1.. _reporting-bugs: 2 3***************** 4Dealing with Bugs 5***************** 6 7Python is a mature programming language which has established a reputation for 8stability. In order to maintain this reputation, the developers would like to 9know of any deficiencies you find in Python. 10 11It can be sometimes faster to fix bugs yourself and contribute patches to 12Python as it streamlines the process and involves less people. Learn how to 13:ref:`contribute <contributing-to-python>`. 14 15Documentation bugs 16================== 17 18If you find a bug in this documentation or would like to propose an improvement, 19please submit a bug report on the :ref:`tracker <using-the-tracker>`. If you 20have a suggestion on how to fix it, include that as well. 21 22You can also open a discussion item on our 23`Documentation Discourse forum <https://discuss.python.org/c/documentation/26>`_. 24 25If you're short on time, you can also email documentation bug reports to 26docs@python.org (behavioral bugs can be sent to python-list@python.org). 27'docs@' is a mailing list run by volunteers; your request will be noticed, 28though it may take a while to be processed. 29 30.. seealso:: 31 32 `Documentation bugs`_ 33 A list of documentation bugs that have been submitted to the Python issue tracker. 34 35 `Issue Tracking <https://devguide.python.org/tracker/>`_ 36 Overview of the process involved in reporting an improvement on the tracker. 37 38 `Helping with Documentation <https://devguide.python.org/docquality/#helping-with-documentation>`_ 39 Comprehensive guide for individuals that are interested in contributing to Python documentation. 40 41 `Documentation Translations <https://devguide.python.org/documenting/#translating>`_ 42 A list of GitHub pages for documentation translation and their primary contacts. 43 44 45.. _using-the-tracker: 46 47Using the Python issue tracker 48============================== 49 50Issue reports for Python itself should be submitted via the GitHub issues 51tracker (https://github.com/python/cpython/issues). 52The GitHub issues tracker offers a web form which allows pertinent information 53to be entered and submitted to the developers. 54 55The first step in filing a report is to determine whether the problem has 56already been reported. The advantage in doing so, aside from saving the 57developers' time, is that you learn what has been done to fix it; it may be that 58the problem has already been fixed for the next release, or additional 59information is needed (in which case you are welcome to provide it if you can!). 60To do this, search the tracker using the search box at the top of the page. 61 62If the problem you're reporting is not already in the list, log in to GitHub. 63If you don't already have a GitHub account, create a new account using the 64"Sign up" link. 65It is not possible to submit a bug report anonymously. 66 67Being now logged in, you can submit an issue. 68Click on the "New issue" button in the top bar to report a new issue. 69 70The submission form has two fields, "Title" and "Comment". 71 72For the "Title" field, enter a *very* short description of the problem; 73fewer than ten words is good. 74 75In the "Comment" field, describe the problem in detail, including what you 76expected to happen and what did happen. Be sure to include whether any 77extension modules were involved, and what hardware and software platform you 78were using (including version information as appropriate). 79 80Each issue report will be reviewed by a developer who will determine what needs to 81be done to correct the problem. You will receive an update each time an action is 82taken on the issue. 83 84 85.. seealso:: 86 87 `How to Report Bugs Effectively <https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html>`_ 88 Article which goes into some detail about how to create a useful bug report. 89 This describes what kind of information is useful and why it is useful. 90 91 `Bug Writing Guidelines <https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/page.cgi?id=bug-writing.html>`_ 92 Information about writing a good bug report. Some of this is specific to the 93 Mozilla project, but describes general good practices. 94 95.. _contributing-to-python: 96 97Getting started contributing to Python yourself 98=============================================== 99 100Beyond just reporting bugs that you find, you are also welcome to submit 101patches to fix them. You can find more information on how to get started 102patching Python in the `Python Developer's Guide`_. If you have questions, 103the `core-mentorship mailing list`_ is a friendly place to get answers to 104any and all questions pertaining to the process of fixing issues in Python. 105 106.. _Documentation bugs: https://github.com/python/cpython/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3Adocs 107.. _Python Developer's Guide: https://devguide.python.org/ 108.. _core-mentorship mailing list: https://mail.python.org/mailman3/lists/core-mentorship.python.org/ 109