github.com/aspring/packer@v0.8.1-0.20150629211158-9db281ac0f89/CONTRIBUTING.md (about)

     1  # Contributing to Packer
     2  
     3  **First:** if you're unsure or afraid of _anything_, just ask
     4  or submit the issue or pull request anyways. You won't be yelled at for
     5  giving your best effort. The worst that can happen is that you'll be
     6  politely asked to change something. We appreciate any sort of contributions,
     7  and don't want a wall of rules to get in the way of that.
     8  
     9  However, for those individuals who want a bit more guidance on the
    10  best way to contribute to the project, read on. This document will cover
    11  what we're looking for. By addressing all the points we're looking for,
    12  it raises the chances we can quickly merge or address your contributions.
    13  
    14  ## Issues
    15  
    16  ### Reporting an Issue
    17  
    18  * Make sure you test against the latest released version. It is possible
    19    we already fixed the bug you're experiencing.
    20  
    21  * Run the command with debug ouput with the environment variable
    22    `PACKER_LOG`. For example: `PACKER_LOG=1 packer build template.json`. Take
    23    the *entire* output and create a [gist](https://gist.github.com) for linking
    24    to in your issue. Packer should strip sensitive keys from the output,
    25    but take a look through just in case.
    26  
    27  * Provide a reproducible test case. If a contributor can't reproduce an
    28    issue, then it dramatically lowers the chances it'll get fixed. And in
    29    some cases, the issue will eventually be closed.
    30  
    31  * Respond promptly to any questions made by the Packer team to your issue.
    32    Stale issues will be closed.
    33  
    34  ### Issue Lifecycle
    35  
    36  1. The issue is reported.
    37  
    38  2. The issue is verified and categorized by a Packer collaborator.
    39     Categorization is done via tags. For example, bugs are marked as "bugs"
    40     and easy fixes are marked as "easy".
    41  
    42  3. Unless it is critical, the issue is left for a period of time (sometimes
    43     many weeks), giving outside contributors a chance to address the issue.
    44  
    45  4. The issue is addressed in a pull request or commit. The issue will be
    46     referenced in the commit message so that the code that fixes it is clearly
    47     linked.
    48  
    49  5. The issue is closed.
    50  
    51  ## Setting up Go to work on Packer
    52  
    53  If you have never worked with Go before, you will have to complete the
    54  following steps in order to be able to compile and test Packer.
    55  
    56  1. Install Go. Make sure the Go version is at least Go 1.2. Packer will not work with anything less than
    57     Go 1.2. On a Mac, you can `brew install go` to install Go 1.2.
    58  
    59  2. Set and export the `GOPATH` environment variable and update your `PATH`.
    60     For example, you can add to your `.bash_profile`.
    61  
    62      ```
    63      export GOPATH=$HOME/Documents/golang
    64      export PATH=$PATH:$GOPATH/bin
    65      ```
    66  
    67  3. Install and build `gox` with
    68  
    69      ```
    70      go get github.com/mitchellh/gox
    71      cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/mitchellh/gox
    72      go build
    73      ```
    74  
    75  4. Download the Packer source (and its dependencies) by running
    76     `go get github.com/mitchellh/packer`. This will download the Packer
    77     source to `$GOPATH/src/github.com/mitchellh/packer`.
    78  
    79  5. Make your changes to the Packer source. You can run `make` from the main
    80     source directory to recompile all the binaries. Any compilation errors
    81     will be shown when the binaries are rebuilding.
    82  
    83  6. Test your changes by running `make test` and then running
    84     `$GOPATH/src/github.com/mitchellh/packer/bin/packer` to build a machine.
    85  
    86  7. If everything works well and the tests pass, run `go fmt` on your code
    87     before submitting a pull request.