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1# How to get started helping out in the curl project
2
3We are always in need of more help. If you are new to the project and are
4looking for ways to contribute and help out, this document aims to give a few
5good starting points.
6
7You may subscribe to the [curl-library mailing
8list](https://lists.haxx.se/listinfo/curl-library) to keep track of the
9current discussion topics; or if you are registered on GitHub, you can use the
10[Discussions section](https://github.com/curl/curl/discussions) on the main
11curl repository.
12
13## Scratch your own itch
14
15One of the best ways is to start working on any problems or issues you have
16found yourself or perhaps got annoyed at in the past. It can be a spelling
17error in an error text or a weirdly phrased section in a man page. Hunt it
18down and report the bug. Or make your first pull request with a fix for that.
19
20## Smaller tasks
21
22Some projects mark small issues as "beginner friendly", "bite-sized" or
23similar. We do not do that in curl since such issues never linger around long
24enough. Simple issues get handled fast.
25
26If you are looking for a smaller or simpler task in the project to help out
27with as an entry-point into the project, perhaps because you are a newcomer or
28even maybe not a terribly experienced developer, here's our advice:
29
30 - Read through this document to get a grasp on a general approach to use
31 - Consider adding a test case for something not currently tested (correctly)
32 - Consider updating or adding documentation
33 - One way to get started gently in the project, is to participate in an
34   existing issue/PR and help out by reproducing the issue, review the code in
35   the PR etc.
36
37## Help wanted
38
39In the issue tracker we occasionally mark bugs with [help
40wanted](https://github.com/curl/curl/labels/help%20wanted), as a sign that the
41bug is acknowledged to exist and that there is nobody known to work on this
42issue for the moment. Those are bugs that are fine to "grab" and provide a
43pull request for. The complexity level of these will of course vary, so pick
44one that piques your interest.
45
46## Work on known bugs
47
48Some bugs are known and have not yet received attention and work enough to get
49fixed. We collect such known existing flaws in the
50[KNOWN_BUGS](https://curl.se/docs/knownbugs.html) page. Many of them link
51to the original bug report with some additional details, but some may also
52have aged a bit and may require some verification that the bug still exists in
53the same way and that what was said about it in the past is still valid.
54
55## Fix autobuild problems
56
57On the [autobuilds page](https://curl.se/dev/builds.html) we show a
58collection of test results from the automatic curl build and tests that are
59performed by volunteers. Fixing compiler warnings and errors shown there is
60something we value greatly. Also, if you own or run systems or architectures
61that are not already tested in the autobuilds, we also appreciate more
62volunteers running builds automatically to help us keep curl portable.
63
64## TODO items
65
66Ideas for features and functions that we have considered worthwhile to
67implement and provide are kept in the
68[TODO](https://curl.se/docs/todo.html) file. Some of the ideas are
69rough. Some are well thought out. Some probably are not really suitable
70anymore.
71
72Before you invest a lot of time on a TODO item, do bring it up for discussion
73on the mailing list. For discussion on applicability but also for ideas and
74brainstorming on specific ways to do the implementation etc.
75
76## You decide
77
78You can also come up with a completely new thing you think we should do. Or
79not do. Or fix. Or add to the project. You then either bring it to the mailing
80list first to see if people will shoot down the idea at once, or you bring a
81first draft of the idea as a pull request and take the discussion there around
82the specific implementation. Either way is fine.
83
84## CONTRIBUTE
85
86We offer [guidelines](https://curl.se/dev/contribute.html) that are
87suitable to be familiar with before you decide to contribute to curl. If
88you are used to open source development, you will probably not find many
89surprises there.
90