Skip to content

Contributing to Open Source Tools

Thank you for your interest in contributing to our open source tools collection! This document provides guidelines and instructions for contributing.

Quick Start Guide

  1. Choose your contribution type
  2. Review the submission process
  3. Follow our documentation guidelines
  4. Understand our review process
  5. Styling Guidelines
  6. Additional Resources
  7. Need Help

Types of Contributions

1. Tool Submissions

  • Submit new open source tools that align with our mission
  • Tools must be well-documented and maintained
  • Must include all required information in the submission template

2. Documentation Improvements

  • Enhance existing tool documentation
  • Fix typos or unclear instructions
  • Add usage examples or tutorials

3. Bug Reports

  • Report issues with listed tools
  • Provide clear reproduction steps
  • Include system information when relevant

4. Feature Suggestions

  • Propose new features for listed tools
  • Suggest improvements to the repository structure
  • Recommend new categories or tags

Submission Process

1. Initial Submission

  • Create a new issue using the "New Tool Submission" template
  • For existing tools, the label will be changed from 'new-tool' to 'edit-tool'
  • Provide required information:
  • Tool name, URL, and category
  • Deployment method and requirements
  • Target users and use cases

2. Review Process

  • Issue is automatically labeled with 'new-tool' and 'needs-review'
  • OCF/WPI team reviews the submission
  • Community members can provide feedback
  • Tool is assessed against basic criteria

3. Automation Process

When approved: - 'approved' label is added and 'needs-review' is removed - Automated GitHub Action workflow triggers - Tool information is processed and validated - Documentation is automatically generated - Repository is updated with new tool information - Issue is automatically closed upon successful integration

Documentation Requirements

Each tool in our repository must include:

1. Overview

  • Tool purpose and features
  • Use cases and benefits
  • Target audience

2. Technical Details

  • System requirements
  • Dependencies
  • Installation guides
  • Configuration options

3. User Guides

  • Step-by-step setup
  • Basic usage
  • Advanced features
  • Troubleshooting

4. Evaluation Results

  • Performance metrics
  • Security assessment
  • Usability findings
  • Recommended alternatives

Review Process

1. Initial Check

  • All required information provided
  • Meets basic quality standards
  • Appropriate categorization

2. Technical Review

  • Code quality assessment
  • Security check
  • Documentation review

3. Community Feedback

  • Community members can comment
  • Suggestions for improvements
  • Use case validation

4. Final Approval

  • OCF/WPI team adds 'approved' label
  • Automated integration process begins
  • Changes are committed to the repository

Style Guidelines

Documentation

  • Use clear, concise language
  • Include code examples when relevant
  • Follow markdown best practices
  • Keep formatting consistent

Metadata

  • Use appropriate categories and tags
  • Keep descriptions informative but brief
  • Include all required links
  • Update timestamps when needed

Need Help?

If you have questions about contributing: 1. Check existing issues 2. Check the workflow run logs (if automation-related) 3. Create a new issue with the label question 4. Contact the maintainers

Thank you for contributing to making open source tools more accessible and useful for everyone!