Spacemacs
    ;;
    ;; Copyright (c) 2012-2014 Sylvain Benner
    ;; Copyright (c) 2014-2015 Sylvain Benner & Contributors
    ;;
    ;; Author: Sylvain Benner <sylvain.benner@gmail.com>
    ;; URL: https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs
    ;;
    ;; This file is not part of GNU Emacs.
    ;;
    ;;; License: GPLv3
#+END_EXAMPLE

*** Author of a contribution layer
In the file header: - change =NAME= to the name of the layer, - change
the default author name =Sylvain Benner= to your name, - do not remove
the line: =;; Copyright (c) 2012-2014 Sylvain Benner= - modify the
second copyright line by replacing the default name and dates, *keep*
=& Contributors= in this line, - other lines should not be modified

*** Contributor of a contribution layer
You should not modify any header file. A very cool way to show your
contributions will be available in Spacemacs at some point, /Stay
Tuned/.