Releasing RSpace as an open-source project is huge step for us and we likely won't have everything as polished as we'd like it to be in the beginning. Please bear with us as we're taking one step at a time to build an inclusive and efficient contributor experience. If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas how we can improve, don't hesitate to reach out to us 🙏.
Thank you for your interest in contributing to RSpace! Your contributions are valuable and help us advance our mission of fostering open and collaborative scientific research and the FAIRification of research data. This document will guide you through the process of contributing to RSpace.
Before getting started, please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct. We expect all contributors to abide by our code of conduct to ensure a respectful and inclusive community environment.
Our project is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL) version 3.0. By contributing to our project, you agree to license your contributions under the same license. It's important to ensure that your contributions comply with the AGPL 3.0 license and do not infringe upon the rights of others.
To protect the interests of both contributors and the project, we require contributors to sign a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) before their contributions can be accepted. The CLA ensures that the project has the necessary rights to use and distribute the contributed code. When submitting your contributions, you will be provided with instructions on how to sign the CLA.
To contribute to the project, follow these general steps:
⚠️ Reach Out to the Maintainers: Before diving into work on a contribution, it is strongly recommended to reach out to the project maintainers to discuss your idea or proposed changes. This will help ensure that your efforts are aligned with the project's goals and roadmap. You can contact the maintainers through the communication channels listed here or in the project wiki.- Fork the Repository: Start by forking the project repository to your own GitHub account. This will create a copy of the project under your account.
- Set Up Your Development Environment: Set up your local development environment by following the instructions provided here. This may include installing dependencies, configuring the project, and running any necessary initialization steps.
- Choose an Issue: Browse the project's issue tracker or board to find an issue you would like to work on.
⚠️ Please check in with the project maintainers before diving into any work (see Step 1). - Create a Branch: Create a new branch in your forked repository to work on the chosen issue. Give the branch a descriptive name that reflects the purpose of your changes.
- Make Changes: Make the necessary changes to the codebase to address the issue or implement the new feature. Ensure that your changes adhere to the project's coding style and coding standards.
- Test your changes according to the testing requirements
- Commit and Push: Commit your changes with clear and descriptive commit messages. Push your branch to your forked repository.
- Submit a Pull Request: Once your changes are ready, submit a pull request (PR) from your branch to the main project repository. Provide a detailed description of the changes, including any relevant context or reasoning.
- Review and Iterate: The project maintainers will review your PR and provide feedback or request changes if necessary. Engage in constructive discussions and address the feedback accordingly. Iterate on your changes until they meet the project's quality standards.
- Merge and Release: Once your PR is approved, it will be merged by the core team into the main project repository. Your contribution will be included in future releases of the project.
If you have any questions, encounter issues, or need assistance during the contribution process, we encourage you to reach out for support. You can reach out to the project maintainers directly via opensource[@]researchspace.com or the contributor community as described here.
We appreciate your interest in contributing to the RSpace project. Before starting your contributions, make sure to reach out to the project maintainers to ensure alignment with the project's goals. Your contributions play a significant role in facilitating FAIR data workflows, open science and collaborative research. Please remember that you will be prompted to sign the Contributor License Agreement (CLA) before being able to submit your contributions. We look forward to working with you and building a vibrant and inclusive project community!