Contributing to API Scout

Are you interested in contributing to API Scout? If so, this doc was created specifically for you! If you’re not ready to start contributing code, no problem, feel free to check out any of the issues and begin by helping to enhance any other part of the tool!

How to make a contribution

Never made an open source contribution before? Wondering how contributions work in our project? Here’s a quick rundown!

If you have any questions, feel free to post an issue and tag it as a question:

  • Find an issue that you are interested in addressing or a feature that you would like to add. Look for issues labeled good first issue, kind/help-wanted if you’re unsure where to begin.
  • Fork the repository associated with the issue to your local GitHub account. This means that you will have a copy of the repository under github-username/repository-name.
  • Clone the repository to your local machine using git clone https://github.com/github-username/repository-name.git.
  • Create a new branch for your fix using git checkout -b branch-name-here.
  • Make the appropriate changes for the issue you are trying to address or the feature that you want to add.
  • Use git add insert-paths-of-changed-files-here to add the file contents of the changed files to the “snapshot” git uses to manage the state of the project, also known as the index.
  • Use git commit -m "Insert a short message of the changes made here" to store the contents of the index with a descriptive message.
  • Push the changes to the remote repository using git push origin branch-name-here.
  • Submit a pull request to the upstream repository.
  • Title the pull request with a short description of the changes made and the issue or bug number associated with your change. For example, you can title an issue like: “Updating docs as outlined in #4352”.
  • In the description of the pull request, explain the changes that you made, any issues you think exist with the pull request you made, and any questions you have for the maintainers.
  • Wait for the pull request to be reviewed by a maintainers.
  • Make changes to the pull request if the reviewing maintainer recommends them.
  • Congratulations, you’ve contributed to API Scout and a celebration is in order!