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Choosing an issue to work on

So you want to contribute to Element Web? That is awesome!

If you're not sure where to start, make sure you read CONTRIBUTING.md, and the Development and Setting up a dev environment sections of the README.

Maybe you've got something specific you'd like to work on? If so, make sure you create an issue and discuss it with the developers before you put a lot of time into it.

If you're looking for inspiration on where to start, keep reading!

Finding a good first issue

All the issues for Element Web live in the element-web repository, including issues that actually need fixing in matrix-react-sdk or one of the related repos.

The first place to look is for issues tagged with "good first issue".

Look through that list and find something that catches your interest. If there is nothing, there, try gently asking in #element-dev:matrix.org for someone to add something.

When you're looking through the list, here are some things that might make an issue a GOOD choice:

  • It is a problem or feature you care about.
  • It concerns a type of code you know a little about.
  • You think you can understand what's needed.
  • It already has approval from Element Web's designers (look for comments from members of the Product or Design teams).

Here are some things that might make it a BAD choice:

  • You don't understand it (maybe add a comment asking a clarifying question).
  • It sounds difficult, or is part of a larger change you don't know about.
  • It is tagged with X-Needs-Design or X-Needs-Product.

Element Web's Design and Product teams tend to be very busy, so if you make changes that require approval from one of those teams, you will probably have to wait a very long time. The kind of change affected by this is changing the way the product works, or how it looks in a specific area.

Finding a good second issue

Once you've fixed a few small things, you can consider taking on something a little larger. This should mostly be driven by what you find interesting, but you may also find the Help Wanted label useful.

Note that the same comment applies as in the previous section: if you want to work in areas that require Design or Product approval, you should look to join existing work that is already designed, as getting approval for your random change will take a very long time.

So you should always avoid issues tagged with X-Needs-Design or X-Needs-Product.

Asking questions

Feel free to ask questions about the issues or how to choose them in the #element-dev:matrix.org Matrix room.

Thank you

Thank you again for contributing to Element Web. We welcome your contributions and are grateful for your work. We find working on it great fun, and we hope you do too!