# Contributing guidelines Want to hack on Kubernetes? Yay! ## Developer Guide We have a [Developer's Guide](docs/devel/README.md) that outlines everything you need to know from setting up your dev environment to how to get faster Pull Request reviews. If you find something undocumented or incorrect along the way, please feel free to send a Pull Request. ## Filing issues If you have a question about Kubernetes or have a problem using it, please start with the [troubleshooting guide](http://kubernetes.io/docs/troubleshooting/). If that doesn't answer your questions, or if you think you found a bug, please [file an issue](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/new). ## How to become a contributor and submit your own code ### Contributor License Agreements We'd love to accept your patches! Before we can take them, we have to jump a couple of legal hurdles. The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) CLA [must be signed](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/blob/master/CLA.md) by all contributors. Please fill out either the individual or corporate Contributor License Agreement (CLA). Once you are CLA'ed, we'll be able to accept your pull requests. For any issues that you face during this process, please add a comment [here](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/27796) explaining the issue and we will help get it sorted out. ***NOTE***: Only original source code from you and other people that have signed the CLA can be accepted into the repository. This policy does not apply to [third_party](third_party/) and [vendor](vendor/). ### Finding Things That Need Help If you're new to the project and want to help, but don't know where to start, we have a semi-curated list of issues that have should not need deep knowledge of the system. [Have a look and see if anything sounds interesting](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3Ahelp-wanted). Alternatively, read some of the many docs on the system, for example [the architecture](docs/design/architecture.md), and pick a component that seems interesting. Start with `main()` (look in the [cmd](cmd/) directory) and read until you find something you want to fix. The best way to learn is to hack! There's always code that can be clarified and variables or functions that can be renamed or commented. ### Contributing A Patch If you're working on an existing issue, such as one of the `help-wanted` ones above, simply respond to the issue and express interest in working on it. This helps other people know that the issue is active, and hopefully prevents duplicated efforts. If you want to work on a new idea of relatively small scope: 1. Submit an issue describing your proposed change to the repo in question. 1. The repo owners will respond to your issue promptly. 1. If your proposed change is accepted, and you haven't already done so, sign a Contributor License Agreement (see details above). 1. Fork the repo, develop, and test your changes. 1. Submit a pull request. If you want to work on a bigger idea, we STRONGLY recommend that you start with some bugs or smaller features. We have a [feature development process](https://github.com/kubernetes/features/blob/master/README.md), but navigating the Kubernetes system as a newcomer can be very challenging. ### Downloading the project There are a few ways you can download this code. You must download it into a GOPATH - see [golang.org](https://golang.org/doc/code.html) for more info on how Go works with code. This project expects to be found at the Go package `k8s.io/kubernetes`. 1. You can `git clone` the repo. If you do this, you MUST make sure it is in the GOPATH as `k8s.io/kubernetes` or it may not build. E.g.: `git clone https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes $GOPATH/src/k8s.io/kubernetes` 1. You can use `go get` to fetch the repo. This will automatically put it into your GOPATH in the right place. E.g.: `go get -d k8s.io/kubernetes` 1. You can download an archive of the source. If you do this, you MUST make sure it is unpacked into the GOPATH as `k8s.io/kubernetes` or it may not build. See [rel.k8s.io](http://rel.k8s.io) for a list of available releases. ### Building the project There are a few things you need to build and test this project: 1. `make` - the human interface to the Kubernetes build is `make`, so you must have this tool installed on your machine. We try not to use too many crazy features of `Makefile`s and other tools, so most commonly available versions should work. 1. `docker` - some parts of the build/test system depend on `docker`. You need a relatively recent version of Docker installed, and available to you. 1. `go` - Kubernetes is written in Go (aka golang), so you need a relatively recent version of the [Go toolchain](https://golang.org/dl/) installed. While Linux is the primary platform for Kubernetes, it should compile on a Mac, too. Windows is in progress. To build Kubernetes, simply type `make`. This should figure out what it needs to do and not need any input from you. If you want to just build a subset of code, you can pass the `WHAT` variable to `make`: e.g. `make WHAT="cmd/kubelet"`. To run basic tests, simply type `make test`. This will run all of the unit tests in the project. If you want to just test a subset of the project, you can pass the `WHAT` variable to `make`: e.g. `make test WHAT=pkg/kubelet`. ### Protocols for Collaborative Development Please read [this doc](docs/devel/collab.md) for information on how we're running development for the project. Also take a look at the [development guide](docs/devel/development.md) for information on how to set up your environment, run tests, manage dependencies, etc. ### Adding dependencies If your patch depends on new packages, add that package with [`godep`](https://github.com/tools/godep). Follow the [instructions to add a dependency](docs/devel/development.md#godep-and-dependency-management). ### Community Expectations Please see our [expectations](docs/devel/community-expectations.md) for members of the Kubernetes community. [![Analytics](https://kubernetes-site.appspot.com/UA-36037335-10/GitHub/CONTRIBUTING.md?pixel)]()