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    1: # How to get started helping out in the curl project
    2: 
    3: We are always in need of more help. If you are new to the project and are
    4: looking for ways to contribute and help out, this document aims to give a few
    5: good starting points.
    6: 
    7: A good idea is to start by subscribing to the [curl-library mailing
    8: list](https://cool.haxx.se/mailman/listinfo/curl-library) to keep track of the
    9: current discussion topics.
   10: 
   11: ## Scratch your own itch
   12: 
   13: One of the best ways is to start working on any problems or issues you have
   14: found yourself or perhaps got annoyed at in the past. It can be a spelling
   15: error in an error text or a weirdly phrased section in a man page. Hunt it
   16: down and report the bug. Or make your first pull request with a fix for that.
   17: 
   18: ## Help wanted
   19: 
   20: In the issue tracker we occasionally mark bugs with [help
   21: wanted](https://github.com/curl/curl/labels/help%20wanted), as a sign that the
   22: bug is acknowledged to exist and that there's nobody known to work on this
   23: issue for the moment. Those are bugs that are fine to "grab" and provide a
   24: pull request for. The complexity level of these will of course vary, so pick
   25: one that piques your interest.
   26: 
   27: ## Work on known bugs
   28: 
   29: Some bugs are known and haven't yet received attention and work enough to get
   30: fixed. We collect such known existing flaws in the
   31: [KNOWN_BUGS](https://curl.haxx.se/docs/knownbugs.html) page. Many of them link
   32: to the original bug report with some additional details, but some may also
   33: have aged a bit and may require some verification that the bug still exists in
   34: the same way and that what was said about it in the past is still valid.
   35: 
   36: ## Fix autobuild problems
   37: 
   38: On the [autobuilds page](https://curl.haxx.se/dev/builds.html) we show a
   39: collection of test results from the automatic curl build and tests that are
   40: performed by volunteers. Fixing compiler warnings and errors shown there is
   41: something we value greatly. Also, if you own or run systems or architectures
   42: that aren't already tested in the autobuilds, we also appreciate more
   43: volunteers running builds automatically to help us keep curl portable.
   44: 
   45: ## TODO items
   46: 
   47: Ideas for features and functions that we have considered worthwhile to
   48: implement and provide are kept in the
   49: [TODO](https://curl.haxx.se/docs/todo.html) file. Some of the ideas are
   50: rough. Some are well thought out. Some probably aren't really suitable
   51: anymore.
   52: 
   53: Before you invest a lot of time on a TODO item, do bring it up for discussion
   54: on the mailing list. For discussion on applicability but also for ideas and
   55: brainstorming on specific ways to do the implementation etc.
   56: 
   57: ## You decide
   58: 
   59: You can also come up with a completely new thing you think we should do. Or
   60: not do. Or fix. Or add to the project. You then either bring it to the mailing
   61: list first to see if people will shoot down the idea at once, or you bring a
   62: first draft of the idea as a pull request and take the discussion there around
   63: the specific implementation. Either way is fine.
   64: 
   65: ## CONTRIBUTE
   66: 
   67: We offer [guidelines](https://curl.haxx.se/dev/contribute.html) that are
   68: suitable to be familiar with before you decide to contribute to curl. If
   69: you're used to open source development, you'll probably not find many
   70: surprises in there.