= Guide for New Contributors =

This wiki is aimed at guiding new contributors. Before starting, go through the below mentioned guidelines and steps.

== Getting Started ==

 * All communication is done through a single mailing list. Click [[https://lists.strace.io/mailman/listinfo/strace-devel|here]] to subscribe.
 * While posting to the mailing, please make sure that you,
  1. only send text emails—no HTML allowed;
  1. do not top post;
  1. use and abuse the mailing list archive to see how proper discussions are handled;
  1. be patient, a reply may need a week to come by.
 * Get the code. You can download the repo using the command
  . `git clone https://github.com/strace/strace`
  . ''Or use the alternative repository URL:'' `git clone https://gitlab.com/strace/strace.git`
 * Build instructions:
  . {{{
./bootstrap
./configure
make -j`nproc`
make -j`nproc` check
make install
}}}
  . For a detailed explanation, read the `INSTALL` and `README-hacking` files.

== How to Submit a Patch ==

 * After making all the desired changes to the files, you have to stage the commit (read about [[https://githowto.com/staging_and_committing|git staging area]]):
  . `git add *`
  . Or use `git add -i` for the interactive work with the index.
 * Once you have staged the files, commit the changes
  . `git commit`
  . Provide a commit message in accordance with guidelines outlined in `README-hacking`.
 * Next, create a patch file containing the commit.
  *  To create a patch of only a single commit
   . `git format-patch -1 <commit> --author= "<Your Name>" --reroll-count=<version number>`
  * To create a patch of all the commits after a certain commit (`origin/master`, for example):
   . `git format-patch <commit> --author= "<Your Name>" --reroll-count=<version number>`
 * You are advised to process the patches through the `scripts/checkpatch.pl` script [[https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/scripts/checkpatch.pl|from the Linux kernel repository]] in order to catch common formatting mistakes in advance.
 * Your patch file is ready now. The last step is to send it to the mailing-list for review (and merge).
  * It is advisable to send the patch using `git send-mail`:
   . `git send-email --to="<mailing-list>" <patch-file>`