Update contributing documentation

.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+## Pull Request template
+Please, go through these steps before you submit a PR.
+
+1. Make sure that your PR is not a duplicate.
+2. If not, then make sure that:
+
+  2.1. You have done your changes in a separate branch. Branches MUST have descriptive names that start with either the `fix/` or `feature/` prefixes. Good examples are: `fix/signin-issue` or `feature/issue-templates`.
+
+  2.2. You have a descriptive commit message with a short title (first line).
+
+  2.3. You have only one commit (if not, squash them into one commit).
+
+  2.4. `./tests/ci/unit.sh` doesn't throw any error. If it does, fix them first and amend your commit (`git commit --amend`).
+        * it would be nice to run an integration test as well.
+
+3. **After** these steps, you're ready to open a pull request.
+
+  3.1. Target the master branch
+
+  3.2. Give a descriptive title to your PR.
+
+  3.3. Provide a description of your changes.
+
+  3.4. Put `closes #XXXX` in your comment to auto-close the issue that your PR fixes (if such).
+
+IMPORTANT: Please review the [CONTRIBUTING.rst](../CONTRIBUTING.rst) file for detailed contributing guidelines.
+
+**PLEASE REMOVE THIS TEMPLATE BEFORE SUBMITTING**
+
+

CONTRIBUTING.rst

@@ -4,43 +4,11 @@
 Contributing
 ============
 
-Contributions are welcome, and they are greatly appreciated! Every little bit
-helps, and credit will always be given.
-
-You can contribute in many ways:
-
-Types of Contributions
-----------------------
-
-Report Bugs
-~~~~~~~~~~~
-
-Report bugs at https://github.com/brettswift/cumulus/issues.
-
-If you are reporting a bug, please include:
-
-* Your operating system name and version.
-* Any details about your local setup that might be helpful in troubleshooting.
-* Detailed steps to reproduce the bug.
-
-Fix Bugs
-~~~~~~~~
-
-Look through the GitHub issues for bugs. Anything tagged with "bug" and "help
-wanted" is open to whoever wants to implement it.
-
-Implement Features
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-
-Look through the GitHub issues for features. Anything tagged with "enhancement"
-and "help wanted" is open to whoever wants to implement it.
-
-Write Documentation
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-
-Cumulus could always use more documentation, whether as part of the
-official Cumulus docs, in docstrings, or even on the web in blog posts,
-articles, and such.
+* Pull Requests Welcome
+    * use a feature or fix branch: `feature/<name>` or  `fix/<name>`
+    * squash commits
+    * write a good commit message https://chris.beams.io/posts/git-commit/
+    * Add your name to CONTRIBUTING.rst
 
 Submit Feedback
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@@ -64,17 +32,14 @@ Ready to contribute? Here's how to set up `cumulus` for local development.
 
     $ git clone git@github.com:your_name_here/cumulus.git
 
-3. Install your local copy into a virtualenv. Assuming you have virtualenvwrapper installed, this is how you set up your fork for local development::
+3. Install your local copy into a virtualenv. Assuming virtualenv and pyenv are installed,
 
-    $ mkvirtualenv cumulus
+    $ pyenv virtualenv 3.6 cumulus36
+    $ pyenv local cumulus36
     $ cd cumulus/
-    $ python setup.py develop
+    $ python setup.py develop (sometimes I use `pip install -e .`)
 
-4. Create a branch for local development::
-
-    $ git checkout -b name-of-your-bugfix-or-feature
-
-   Now you can make your changes locally.
+4. Create a branch, and code.
 
 5. When you're done making changes, check that your changes pass flake8 and the
    tests, including testing other Python versions with tox::
@@ -85,13 +50,15 @@ Ready to contribute? Here's how to set up `cumulus` for local development.
 
    To get flake8 and tox, just pip install them into your virtualenv.
 
-6. Commit your changes and push your branch to GitHub::
+6. Squash changes to a single commit and write a good commit message
+
+    * A good commit message follows: https://chris.beams.io/posts/git-commit/
 
-    $ git add .
-    $ git commit -m "Your detailed description of your changes."
-    $ git push origin name-of-your-bugfix-or-feature
+    $ git fetch --all
+    $ git rebase -i [brettswift]/master
+    $ # use interactive squash to squash all commits (tip: keep the top one, type `s` or `squash` next to all the others
 
-7. Submit a pull request through the GitHub website.
+7. Push code and Submit a pull request through the GitHub website.
 
 Pull Request Guidelines
 -----------------------