Contributing

Please note that this project is released with a Contributor Code of Conduct. By participating in this project you agree to abide by its terms. Participation covers any forum used to converse about CircuitPython including unofficial and official spaces. Failure to do so will result in corrective actions such as time out or ban from the project.

Licensing

By contributing to this repository you are certifying that you have all necessary permissions to license the code under an MIT License. You still retain the copyright but are granting many permissions under the MIT License.

If you have an employment contract with your employer please make sure that they don't automatically own your work product. Make sure to get any necessary approvals before contributing. Another term for this contribution off-hours is moonlighting.

Ways to contribute

As CircuitPython grows, there are more and more ways to contribute. Here are some ideas:

Build a project with CircuitPython and share how to do it online.
Test the latest libraries and CircuitPython versions with your projects and file issues for any bugs you find.
Contribute Python code to CircuitPython libraries that support new devices or features of an existing device.
Contribute C code to CircuitPython which fixes an open issue or adds a new feature.

Building CircuitPython: Getting started with C

The CircuitPython core is implemented mostly in C. If you want to add support for new boards, add features to the core, fix bugs in the core, or compile with special options (perhaps to make a debug build with UART logging), you will need to install a development environment with build tools.

Build Documentation:

Building CircuitPython Learn Guide: CircuitPython developer Dan Halbert (@dhalbert) wrote this guide with build instructions for using native build tools. This is the primary getting started documentation for building CircuitPython.
For SAMD21 debugging workflow tips check out this learn guide from Scott (@tannewt).

Developer contacts

Scott Shawcroft (@tannewt) is the lead developer of CircuitPython and is sponsored by Adafruit Industries LLC. Scott is usually available during US West Coast working hours. Dan Halbert (@dhalbert) and Jeff Epler (@jepler) are also sponsored by Adafruit Industries LLC and are usually available during US daytime hours including some weekends.

They are all reachable on Discord, GitHub issues and the Adafruit support forum.

Code guidelines

We aim to keep our code and commit style compatible with MicroPython upstream. Please review their code conventions to do so. Familiarity with their design philosophy is also useful though not always applicable to CircuitPython.

Furthermore, CircuitPython has a design guide that covers a variety of different topics. Please read it as well.