# Every Contribution Makes a Difference

Think of Open Source development as free training with a visible outcome. Exploring new technologies
is easier than in traditional enterprise environments, where risk tends to be avoided and developers
often struggle to maintain decades-old code loaded with technical debt.

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