Contrib.rst

Contributing to Skyfield

There are many ways you can contribute to Skyfield.

• Contributing documentation in the form of python doc, and documents like this.
• Using Skyfield; reporting bugs and patches into the issue tracker.

• https://github.com/skyfielders/python-skyfield/issues

• Following up on current Issues by posting comments in the issue tracker and/or submitting pull requests.

Contributing Overview

Because we are using Github the process for contributing is as follows:

1. We acquire a github account.

• https://github.com

2. We fork Brandon/Skyfield's repo.

• https://github.com/skyfielders/python-skyfield

3. We git clone our Fork to a local working copy on our own machine.

• git clone https://github.com/<YOUR ID HERE>/python-skyfield

4. We create development branches in our own working copy.

• git checkout -b Issue31

5. We code by adding/modifying/deleting documentation or code
6. We commit

• git commit -m "#31 Fix involved: blah blah blah"

7. We push our fix branches to our Forked repo.

• git push origin Issue31

8. On Github we submit a pull request from this forked branch into Brandon/Skyfield's main repo.

Very small Git Example of Contributing

You can experiment with what works for you from a git perspective. The following is just some examples of what a developer can do.

1. Created a Fork in my own github space.
2. Cloned my Forks master branch.

• git clone git@github.com:ozialien/python-skyfield.git

3. Add skyfield reference to my local git repo.

• git remote add skyfield git@github.com:skyfielders/python-skyfield.git
• git fetch skyfield
• git branch -r <-- Shows me what remote repo's I have fetched references from

4. Make sure my master is up to date with the main repo.

• git checkout master
• git rebase skyfield/master

5. Fork a development branch

• git checkout -b fix42

6. Commit the change

• git commit -m "#42 I fixed by ....."

7. Push the development branch to GitHub

• git push origin fix42

8. Login to GitHub and issue a Pull request for my fix42 branch

From this point you can actually keep fetching from skyfield repo as follows:

1. Make sure things are up to date

• git checkout master
• git rebase skyfield/master

2. create a new development branch

• git checkout -b issue43

You could even do this:

• git fetch skyfield
• git checkout -b issue43 skyfield/master