How to contribute

So you found something to improve or want to contribute to Garuda in any way? There are several possibilities on how to do this. You don’t even need to know how to code in order to contribute something meaningful!

All community spaces follow the Code of Conduct.

Contributing code

Obviously, you can have a look at our GitLab and search for the repository which corresponds to the thing you want to contribute to - in case doing changes to Garuda Toolbox this would be this repo for example.

1. Fork the repository with the Fork button.

2. Clone your fork with the address from the Code button.

3. Make your changes in the local copy.

4. Commit with a conventional commit message, for example fix: correct the bootloader ID or feat(toolbox): add a user manager tab. The CI checks the message and builds the changelogs from it.

   Commitizen writes a fitting message for you. Install it with pip install --user -U commitizen and run cz commit instead of git commit. Repositories with a Nix dev shell already provide it in nix develop, and their commit hook checks the message.

5. Push the commit to your fork.

6. Create a merge request at the original repository.

7. Check whether a pipeline fails and apply its suggestions.

We then review the changes as soon as possible 😊

To start a new repository, see Repository standards for where it belongs, which files it needs and how its packages are released.

Contributing documentation & translations

Documentation is a crucial part of a project which helps find solutions efficiently. In our case, this would mostly mean creating and enhancing existing articles found in our wiki.

Translating existing articles into other languages is also a very welcome way to contribute to more accessible documentation which is also possible without in-depth knowledge of the operating system. There are two ways to achieve this:

• Contact any team member (e.g. via our Forum, Telegram group, or mail) with a short explanation of what you want to change. We will follow up.
• Clone the GitLab repo of our wiki and proceed as explained in “Contributing code”. See How to wiki for how the wiki is built and edited.

Contributing as a forum member

The forum itself is the home of our community. A lot of help requests and general talk are going on here lately which means there are a lot of threads to answer as well. We are very happy about everyone who decides to take part in discussions and help other forum members as it takes some work off our staff’s shoulders. 😊

• The only thing needed here is a forum account, you can click here to sign up!

Contributing donations

If you don’t have the time or motivation to contribute either way, you can still help us by donating to help sustain our running costs. Every single donation is highly appreciated and ensures the continued existence of our favorite distribution! 🙂

• Our website has a dedicated donation page that lists the possibilities and pros/cons of the different available platforms.