# How to Contribute to crosvm
## How to report bugs
We use Google issue tracker. Please use
[the public crosvm component](https://issuetracker.google.com/issues?q=status:open%20componentid:1161302).
**For Googlers**: See [go/crosvm#filing-bugs](https://goto.google.com/crosvm#filing-bugs).
## Contributing code
### Gerrit Account
You need to set up a user account with [gerrit](https://chromium-review.googlesource.com/). Once
logged in, you can obtain
[HTTP Credentials](https://chromium-review.googlesource.com/settings/#HTTPCredentials) to set up git
to upload changes.
Once set up, run `./tools/cl` to install the gerrit commit message hook. This will insert a unique
"Change-Id" into all commit messages so gerrit can identify changes. Even warning messages appear,
the message hook will be installed.
### Contributor License Agreement
Contributions to this project must be accompanied by a Contributor License Agreement (CLA). You (or
your employer) retain the copyright to your contribution; this simply gives us permission to use and
redistribute your contributions as part of the project. Head over to
to see your current agreements on file or to sign a new one.
You generally only need to submit a CLA once, so if you've already submitted one (even if it was for
a different project), you probably don't need to do it again.
### Commit Messages
As for commit messages, we follow
[ChromeOS's guideline](https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-library/guides/development/contributing/#commit-messages)
in general.
Here is an example of a good commit message:
```
devices: vhost: user: vmm: Add Connection type
This abstracts away the cross-platform differences:
cfg(any(target_os = "android", target_os = "linux")) uses a Unix
domain domain stream socket to connect to the vhost-user backend, and
cfg(windows) uses a Tube.
BUG=b:249361790
TEST=tools/presubmit --all
Change-Id: I47651060c2ce3a7e9f850b7ed9af8bd035f82de6
```
- The first line is a subject that starts with a tag that represents which components your commit
relates to. Tags are usually the name of the crate you modified such as `devices:` or `base:`. If
you only modified a specific component in a crate, you can specify the path to the component as a
tag like `devices: vhost: user:`. If your commit modified multiple crates, specify the crate where
your main change exists. The subject should be no more than 50 characters, including any tags.
- The body should consist of a motivation followed by an impact/action. The body text should be
wrapped to 72 characters.
- `BUG` lines are used to specify an associated issue number. If the issue is filed at
[Google's issue tracker](https://issuetracker.google.com/), write `BUG=b:`. If no
issue is associated, write `BUG=None`. You can have multiple `BUG` lines.
- `TEST` lines are used to describe how you tested your commit in a free form. You can have multiple
`TEST` lines.
- `Change-Id` is used to identify your change on Gerrit. It's inserted by the gerrit commit message
hook as explained in
[the previous section](https://crosvm.dev/book/contributing/index.html#gerrit-account). If a new
commit is uploaded with the same `Change-Id` as an existing CL's `Change-Id`, gerrit will
recognize the new commit as a new patchset of the existing CL.
### Uploading changes
To make changes to crosvm, start your work on a new branch tracking `origin/main`.
```bash
git checkout -b myfeature --track origin/main
```
After making the necessary changes, and testing them via
[Presubmit Checks](https://crosvm.dev/book/building_crosvm/linux.html#presubmit-checks), you can
commit and upload them:
```bash
git commit
./tools/cl upload
```
If you need to revise your change, you can amend the existing commit and upload again:
```bash
git commit --amend
./tools/cl upload
```
This will create a new version of the same change in gerrit.
If the branch contains multiple commits, each one will be uploaded as a separate review, and they
will be linked in Gerrit as [related changes]. You may revise any commit in a branch using tools
like `git rebase` and then re-upload the whole series with `./tools/cl upload` when `HEAD` is
pointing to the tip of the branch.
> Note: We don't accept any pull requests on the [GitHub mirror].
### Getting Reviews
All submissions needs to be reviewed by one of the [crosvm owners]. Use the gerrit UI to request a
review and add crosvm-reviews@google.com to assign to a random owner.
