Simple Contribution Flow
This guide explains how to contribute effectively to AsyncAPI. It guides you through the contribution process and provides a checklist to ensure high-quality contributions.
Making a Contribution
We welcome your contributions to AsyncAPI, whether you have suggestions, improvements, or new ideas.
At AsyncAPI, we value quality over quantity. This guide will help you make meaningful contributions that benefit the community.
Types of Contributions
Contrary to popular belief, contributions are not limited to code. At AsyncAPI, we encourage contributions in all areas of the project. Below is a table of contributions you can make:
| Emoji | Contribution Area | Examples & How to Get Started |
|---|---|---|
| 💻 | Code | Fix bugs, add features, refactor code, improve performance. See good first issues or open an issue. |
| 📖 | Documentation | Improve docs, fix typos, clarify guides, update README. Check docs issues or suggest changes directly. |
| 🐛 | Bug Reports | Report bugs, help reproduce issues, suggest fixes. Open a bug issue. |
| ⚠️ | Tests | Add or improve tests, increase coverage, verify fixes. |
| 🎨 | Design | Propose UI/UX improvements, contribute graphics, review design discussions. |
| 💬 | Answering Questions | Answer questions on Slack or GitHub Issues, help new contributors, provide mentorship. |
| 📝 | Blogposts | Write blog posts for AsyncAPI's blog. |
| 📆 | Project Management | Triage issues and organize tasks and workflows, help with releases. |
| 🌍 | Translation | Translate documentation or resources into other languages. |
| 📣 | Promotion | Promote AsyncAPI whether it's social media and personal blogs |
| 🚧 | Maintenance | Help with repository upkeep, update dependencies, improve workflows, manage CI/CD. |
| 👀 | Review | Review PRs, give feedback, help maintain code quality. |
| 🚇 | Infrastructure | Improve build tools, deployment scripts, or automation. |
| 🔌 | Plugin/Tool Creation | Develop plugins, integrations, or tools for AsyncAPI ecosystem. |
| 🛡️ | Security | Identify and/or reduce security threats and improve the privacy of AsyncAPI whether it's the tools themselves and/or the repositories |
| 👀 | Reviewed Pull Requests | Review fellow contributors' pull requests. |
| 📢 | Talks | Participate in AsyncAPI's conferences as a presenter |
| 🤔 | Ideas & Planning | Join our community to share your suggestions to grow AsyncAPI |
| 💡 | Examples | Provide links to examples of AsyncAPI being used in projects |
Before You Start Contributing
- If you are joining AsyncAPI through Slack or an event, take your time to explore the AsyncAPI website.
- Read our Code of Conduct.
- Attend meetings and engage in discussions in the
#11_contributingSlack channel. - Read the documentation to learn more about AsyncAPI.
Before Making a Contribution
- Read the onboarding contributor guide.
- If you are contributing to the community repository, review the documentation onboarding checklist.
- For other repositories, refer to the general contribution guidelines.
- Look through existing issues and pull requests to understand the repository better.
- Check the general roadmap.
Steps to making a good contribution
- Set up your workflow environment using the git workflow guide.
- Search for good first issues.
- When you find one, comment on your interest and share the approach to solving the issue (please don't ask to be assigned, as it could be flagged as spam).
- If you noticed a bug, typo, or needed improvement, feel free to create an issue.
- Make a PR only after a maintainer assigned the issue to you or asks you to work on it even if you created the issue yourself.
- Follow the conventional commits guide to write a good PR title.
- Follow the git workflow document when working on your changes and making a PR.
- After making a PR, patiently wait for reviews.
- Make sure all your PR checks pass (turn green) to speed up the merging process.
- If your PR hasn’t been reviewed after a week and a half, you can gently remind a maintainer on Slack or GitHub. Delays can happen for various reasons, but no one is ignoring you! 🙏🏼 .
Important Contribution Rules
To help maintain a welcoming and productive environment, we have outlined a few important contribution rules that all contributors, especially new ones, must follow.
These rules are here to help you succeed and to support the maintainers and community as we all work together. Not following them can lead to consequences, such as being blocked from submitting PRs or being removed from the community.
✅ What You Should Always Do
- Be patient. Maintainers are volunteers with their jobs, families, and responsibilities. It may take time for your PR or issue to be reviewed.
- Use the right Slack channels. If you're unsure where to post, ask politely or take a moment to check.
- Keep Slack tidy. Use threads for conversations, avoid tagging
@maintainersunless truly necessary, and don’t spam. - Follow our Slack etiquette and Code of Conduct.
- Respect others. Treat everyone with kindness and patience. We are all here to learn and grow together.
❌ What You Should Never Do
- Ignore essential onboarding materials and contribution guidelines.
- Tag maintainers repeatedly or demand attention.
- Post the same message in multiple places.
- Expect instant replies.
⚠️ What Happens If You Break the Rules
We're friendly and welcoming, but we also value focus and respect. If rules are ignored:
- You may be muted or temporarily removed from Slack.
- Repeated behavior could lead to permanent removal from the community.
- PRs or issues may be closed or rejected if the behavior affects maintainers or the community.
These rules are not meant to scare anyone - they're here to make sure everyone can enjoy a healthy and respectful space. When in doubt, be thoughtful, ask questions politely, and refer to our onboarding and etiquette docs.
Let's keep AsyncAPI a community where people enjoy contributing. 👏🏼
Contribution Checklist
Before submitting your contribution, ask yourself:
- Is my contribution relevant to AsyncAPI?
- Have I explained why this contribution is necessary?
- Is my writing clear, concise, and well-structured?
- Did I follow the documentation style guide?
- Have my code examples been tested, and are they functional?
- Have I linked any relevant issues, discussions, or existing docs?
- Did I provide a description of the changes in my PR?
- Am I open to feedback and revisions?
If you answered yes to all these questions, you are ready to submit your PR or create an issue! 🚀
