# Every Contribution Makes a Difference

We welcome contributions of any kind, including blog posts, tutorials, testing, writing documentation, and pull requests. Our [Developer Guide](https://docs.photoprism.app/developer-guide/) contains all the information necessary for you to get started.

## Join the Community ##

Follow us on [Twitter](https://link.photoprism.app/twitter) and join the [Community Chat](https://link.photoprism.app/chat)
to get regular updates, connect with other contributors, and discuss your ideas.
Our [Code of Conduct](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md) explains the "dos and don’ts."

An important part of our journey is to explore new directions in product development and build better software through consistent use of feedback.

Feel free to [contact us](https://photoprism.app/contact) with anything that is on your mind, even if you just want to say hello. It is our goal to answer all questions we receive from our users, customers, partners, and the developer community. Our team also welcomes feedback if you believe something can or should be improved.

## Not a Developer? No Problem ##

You can also contribute by...

* answering questions in the [Community Chat](https://link.photoprism.app/chat), on [Reddit](https://link.photoprism.app/reddit) and in [GitHub Discussions](https://link.photoprism.app/discussions)
* helping us [translate](https://docs.photoprism.app/developer-guide/translations-weblate/) the Web UI
* [conducting research](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3Aresearch) and [improving the documentation](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3Adocs)
* publishing tutorials, blog posts, and podcasts
* voting for us on pages like:
  * https://alternativeto.net/software/photoprism/about/
  * https://www.saashub.com/google-photos-alternatives
* recommending PhotoPrism to your friends

## Creating Bug Reports ##

Before reporting a bug, please use our [Troubleshooting Checklists](https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/troubleshooting/)
to determine the cause of your problem. If you have a general question, need help, or an issue has not
(yet) been clearly identified:

- You are welcome to ask in our [Community Chat](https://link.photoprism.app/chat)
- or post your question in [GitHub Discussions](https://link.photoprism.app/discussions

### GitHub Issues ###

We kindly ask you not to report bugs via GitHub Issues **unless you are certain to have found a fully reproducible and previously unreported issue** that must be fixed directly in [our source code](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism). Thank you for your careful consideration!

- When reporting a problem, always include the software versions you are using and other information about your environment such as [browser, browser plugins](https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/troubleshooting/browsers/), operating system, [storage type](https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/troubleshooting/performance/#storage), [memory size](https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/troubleshooting/performance/#memory), and [processor](https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/troubleshooting/performance/#server-cpu)
- Note that all issue **subscribers receive an email notification** from GitHub for each new comment, so these should only be used for sharing important information and not for personal discussions/questions
- [Contact us](https://photoprism.app/contact) or [a community member](https://link.photoprism.app/discussions) if you need help, it could be a local configuration problem, or a misunderstanding in how the software works
- This gives our team the opportunity to [improve the docs](https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/troubleshooting/) and provide best-in-class support to you, instead of handling unclear/duplicate bug reports or triggering a flood of notifications by responding to comments

## Submitting Pull Requests ##

Because we want to create the best possible product for our users, we have a [set of criteria](https://docs.photoprism.app/developer-guide/pull-requests#acceptance-criteria) to ensure that all submissions are acceptable.

Follow our [step-by-step guide](https://docs.photoprism.app/developer-guide/pull-requests#how-to-create-and-submit-a-pull-request) to learn how to submit
new features, bug fixes, and documentation improvements. Issues labeled [help wanted](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/labels/help%20wanted) /
[easy](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/labels/easy) can be good (first) contributions.

**Reviewing, testing and finally merging pull requests requires significant resources on our side. If it's not just a small fix, it can take several months.**

## Contributor License Agreement (CLA) ##

After you submit your first pull request, you will be asked to accept our Contributor License Agreement (CLA). Visit [photoprism.app/cla](https://photoprism.app/cla) to learn more.

## Privacy Notice ##

We operate a number of web services that help us develop and maintain our software in collaboration with the open source community, such as Weblate hosted at [translate.photoprism.app](https://translate.photoprism.app/) to keep translations up to date.

Because many of these apps and tools were originally developed for internal use without a high level of privacy in mind, we ask that you do not enter personal information such as your real name or personal email address if you want it to remain private.

**Be aware that such information may unexpectedly show up in logs, source code, translation files, commit messages, and pull request comments.**

----

*PhotoPrism® is a [registered trademark](https://photoprism.app/trademark). By using the software and services we provide, you agree to our [Terms of Service](https://photoprism.app/terms), [Privacy Policy](https://photoprism.app/privacy), and [Code of Conduct](https://photoprism.app/code-of-conduct). Docs are [available](https://link.photoprism.app/github-docs) under the [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/); [additional terms](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism/blob/develop/assets/README.md) may apply.*
