photoprism/CONTRIBUTING.md

# Every Contribution Makes a Difference

Think of Open Source development as free training with a visible outcome. Exploring new 
technologies is easier than in typical enterprise environments, where development efforts 
are more focused on immediate results.

We welcome contributions of any kind, including bug reports, testing, writing documentation,
tutorials, blog posts, and pull requests.

## Questions? ##

Follow us on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/photoprism_app) or join our [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."

## Reporting Bugs ##

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 are unsure, have a general question, or need assistance:

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

In addition, [sponsors](https://docs.photoprism.app/funding/) receive direct [technical support](https://photoprism.app/contact) via email.

**When reporting a problem, always include the software versions you are using and [other information about your environment](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/blob/develop/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md) such as [browser](https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/troubleshooting/browsers/), browser plugins, operating system, storage type, memory size, and processor.**

## Pull Requests ##

The [Developer Guide](https://docs.photoprism.app/developer-guide/) contains all information
necessary to get you started.
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.

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.

**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.**

## Can't code? ##

No worries, you can also contribute by...

* Doing [research](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3Aresearch) or improving our [docs](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3Adocs)
* Recommending PhotoPrism to your friends
* Voting for us on pages like:
   * https://alternativeto.net/software/photoprism/about/
   * https://www.saashub.com/google-photos-alternatives
* Publishing tutorials, blog posts, or podcasts

Thank you! <3