Thanks for taking the time to contribute to the [collectd
project](https://collectd.org/)! This document tries to give some guidance to
-make the process of contributing to *collectd* as pleasant and possible.
+make the process of contributing to *collectd* as pleasant as possible.
## Bug reports
[stack trace](https://collectd.org/wiki/index.php/Core_file).
Please monitor your issue for a couple of days and reply to questions. To keep
-the project manageable have to do some housekeeping, meaning we will close
+the project manageable, we have to do some housekeeping; meaning we will close
issues that have become stale.
## Code contributions
* *Focus:* Fix *one thing* in your PR. The smaller your change, the faster it
will be reviewed and merged.
-* *Coding style:* Please run `clang-format -style=file -i $FILE` on new files.
- For existing files, please blend into surrounding code, i.e. mimic the
- coding style of the code around your changes.
+* *Coding style:* Please run `clang-format -style=file -i $FILE` after editing
+ `.c`, `.h` and `.proto` files. If you don't want to install *clang-format*
+ locally or your version produces a different result than the formatting
+ check on Github, use `contrib/format.sh` to format files using the same web
+ service used by our check.
* *Documentation:* New config options need to be documented in two places: the
manpage (`src/collectd.conf.pod`) and the example config
- (`src/collectd.conf.in`).
+ (`src/collectd.conf.in`). New plugins need to be added to the `README` file.
* *Continuous integration:* Once your PR is created, our continuous
integration environment will try to build it on a number of platforms. If
this reports a failure, please investigate and fix the problem. We will at
entries to `src/types.db`, you should talk to us early in the design
process.
+### ChangeLog
+
+All PRs need to have a one-line description in the initial pull request body.
+This information is used to automatically generate release notes. Follow this
+style:
+
+```
+Foo plugin: A specific issue people had has been fixed.
+```
+
+Start with "Foo plugin" to give the reader context for the information. Other
+common prefixes are "collectd" for the core daemon and "Build system". Use past
+tense and passive voice the for remainder, e.g. "a bug has been fixed", "a
+feature has been added".
+
+Some PRs should not be added to the release notes, e.g. changes to project
+internal documentation (such as this file). Those changes are not interesting
+for external users of the project and would reduce the value of the release
+notes. Maintainers may use the `Unlisted Change` label to mark those PRs.
+
## Other resources
* [Mailing list](http://mailman.verplant.org/listinfo/collectd)