# How can I contribute?

GPJax welcomes contributions from interested individuals or groups. There are many ways to contribute, including:

# Code of conduct

As a contributor to GPJax, you can help us keep the community open and inclusive. Please read and follow our [Code of Conduct](https://github.com/JaxGaussianProcesses/GPJax/blob/master/.github/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md).

# Opening issues and getting support

Please open issues on [Github Issue Tracker](https://github.com/JaxGaussianProcesses/GPJax/issues/new/choose). Here you can mention

You can ask a question or start a discussion in the [Discussion section](https://github.com/JaxGaussianProcesses/GPJax/discussions) on Github.

# Contributing to the source code

Submitting code contributions to GPJax is done via a [GitHub pull request](https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/proposing-changes-to-your-work-with-pull-requests/about-pull-requests). Our preferred workflow is to first fork the [GitHub repository](https://github.com/JaxGaussianProcesses/GPJax), clone it to your local machine, and develop on a _feature branch_. Once you’re happy with your changes, install our pre-commit hooks, commit and push your code.

New to this? Don’t panic, our [guide](#step-by-step-guide) below will walk you through every detail!

!!! attention “Note”

Before opening a pull request we recommend you check our [pull request checklist](#pull-request-checklist).

## Step-by-step guide:

  1. Click [here](https://github.com/JaxGaussianProcesses/GPJax/fork) to Fork GPJax’s

codebase (alternatively, click the ‘Fork’ button towards the top right of the [main repository page](https://github.com/JaxGaussianProcesses/GPJax)). This adds a copy of the codebase to your GitHub user account.

  1. Clone your GPJax fork from your GitHub account to your local disk, and add

the base repository as a remote: `bash $ git clone git@github.com:<your GitHub handle>/GPJax.git $ cd GPJax $ git remote add upstream git@github.com:GPJax.git `

  1. Create a feature branch to hold your development changes:

`bash $ git checkout -b my-feature ` Always use a feature branch. It’s good practice to avoid work on the main branch of any repository.

  1. Project requirements are in requirements.txt. We suggest using a

[virtual environment](https://docs.python-guide.org/dev/virtualenvs/) for development. Once the virtual environment is activated, run:

`bash $ pip install -e . $ pip install -r requirements-dev.txt `

  1. Install the pre-commit hooks.

`bash $ pre-commit install `

Please ensure you have done this before committing any files. If successful, this will print the following output pre-commit installed at .git/hooks/pre-commit.

  1. Add changed files using git add and then git commit files to record your

changes locally:

`bash $ git add modified_files $ git commit ` After committing, it is a good idea to sync with the base repository in case there have been any changes:

`bash $ git fetch upstream $ git rebase upstream/main `

Then push the changes to your GitHub account with:

`bash $ git push -u origin my-feature `

  1. Go to the GitHub web page of your fork of the GPJax repo. Click the ‘Pull

request’ button to send your changes to the project’s maintainers for review.

## Pull request checklist

We welcome both complete or “work in progress” pull requests. Before opening one, we recommended you check the following guidelines to ensure a smooth review process.

My contribution is a “work in progress”:

Please prefix the title of incomplete contributions with [WIP] (to indicate a work in progress). WIPs are useful to:

  1. Indicate you are working on something to avoid duplicated work.

  2. Request broad review of functionality or API.

  3. Seek collaborators.

In the description of the pull request, we recommend you outline where work needs doing. For example, do some tests need writing?

My contribution is complete:

If addressing an issue, please use the pull request title to describe the issue and mention the issue number in the pull request description. This will make sure a link back to the original issue is created. Then before making your pull request, we recommend you check the following:

  • Do all public methods have informative docstrings that describe their

function, input(s) and output(s)? - Do the tests pass when everything is rebuilt from scratch? - Documentation and high-coverage tests are necessary for enhancements to be accepted. Test coverage can be checked with:

`bash $ pip install -r requirements-dev.txt $ pytest tests --cov=./ --cov-report=html `

Navigate to the newly created folder htmlcov and open index.html to view the coverage report.

This guide was derived from [PyMC’s guide to contributing](https://github.com/pymc-devs/pymc/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md).