If you run into issues with reviews, reach out to the team via
[chat](https://matrix.to/#/#crosvm:matrix.org) or
[email list](https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/g/crosvm-dev).
**For Googlers**: see [go/crosvm-chat](https://goto.google.com/crosvm-chat).
#### Any change to Cargo.lock
When adding a new crate from crates.io, additional review is required to ensure that the crate meets
the crosvm project standards. This review is provided by the members of `OWNERS_COUNCIL`.
Unfortunately, our tooling cannot tell the difference between adding an external crate and changing
dependencies within crosvm (e.g. `devices` depending on a new internal crosvm utility crate). For
those cases, a rubberstamp is still needed from `OWNERS_COUNCIL`.
**For Googlers**: see [go/crosvm/3p_crates](https://goto.google.com/crosvm/3p_crates).
### Reviewing code (for OWNERS)
We have two major types of reviewers on the project:
1. Global OWNERS: these folks are broadly responsible for the health of the crosvm project, and have
expertise in multiple project subdomains. While they can technically approve any change, they
will often delegate to area OWNERS when a change is outside their expertise.
1. Area OWNERS: experts in a particular subdomain of the project (e.g. graphics, USB, etc). Major
changes in an area SHOULD be reviewed by an area OWNER, if one exists (not all subdomains have
OWNERS).
All owners are expected to review code in their areas, and to aim for the following goals in
reviews:
- Reply to reviews within 1 working day. If this is infeasible (especially if overloaded), reassign
to crosvm-reviews@ to pick another OWNER at random.
- Defer to the [styleguide](./coding_style.md) where it makes sense to do so. Update the styleguide
when it does not.
- Strive to avoid reviews getting stuck in endless back & forth. If you see this happening, you can:
- Schedule a meeting to discuss it online. Consider inviting another OWNER to help brainstorm
solutions.
- Bring the review discussion to the hallway chat to let the group weigh in.
- Follow generally accepted practices for good code review
- Technically: We insist on good documentation, clean APIs especially when broadly consumed, and
generally keep code health in mind.
- Socially: Our goal, above all else, is to be good peers to each other. So we review *code*, not
*authors*. We remember to disagree respectfully, and that a code review is a team effort (author
and reviewer) against a hard technical problem.
### Submitting code
Crosvm uses a Commit Queue, which will run pre-submit testing on all changes before merging them
into crosvm.
Once one of the [crosvm owners] has voted "Code-Review+2" on your change, you can use the "Submit to
CQ" button, which will trigger the test process.
Gerrit will show any test failures. Refer to
[Building Crosvm](https://crosvm.dev/book/building_crosvm/) for information on how to run the same
tests locally.
Each individual change in a patch series must build and pass the tests. If you are working on a
series of related changes, ensure that each incremental commit does not cause test regressions or
break the build if it is merged without the later changes in the series. For example, an
intermediate change must not trigger any unused code warnings or cause test failures that are fixed
by later changes in the series.
When all tests pass, your change is merged into `origin/main`.
## Contributing to the documentation
[The book of crosvm] is built with [mdBook]. Each markdown file must follow
[Google Markdown style guide].
To render the book locally, you need to install mdbook and [mdbook-mermaid], which should be
installed when you run `./tools/install-deps` script. Or you can use the `tools/dev_container`
environment.
```sh
cd docs/book/
mdbook build
```
Output is found at `docs/book/book/html/`.
To format markdown files, run `./tools/fmt` in the `dev_container`.
[crosvm owners]: https://chromium.googlesource.com/crosvm/crosvm/+/HEAD/OWNERS
[github mirror]: https://github.com/google/crosvm
[google markdown style guide]: https://github.com/google/styleguide/blob/gh-pages/docguide/style.md
[mdbook]: https://rust-lang.github.io/mdBook/
[mdbook-mermaid]: https://github.com/badboy/mdbook-mermaid
[related changes]: https://gerrit-review.googlesource.com/Documentation/user-review-ui.html#related-changes
[the book of crosvm]: https://crosvm.dev/book/