5. Getting Ready to Contribute

Contributing to open source projects is a rewarding experience. Before making your first contribution, it's important to understand the etiquette and conventions of the community.

Before contributing, ALWAYS read:

README.md

The README file is the first stop. It contains: - What does the project do? - How to install it - How to use it - Links to additional documentation

CONTRIBUTING.md

This file explains how to contribute:

• How to report bugs
• How to suggest improvements
• Process for submitting code
• Code standards
• How to run tests

CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md

The code of conduct establishes the community's rules of behavior.

• Respect and courtesy
• Inclusive language
• Accepting constructive criticism
• Focusing on the good of the community
• Consequences for bad behavior

LICENSE

The license determines how the code can be used.

• MIT: Very permissive, you can do almost anything
• Apache 2.0: Permissive, requires attribution
• GPL: Copyleft, derived code must be GPL
• BSD: Similar to MIT