Contributing to Glass
Thank you for helping us make Glass better! Glass is a fork of Zed, built to provide a powerful code editing experience.Contributing Philosophy
Glass values working code and synchronous conversations over long discussion threads. The best way to get us to take a look at a proposed change is to send a pull request.What We Love
We especially appreciate contributions that are:- Fixing or extending the docs - Help others understand Glass better
- Fixing bugs - Making Glass more stable and reliable
- Small enhancements - Making features work for more people (across platforms, modes, etc.)
- Small extra features - Keybindings or actions you miss from other editors
Finding Contribution Ideas
Looking for concrete ideas?- Browse triaged bugs with confirmed steps to reproduce
- Check area labels to find bugs in specific parts you care about
- Look for documentation gaps or unclear explanations
Contribution Guidelines
Making Your PR Successful
While we review all pull requests, PRs have the best chance of being merged when they:Ensure the change is desired
We’re always happy to accept bugfixes. For features, confirm with us first to avoid wasted effort. If there isn’t already a GitHub issue with staff confirmation, start with a discussion rather than a PR.
Include a clear description
Explain what you’re solving and why it’s important. Help reviewers understand the context and motivation.
Include tests
Add unit tests for logic changes. For UI changes, consider updating visual regression tests (macOS only).
Attach screenshots or recordings
If it changes the UI, visual context helps reviewers understand the impact.
Reviewer Guidelines
The internal advice for reviewers is:- If the fix/feature is obviously great and the code is great: Hit merge
- If the fix/feature is obviously great and the code is nearly great: Send PR comments or offer to pair to get things perfect
- If the fix/feature is not obviously great or the code needs rewriting: Close the PR with a thank you and explanation
Getting Help
If you need more feedback:- Be responsive to GitHub comments
- Offer time to pair with maintainers
- Open a PR early if you need help deciding how to fix a bug or implement a feature
What We Won’t Merge
Typically we don’t merge:- Extension-provided functionality - New languages or themes belong in extensions (extension docs)
- New file icons - Glass’s icon theme is hand-designed for cohesion
- Low-benefit complexity - Features where the extra complexity isn’t worth it for the number of people who benefit
- Giant refactorings - Large-scale rewrites are difficult to review and maintain
- Non-trivial changes without tests - Tests ensure quality and prevent regressions
- Stylistic-only changes - Reducing allocations or fixing typos is great; making code “more readable” may not be
- AI-generated code without understanding - Contributors must understand what they’re submitting
Code of Conduct
All activity in Glass forums is subject to our Code of Conduct. Additionally, contributors must sign our Contributor License Agreement before their contributions can be merged.Next Steps
Development Setup
Set up your development environment
Guidelines & Standards
Learn our code standards and conventions
Testing Practices
Understand how to write and run tests