Contributing via Branching

Setting Up Your Git Repository

First, clone the Flowthru repository by running the command:

git clone https://github.com/flow-thru/flowthru.git

The repository is configured so no one can directly push to master, therefore you will have to create your own branch when implementing a feature. To do so, run the command below while on the master branch.

git branch MY_NAME/MY_BRANCH_NAME    # Creates branch named MY_NAME/MY_BRANCH_NAME
git checkout MY_NAME/MY_BRANCH_NAME  # Switched to MY_NAME/MY_BRANCH_NAME

Replace MY_BRANCH_NAME with a name that describes the feature you plan on implementing. Replace MY_NANE with your name.

It is important to prepend your branch name with your name so we can uniquely identify which branch belongs to who

You are now set to make changes to the codebase. If you plan on contributing significant changes, please discuss with the assignee of the issue first before starting to work on the issue.

NOTE: It is also helpful to indicate that you are working on the issue. This can be done by assigning yourself the issue. You can assign yourself an issue by visiting the issue's page, clicking Assignees on the top right corner of the issue, and selecting yourself.

Submitting Your Changes

Once you have applied changes locally, you'll have to push your changes and submit a pull request for a code review. Mention the issue number and link it when creating a pull request.

1. To push your changes, first you'll have to ensure you have you changes committed locally.

You can do this by first staging the file(s) you made changes using the command

git add FILE_NAME

Next you'll want to commit your staged changes. Do this by running the command

git commit -m "COMMIT_MESSAGE"

Finally, you can push (sync) your local changes with the remote version of your branch with the command below.

git push origin MY_NAME/MY_BRANCH_NAME

2. Once you have your local changes on the Flowthru repository, now you have to submit a pull request.

You can submit a pull request by navigating to the Flowthru branches, clicking your branch, and clicking the New Pull Request button

Once you have filled out the description box with any necessary information, click Create Pull Request

3. Now that you're pull request is open, we'll review it, apply any changes if needed, and merge it to master

You can track progress of you pull request any time by visiting Flowthru's pull request section. When the pull request is merged into master, the branch will be deleted as all of the changed are now on master -- it would be redundant to keep the branch.