|
| 1 | +.. _doc_ways_to_contribute: |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +How to contribute |
| 4 | +================= |
| 5 | + |
| 6 | +The Godot Engine is free and open-source. Like any community-driven project, we rely on volunteer contributions. |
| 7 | +On this page we want to showcase the various ways you as users can participate - to help you find the right starting place with the skillset you have. |
| 8 | +Because contrary to popular opinion, we need more than just programmers on the project! |
| 9 | + |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +Fundraising |
| 12 | +----------- |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +- **Donate** |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | + We created the non-profit `Godot Foundation <https://godot.foundation/>`_ to be able to support the Godot Engine in both matters of finance and administration. |
| 17 | + In practice, this means the Foundation hires people to work part-time or full-time on the project. |
| 18 | + These jobs include engine development as well as related tasks like code reviews, production management, community & marketing efforts, and more. |
| 19 | + |
| 20 | + With as little as 5 EUR per month, you can help us keep going strong. |
| 21 | + Currently, we are intending to hire more core developers, as to cover more ground with full-time specialists that supplement and guide volunteer work. |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | + `Join the Development Fund <fund.godotengine.org>`_ |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +- **Donation Drives** |
| 26 | + Think about your followers on social media, or other communities you are active in. |
| 27 | + Use that reach to remind your social environment that even small contributions can make a difference, especially when done by a great number of people at the same time. |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | + Are you a content creator? Consider adding a link to the `Godot Development Fund <fund.godotengine.org>`_ to your descriptions. |
| 30 | + If you do live streams, perhaps think about organizing a stream with donation incentives. |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +.. - **Buy Official Merch** |
| 33 | +
|
| 34 | +- **Publish Godot Games.** |
| 35 | + You heard right, simply publishing a game #MadeWithGodot can positively impact the well-being of this project. |
| 36 | + Your personal success elevates the engine to a viable alternative for other developers, growing the community further. |
| 37 | + Additionally, it opens the doors for us to approach industry contacts about possible cooperations. |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | + |
| 40 | +Technical contributions |
| 41 | +----------------------- |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +- **Report bugs & other issues** |
| 44 | + As active users of the engine, you are better equipped to identify bugs and other issues than anyone else. |
| 45 | + To let us know about your findings, fill out this `bug report form <https://github.com/godotengine/godot/issues/new/choose>`_ on our GitHub. |
| 46 | + Make sure to include as much information as possible to ensure these issues can easily be reproduced by others. |
| 47 | + |
| 48 | + If you are interested in helping keep our bug tracker organized, you can even join the `bugsquad <https://chat.godotengine.org/channel/bugsquad>`_! |
| 49 | + |
| 50 | +- **Test Development Versions** |
| 51 | + While it is recommended to use the stable releases for your projects, you can help us test dev releases, betas, and release candidates |
| 52 | + by opening a copy of your project in them and checking what problems this introduces or maybe even solves. |
| 53 | + Make sure to have a backup ready, since this can produce irreversible changes. |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | + Find recent `development versions <https://godotengine.org/download/preview/>`_ directly on our download page, or linked in their own blog posts. |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | +- **Contribute Engine Code (mainly C++)** |
| 58 | + The engine development is mainly coordinated on our `Contributor RocketChat <https://chat.godotengine.org/>`_, |
| 59 | + so if you are serious about making PRs you should join us there! |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | + Read more about the **technical submission process**: :ref:`doc_first_steps` |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | + For each subject area of the engine, there is a corresponding team to coordinate the work. |
| 64 | + Join the linked chat to get more eyes on your related PR, learn about open todos, or partake in meetings. |
| 65 | + For some areas, specialists might even be encouraged to step up as maintainer! |
| 66 | + `List of teams <https://godotengine.org/teams/>`_ |
| 67 | + |
| 68 | +- **Review Code Contributions** |
| 69 | + All pull requests need to be thoroughly reviewed before they can be merged into the master branch. |
| 70 | + Help us get a headstart by participating in the code review process. |
| 71 | + |
| 72 | + To get started, chose any `open pull request <https://github.com/godotengine/godot/pulls>`_ and reference our **style guide**: :ref:`doc_pr_review_guidelines` |
| 73 | + |
| 74 | +- **Write Plugins (GDScript, C#, & more)** |
| 75 | + Community addons are not directly included in the core engine download or repository, yet they provide essential quality of life upgrades for your fellow game developers. |
| 76 | + Upload your plugins to the `Godot Asset Library <https://godotengine.org/asset-library/asset>`_ to make them available to others. |
| 77 | + .. update to talk about Asset Store later |
| 78 | +
|
| 79 | +- **Demo projects (GDScript, C#, and making Assets)** |
| 80 | + We provide new users with `demo projects <https://github.com/godotengine/godot-demo-projects/>`_ so they can quickly test new features or get familiar with the engine in the first place. |
| 81 | + At industry events, we might even exhibit these demo projects to showcase what Godot can do! |
| 82 | + Help improve existing projects or supply your own to be added to the pool, and join the `demo channel <https://chat.godotengine.org/channel/demo-content>`_ in the Contributor RocketChat to talk about it. |
| 83 | + |
| 84 | +- **Documentation** |
| 85 | + The documentation is one of the most essential parts of any tech project, yet the need to document new features and substantial changes often gets overlooked. |
| 86 | + Join the `documentation team <https://chat.godotengine.org/channel/documentation>`_ to improve the Godot Engine with your technical writing skills. |
| 87 | + |
| 88 | +- **Translations (spoken languages other than English)** |
| 89 | + Are you interested in making the Godot Engine more accessible to non-English speakers? |
| 90 | + Contribute to our `community-translations <https://hosted.weblate.org/projects/godot-engine/godot/>`_. |
| 91 | + |
| 92 | +Community support |
| 93 | +----------------- |
| 94 | + |
| 95 | +- **Call for Moderators** |
| 96 | + With a community of our size, we need people to step up as volunteer moderators in all kinds of places. |
| 97 | + These teams are organized by the Godot Foundation, but would not function without the dedication of active community members like you. |
| 98 | + |
| 99 | + Have a look around your favorite community platform and you might come across open application calls. |
| 100 | + |
| 101 | +- **Answer tech-support questions** |
| 102 | + With many new people discovering the Godot Engine recently, the need for peer-to-peer tech-support has never been greater. |
| 103 | + Be it on the `Forum <https://forum.godotengine.org/>`_, our `subreddit <https://www.reddit.com/r/godot/>`_, or on `Discord <https://discord.gg/bdcfAYM4W9>`_, you can always brighten someone's day by helping them get their personal projects back on track. |
| 104 | + |
| 105 | +- **Create tutorials & more** |
| 106 | + How did you get started with the Godot Engine? |
| 107 | + Chances are you looked for learning materials outside of what the documentation provides. |
| 108 | + Without content creators covering the game development process, there would not be this big of a community today. |
| 109 | + Therefore it seemed only right to mention them in a page about important contributions to the project. |
| 110 | + |
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