photoprism/CONTRIBUTING.md

# Every Contribution Makes a Difference

We welcome contributions of any kind, including blog posts, tutorials, testing, writing documentation, and pull requests. Our [Developer Guide](https://docs.photoprism.app/developer-guide/) contains all the information necessary for you to get started.

## Join the Community ##

Follow us on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/photoprism_app) and join the [Community Chat](https://gitter.im/browseyourlife/community)
to get regular updates, connect with other contributors, and discuss your ideas.
Our [Code of Conduct](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md) explains the "dos and don’ts."

An important part of our journey is to explore new ways in product development and build better software through consistent use of community feedback. Feel free to [share your thoughts](https://photoprism.app/contact) with us at any time.

## Creating Bug Reports ##

Before reporting a bug, please use our [Troubleshooting Checklists](https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/troubleshooting/)
to determine the cause of your problem. If you have a general question, need help, or an issue has not
(yet) been clearly identified:

- you are welcome to ask in our [Community Chat](https://gitter.im/browseyourlife/community)
- or post your question in [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/discussions)

### GitHub Issues ###

**Never report a bug unless you are certain to have found a new issue that must be fixed directly in [our source code](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism):**

- [Contact us](https://photoprism.app/contact) or [a community member](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/discussions) if you need help, it could be a local configuration problem, or a misunderstanding in how the software works
- This gives our team the opportunity to [improve the documentation](https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/troubleshooting/) and provide best-in-class support to you, instead of handling unclear and/or duplicate bug reports
- When reporting a problem, always include the software versions you are using and other information about your environment such as [browser, browser plugins](https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/troubleshooting/browsers/), operating system, storage type, memory size, and processor

## Submitting Pull Requests ##

Because we want to create the best possible product for our users, we have a [set of guidelines](https://docs.photoprism.app/developer-guide/pull-requests) to ensure that all source code submissions are acceptable.

They include step-by-step instructions for submitting new features,
bug fixes, and documentation improvements.
Issues labeled [help wanted](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/labels/help%20wanted) /
[easy](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/labels/easy) can be good (first) contributions.

**Reviewing, testing and finally merging pull requests requires significant resources
on our side. If it's not just a small fix, it can take several months.**

## Not a Developer? No Problem ##

You can also contribute by...

* [conducting research](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3Aresearch) and [improving the documentation](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3Adocs)
* publishing tutorials, blog posts, and podcasts
* voting for us on pages like:
   * https://alternativeto.net/software/photoprism/about/
   * https://www.saashub.com/google-photos-alternatives
* recommending PhotoPrism to your friends

----

*PhotoPrism® is a registered trademark. Our [Trademark and Brand Guidelines](https://photoprism.app/trademark), which may be updated from time to time, describe how our Brand Assets may be used. It is important to us that any permitted use of our Brand Assets is fair and meets the highest standards.*