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Introduction

Gitea welcomes contributions from the community! Whether you’re fixing bugs, adding features, improving documentation, or translating the interface, your help is appreciated.
Before starting work on a significant change, please discuss it in an issue first to ensure alignment with the project’s goals.

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Ways to Contribute

Report Bugs

Help identify and document bugs in the issue tracker

Fix Issues

Contribute code fixes for existing issues

Add Features

Propose and implement new features

Improve Docs

Enhance documentation and examples

Translate

Help translate Gitea into other languages

Review Code

Participate in code review for pull requests

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Getting Started

1

Fork the Repository

Fork go-gitea/gitea on GitHub
2

Clone Your Fork

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/gitea.git
cd gitea
3

Add Upstream Remote

git remote add upstream https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea.git
4

Create Feature Branch

git checkout -b feature/my-new-feature

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Development Workflow

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Making Changes

1

Keep Your Fork Updated

git fetch upstream
git checkout main
git merge upstream/main
2

Make Your Changes

Edit the code, add tests, and update documentation
3

Format and Lint

# Format Go code
make fmt

# Lint Go code
make lint-go
4

Run Tests

# Run all tests
make test

# Run specific test package
go test ./modules/git/...

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Commit Guidelines

Follow these conventions for commit messages: 
# Format: <type>: <description>
#
# Types:
# - feat: New feature
# - fix: Bug fix
# - docs: Documentation changes
# - style: Code style changes (formatting)
# - refactor: Code refactoring
# - test: Adding or updating tests
# - chore: Maintenance tasks

# Example commit messages:
feat: Add support for Git LFS v3 protocol
fix: Resolve issue with webhook delivery retries
docs: Update installation guide for Docker
refactor: Simplify user authentication logic
Add the current year to the copyright header when creating new .go files.

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Submitting Pull Requests

1

Push Your Branch

git push origin feature/my-new-feature
2

Create Pull Request

Go to GitHub and create a pull request from your fork to go-gitea/gitea:main
3

Fill Out PR Template

Provide:
  • Clear description of changes
  • Related issue numbers (use Fixes #123 for automatic closing)
  • Screenshots/videos for UI changes
  • Testing performed
4

Address Review Feedback

Work with maintainers to refine your PR

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Code Review Process

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PR Requirements

  • Tests: Add tests for new functionality
  • Documentation: Update docs for user-facing changes
  • Commits: Clean commit history (squash if needed)
  • Conflicts: Resolve merge conflicts
  • DCO: All commits must be signed off (Developer Certificate of Origin)

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Getting PR Merged

  1. Review: PRs require review from maintainers
  2. Testing: Automated tests must pass
  3. Approval: At least one maintainer approval required
  4. Merge: Maintainers will merge approved PRs
PRs with no activity for 60 days may be closed. You can always reopen if you resume work.

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Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO)

All commits must include a Signed-off-by line: 
# Add to individual commit
git commit -s -m "feat: Add new feature"

# Or configure Git to always sign off
git config --global format.signoff true
This certifies that you have the right to submit the code under the project’s license (MIT).

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Coding Standards

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Go Code

  • Follow Effective Go
  • Use gofmt for formatting (enforced by make fmt)
  • Add comments for exported functions and types
  • Write tests for new code
  • Handle errors explicitly

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Frontend Code

  • Follow the ESLint configuration
  • Use TypeScript for type safety
  • Write accessible HTML
  • Test in multiple browsers

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Database Migrations

  • Create migrations for schema changes
  • Test both upgrade and downgrade paths
  • Support all database backends (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MSSQL)

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Translation

Help translate Gitea through Crowdin:
1

Join Crowdin

Create an account on Crowdin and join the Gitea project
2

Select Language

Choose the language you want to translate
3

Translate Strings

Translate untranslated strings or improve existing translations
4

Review

Participate in translation review and discussion

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Security Issues

Do not report security issues publicly. Send them privately to [email protected]

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Community

Connect with other contributors:

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Resources

Building from Source

Set up your development environment

Testing Guide

Learn how to write and run tests

Architecture

Understand Gitea’s architecture

CONTRIBUTING.md

Full contribution guidelines on GitHub
For detailed contribution guidelines, see CONTRIBUTING.md in the repository.

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