How to contribute to the Sentry Python SDK

sentry-sdk is an ordinary Python package. You can install it with pip install -e . into some virtualenv, edit the sourcecode and test out your changes manually.

Community

The public-facing channels for support and development of Sentry SDKs can be found on Discord.

Running tests and linters

Make sure you have virtualenv installed, and the Python versions you care about. You should have Python 2.7 and the latest Python 3 installed.

You don't need to workon or activate anything, the Makefile will create one for you. Run make or make help to list commands.

Releasing a new version

We use craft to release new versions. You need credentials for the getsentry PyPI user, and must have twine installed globally.

The usual release process goes like this:

Go through git log and write new entry into CHANGES.md, commit to master
craft p a.b.c
craft pp a.b.c

Adding a new integration (checklist)

Write the integration.
- Instrument all application instances by default. Prefer global signals/patches instead of configuring a specific instance. Don't make the user pass anything to your integration for anything to work. Aim for zero configuration.
- Everybody monkeypatches. That means:
  - Make sure to think about conflicts with other monkeypatches when monkeypatching.
  - You don't need to feel bad about it.
- Avoid modifying the hub, registering a new client or the like. The user drives the client, and the client owns integrations.
- Allow the user to disable the integration by changing the client. Check Hub.current.get_integration(MyIntegration) from within your signal handlers to see if your integration is still active before you do anything impactful (such as sending an event).
Write the docs. Answer the following questions:
- What does your integration do? Split in two sections: Executive summary at top and exact behavior further down.
- Which version of the SDK supports which versions of the modules it hooks into?
- One code example with basic setup.
- Make sure to add integration page to python/index.md (people forget to do that all the time).

Tip: Put most relevant parts wrapped in .. tags for usage from within the Sentry UI.

Merge docs after new version has been released (auto-deploys on merge).
(optional) Update data in sdk_updates.py to give users in-app suggestions to use your integration. May not be applicable or doable for all kinds of integrations.