= Contributing to WeeChat
:author: Sébastien Helleu
:email: flashcode@flashtux.org
:lang: en


== Reporting bugs

First, some basic things:

* Use only English to communicate with developers.
* Search in issues if the same problem or feature request has already been
  reported (a duplicate is waste of time for you and the developers!).
* If you can, please check if the problem has been fixed in development version
  (if you are using a stable release or old version).
* Report only one bug or feature request per issue.

=== Security reports

Please *DO NOT* file a GitHub issue for security related problems, but send an
email to <security@weechat.org> instead.

=== Required info

When reporting https://github.com/weechat/weechat/issues[issues] on GitHub,
please include:

* Your *WeeChat version*: the output of `/v` in WeeChat, for example:
  _WeeChat 1.7-dev (git: v1.6-6-g997f47f)_. +
  If WeeChat does not start at all, please include the version displayed by
  `weechat --help` (or the version installed with your package manager).
* Your *operating system*: its name and version (examples: Linux Debian Bookworm,
  FreeBSD 13.0, Windows/Cygwin 64-bit, Windows/Ubuntu 64-bit...).
* The *steps to reproduce*: if possible, please include a reproducible example:
  explain the steps which led you to the problem. +
  It's even better if you can reproduce the problem with a new config (and no
  scripts loaded): try `weechat --dir /tmp/weechat` and check if you have the
  problem here.
* The *gdb's backtrace* (only for a crash): if you can reproduce the crash
  (or if you have a core file), please include the backtrace from gdb (look at
  https://weechat.org/doc/weechat/user/#report_crashes[User's guide] for more info).
* The *actual result*.
* The *expected result*: the correct result you are expecting.

[IMPORTANT]
Most of times, the WeeChat crash log file (_weechat_crash_YYYYMMDD_xxx.log_) is
*NOT USEFUL* to fix the bug, so please report this file *ONLY* if a developer
asked you to send it (and be extremely careful, this file can contain personal
data like passwords and contents of your chats).

=== Scripts related issues

If you are using scripts, they can cause problems/crashes. To check if the
problem is related to one script, try to unload them one by one (using
command `/script unload <name>`).

Many issues reported are in fact related to bugs in scripts, so please first
check that before reporting any issue on WeeChat itself.

If you think the problem comes from a specific script, please report the issue
in the https://github.com/weechat/scripts/issues[scripts git repository]
instead.

== Translations

Pull requests on GitHub for fixes or new translations are welcome at any
time, for https://github.com/weechat/weechat[WeeChat] and the website
https://github.com/weechat/weechat.org[weechat.org].

To start a translation in a new language (not yet supported), please look at
https://weechat.org/doc/weechat/dev/#translations[translations]
in Developer's guide.

== Feature requests

WeeChat is under active development, so your idea may already have been
implemented, or scheduled for a future version (you can check in
https://weechat.org/dev/[roadmap] or
https://github.com/weechat/weechat/milestones[milestones] on GitHub.

Pull requests on GitHub are welcome for minor new features.

For major new features, it's better to discuss about it in IRC
(server: _irc.libera.chat_, channel _#weechat_).

Before submitting any pull request, be sure you have read the
https://weechat.org/doc/weechat/dev/#coding_rules[coding rules]
in Developer's guide, which contains info about styles used, naming convention
and other useful info.

== Semantic versioning

Since version 4.0.0, WeeChat is following a "practical" semantic versioning.

It is based on https://semver.org/[Semantic Versioning] but in a less strict way: breaking changes in API with low user impact don't bump the major version.

The version number is on three digits `X.Y.Z`, where:

* `X` is the major version
* `Y` is the minor version
* `Z` is the patch version.

Rules to increment the version number:

* the *major version* number (`X`) is incremented only when intentional breaking changes target feature areas that are actively consumed by users, scripts or C plugin API
* the *minor version* number (`Y`) is incremented for any new release of WeeChat that includes new features and bug fixes, possibly breaking API with low impact on users
* the *patch version* number (`Z`) is reserved for releases that address severe bugs or security issues found after the release.

For more information, see the https://specs.weechat.org/specs/2023-003-practical-semantic-versioning.html[specification].