React Native is one of Facebook's first open source projects that is both under very active development and is also being used to ship code to everybody on https://facebook.com. We're still working out the kinks to make contributing to this project as easy and transparent as possible, but we're not quite there yet. Hopefully this document makes the process for contributing clear and preempts some questions you may have.
Facebook has adopted a Code of Conduct that we expect project participants to adhere to. Please read [the full text](https://code.facebook.com/codeofconduct) so that you can understand what actions will and will not be tolerated.
Some of the core team will be working directly on [GitHub](https://github.com/facebook/react-native). These changes will be public from the beginning. Other changesets will come via a bridge with Facebook's internal source control. This is a necessity as it allows engineers at Facebook outside of the core team to move fast and contribute from an environment they are comfortable in.
## Branch Organization
We will do our best to keep `master` in good shape, with tests passing at all times. But in order to move fast, we will make API changes that your application might not be compatible with. We will do our best to [communicate these changes](https://github.com/facebook/react-native/releases) and version appropriately so you can lock into a specific version if need be.
To see what changes are coming and provide better feedback to React Native contributors, use the [latest release candidate](http://facebook.github.io/react-native/versions.html) when possible. By the time a release candidate is released, the changes it contains will have been shipped in production Facebook apps for over two weeks.
## Bugs
#### Where to Find Known Issues
We are using [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/facebook/react-native/issues) for our public bugs. Before filing a new task, try to make sure your problem doesn't already exist.
- Have a question? [Ask on Stack Overflow](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/react-native).
- If you have a question regarding future plans, check out the [roadmap](https://github.com/facebook/react-native/wiki/Roadmap).
- Have a feature request that is not covered in the roadmap? [Add it here](https://react-native.canny.io/feature-requests).
#### Reporting New Issues
The best way to get your bug fixed is to provide a reduced test case. Please provide either a [Sketch](https://sketch.expo.io/) or a public repository with a runnable example.
Please report a single bug per issue. Always provide reproduction steps. You can use Snack in many cases to demonstrate an issue: https://snack.expo.io/. If the bug cannot be reproduced using Snack, verify that the issue can be reproduced locally by targeting the latest release candidate. Ideally, check if the issue is present in master as well.
Do not forget to include sample code that reproduces the issue. Only open issues for bugs affecting either the latest stable release, or the current release candidate, or master (see http://facebook.github.io/react-native/versions.html). If it is not clear from your report that the issue can be reproduced in one of these releases, your issue will be closed.
We're not able to provide support through GitHub Issues. If you're looking for help with your code, consider asking on Stack Overflow: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/react-native
#### Security Bugs
Facebook has a [bounty program](https://www.facebook.com/whitehat/) for the safe disclosure of security bugs. With that in mind, please do not file public issues; go through the process outlined on that page.
## How to Get in Touch
Many React Native users are active on [Stack Overflow](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/react-native).
If you want to get a general sense of what React Native folks talk about, check out the [React Native Community](https://www.facebook.com/groups/react.native.community) Facebook group.
There is also [an active community of React and React Native users on the Discord chat platform](https://discord.gg/0ZcbPKXt5bZjGY5n) in case you need help.
The React Native team sends out periodical updates through the following channels:
Core contributors to React Native meet monthly and post their meeting notes on the React Native blog. You can also find ad hoc discussions in the [React Native Core Contributors](https://www.facebook.com/groups/reactnativeoss/) Facebook group.
## Proposing a Change
If you intend to change the public API, or make any non-trivial changes to the implementation, we recommend [filing an issue](https://github.com/facebook/react-native/issues/new). This lets us reach an agreement on your proposal before you put significant effort into it.
If you're only fixing a bug, it's fine to submit a pull request right away but we still recommend to file an issue detailing what you're fixing. This is helpful in case we don't accept that specific fix but want to keep track of the issue.
If you send a pull request, please do it against the master branch. We maintain stable branches for stable releases separately but we don't accept pull requests to them directly. Instead, we cherry-pick non-breaking changes from master to the latest stable version.
The core team will be monitoring for pull requests. When we get one, we'll run some Facebook-specific integration tests on it first. From here, we'll need to get another person to sign off on the changes and then merge the pull request. For API changes we may need to fix internal uses, which could cause some delay. We'll do our best to provide updates and feedback throughout the process.
One intent alongside one commit makes it clearer for people to review and easier to understand your intention.
> **Note:** It is not necessary to keep clicking `Merge master to your branch` on the PR page. You would want to merge master if there are conflicts or tests are failing. The Facebook-GitHub-Bot ultimately squashes all commits to a single one before merging your PR.
A good test plan has the exact commands you ran and their output, provides screenshots or videos if the pull request changes UI or updates the website.
- If you've added code that should be tested, add tests!
- If you've changed APIs, update the documentation.
- If you've updated the docs, verify the website locally and submit screenshots if applicable (see `website/README.md`)
When adding a new breaking change, follow this template in your pull request:
```
### New breaking change here
- **Who does this affect**:
- **How to migrate**:
- **Why make this breaking change**:
- **Severity (number of people affected x effort)**:
```
If your pull request is merged, a core contributor will update the [list of breaking changes](https://github.com/facebook/react-native/wiki/Breaking-Changes) which is then used to populate the release notes.
In order to accept your pull request, we need you to submit a CLA. You only need to do this once, so if you've done this for another Facebook open source project, you're good to go. If you are submitting a pull request for the first time, just let us know that you have completed the CLA and we can cross-check with your GitHub username.
Our linter will catch most styling issues that may exist in your code. You can check the status of your code styling by simply running `node linter.js <files touched>`.
* **Most important: Look around.** Match the style you see used in the rest of the project. This includes formatting, naming things in code, naming things in documentation.
