Contribution Process

Contributing to an open-source project like Rocket.Chat can be an exciting and fulfilling experience. However, it's crucial to understand the process that your contribution will undergo before it can be integrated into the main codebase. This guide aims to help you comprehend the stages involved in the Rocket.Chat contribution process.

• Stage 1: Forking and cloning: The first step in contributing to Rocket.Chat is to fork the project on GitHub and clone it to your local development environment. This allows you to work on your changes in a controlled environment without impacting the main project.

• Stage 2: Create a branch: It's best to create a new branch for each new feature or bug fix. This helps to isolate your changes and makes it easier to track the work that has been done.

• Stage 3: Implementing changes: You write your code during this stage. Endeavor to follow Rocket.Chat's coding standards and guidelines to ensure consistency and maintainability. Your code should be clean, well-commented, and tested thoroughly.

• Stage 4: Committing changes: Once you've made your changes, you need to commit them. Each commit should be a single logical change, and the commit message should describe what the change does, why it's needed, and any potential implications it may have.

• Stage 5: Submitting a pull request: After you've committed your changes, it's time to submit a pull request (PR). The PR should be detailed and include a description of the changes, the reasons behind them, a changeset if the PR is a fix or feat, and any issues that they address. It should also include any necessary documentation changes.

• Stage 6: Code review: Now, the Rocket.Chat team will review your PR. This involves checking the code for any potential issues, ensuring it aligns with the project's coding standards and that it accomplishes what it is intended to do. This stage might involve some back-and-forth discussions, so be prepared to answer questions and possibly make revisions based on the feedback you receive.

• Stage 7: Acceptance or rejection: Once the review process is completed, the team will decide whether or not to merge your PR into the main codebase. If your PR is accepted, it will be merged. If it's rejected, you'll be given feedback on why this decision was made. It's important to remember that the decision to merge a PR is at the sole discretion of the Rocket.Chat team.

As an open-source project, we value and respect each community member. However, contributing code doesn't guarantee that it will be merged. Factors that influence this decision include but are not limited to the code's quality, alignment with the project's goals, impact on the codebase's stability, and the resources required to support it.

We understand that putting time and effort into a contribution only for it to be rejected can be disheartening. However, the aim is always to ensure that the Rocket.Chat codebase remains high-quality, maintainable, and focused on meeting the project's and its users' needs.

We hope this guide gives you a clear picture of our contribution process. We look forward to your contributions and to you being part of the Rocket.Chat community. Now that you understand the process let's explore the many different modes of contributing to Rocket.Chat.