Contribution Guidelines

IOST is an open ecosystem that welcomes contributions from developers, writers, testers, and community members. This guide explains how you can participate in building and improving the IOST ecosystem.

Ways to Contribute

There are many ways to contribute to IOST, regardless of your technical background:

• Code contributions: Improve the core protocol or build applications
• Documentation: Help improve or translate our docs
• Testing: Find bugs and suggest improvements
• Community support: Help answer questions from other users
• Content creation: Write articles, tutorials, or create videos
• Translation: Help make IOST accessible in different languages

Getting Started

Before contributing, please familiarize yourself with:

• IOST's Documentation
• GitHub Repositories
• Community Channels

Contributing Code

Setting Up Your Development Environment

1. Fork the appropriate repository from IOST's GitHub
2. Clone your fork locally
3. Set up the development environment following the instructions in the README
4. Create a new branch for your feature or fix

Coding Standards

• Follow the coding style and conventions used in the repository
• Write clean, well-commented code
• Include appropriate tests for your changes
• Ensure backward compatibility unless a breaking change is explicitly approved

Pull Request Process

1. Ensure all tests pass locally

2. Update documentation if necessary

3. Submit a pull request with a clear description of:

   • The problem you're solving
   • Your proposed solution
   • Any additional context

4. Respond to feedback from maintainers during the review process

Contributing to Documentation

Our documentation is crucial for users and developers. To contribute:

1. Fork the docs repository
2. Make your changes following our documentation style guide
3. Submit a pull request with a summary of changes

Documentation Style Guidelines

• Use clear, concise language
• Structure information with appropriate headings
• Include code examples where relevant
• Check for spelling and grammar

Reporting Issues

If you find a bug or want to request a feature:

1. Check existing issues to avoid duplicates
2. Use the appropriate issue template
3. Include detailed information:
   • For bugs: steps to reproduce, expected vs. actual behavior
   • For features: clear description of the feature and its value

Community Guidelines

When participating in the IOST community, please:

• Be respectful and inclusive of all community members
• Provide constructive feedback
• Stay on topic in discussions
• Help newcomers feel welcome

Recognition

Contributors are vital to IOST's success. Significant contributions may be recognized through:

• Acknowledgment in release notes
• Inclusion in our contributors list
• Opportunities within the IOST Ambassador Program
• Consideration for grants or bounties for major contributions

Questions?

If you have questions about contributing, please join our Developer Chat or ask in our GitHub repositories.

Thank you for helping make IOST better!

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New to open source? Check out GitHub's Open Source Guide for helpful resources on how to contribute to projects.