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Contributing to Moonfire NVR
Hi, I'm Scott, Moonfire NVR's author. I'd love your help in making it great. There are lots of ways you can contribute.
- Saying hi
- Asking for support
- Offering support
- Filing bug and enhancement issues
- Contributing documentation
- Contributing code and UI changes
Saying hi
Please say hi on the mailing list or in github discussions after trying out Moonfire NVR. Often open source authors only hear from users when something goes wrong. I love to hear when it works well, too. It's motivating to know Moonfire NVR is helping people. And knowing how people want to use Moonfire NVR will guide development.
Great example: this Show & Tell from JasonKleban.
Asking for support
When you're stuck, look at the troubleshooting guide. If it doesn't answer your question, please ask for help! Support requests are welcome on the issue tracker. Often they help create good bug reports and enhancement requests.
Offering support
Answering someone else's question is a great way to help them and to test your own understanding. You can also turn their support request into a bug report or enhancement request.
Filing bug and enhancement issues
First skim the github issue tracker to see if someone has already reported your problem. If so, no need to file a new issue. Instead:
- +1 the first comment so we know how many people are affected.
- subscribe so you know what's happening.
- add a comment if you can help understand the problem.
If there's no existing issue, file a new one:
- bugs: follow the template.
- enhancement requests: there's no template. Use your best judgement.
Please be understanding if your issue isn't marked as top priority. I have many things I want to improve and only so much time. If you think something is more important than I do, you might be able to convince me, but the most effective approach is to send a PR.
Contributing documentation
Moonfire NVR has checked-in documentation (in guide and design directories) to describe a particular version of Moonfire NVR. Please send a github PR for changes. I will review them for accuracy and clarity.
There's also a wiki. This is for anything else: notes on compatibility with a particular camera, how to configure your Linux system and network for recording, hardware recommendations, etc. This area is less formal. No review is necessary; just make a change.
You could be the first to create a YouTube tour or start other forms of documentation!
Contributing code and UI changes
I love seeing code and user interface contributions.
- Small changes: just send a PR. In most cases just propose a change against
master. - Large changes: let's discuss the design first. We can talk on the issue tracker, via email, or over video chat.
"Small" or "large" is about how you'd feel if your change isn't merged. Imagine you go through all the effort of making a change and sending a PR, then I suggest an alternate approach or point out your PR conflicts with some other work on a development branch. You have to start over.
- if you'd be frustrated or angry, your change is large. Let's agree on a design first so you know you'll be successful before putting in this much work. When you're ready, open a PR. We'll polish and merge it quickly.
- if you'd be happy to revise, your change is small. Send a PR right away. I'd love to see your prototype and help you turn it into finished software.
The Building Moonfire NVR and Working on UI development guides should help you get started. The design documents will help you fit your work into the whole. The wiki has a page to help you find copies of standards and specifications that Moonfire NVR interacts with.
Please tell me when you get stuck! Every software developer knows in theory there's parts of their code that aren't as clear and well-documented as they should be. It's a whole other thing to know an unclear spot is actually stopping someone from understanding and contributing. When that happens, I'm happy to explain, expand design docs, write more comments, and revise code for clarity.
I promise to review PRs promptly, even if it's for an issue I wouldn't prioritize on my own. Together we can do more.
If you're looking for something to do:
- Please skim issues with the
1.0or1.0?milestone. Let's ship a minimum viable product! - Please help with UI and video analytics. These aren't my field of expertise. Maybe you can teach me.