CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributing to OpenGov Africa

Welcome! All of Africa is thrilled that you're considering contributing to OpenGov Africa. This document outlines our contribution guidelines to help you get started.

Table of Contents

1. Code of Conduct
2. How to Contribute
   • Reporting Issues
   • Proposing Enhancements
   • Submitting Pull Requests
3. Contribution Workflow
4. Style Guidelines
5. Documentation
6. Community and Support

Code of Conduct

By participating in this project, you agree to abide by our Code of Conduct. Please take a moment to read it.

How to Contribute

Reporting Issues

If you encounter a bug or have a feature request, please create an issue in our GitHub repository.

When reporting an issue, please include:

• A clear and descriptive title
• Steps to reproduce the issue
• Expected behavior
• Actual behavior
• Screenshots or logs, if applicable
• Any additional context or information

Proposing Enhancements

We welcome suggestions for new features or improvements. To propose an enhancement, please open an issue in our GitHub repository and provide a detailed description of the enhancement.

Submitting Pull Requests

1. Fork the Repository: Click the "Fork" button at the top of our repository to create a copy in your GitHub account.
2. Clone Your Fork: Clone your forked repository to your local machine.

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/OpenGovAfrica.git
   cd OpenGovAfrica

3. Create a Branch: Create a new branch for your changes.

   git checkout -b your-branch-name

4. Make Your Changes: Implement your changes in the new branch.
5. Commit Your Changes: Commit your changes with a clear and descriptive commit message.

   git add .
   git commit -m "Description of your changes"

6. Push to GitHub: Push your branch to GitHub.

   git push origin your-branch-name

7. Submit a Pull Request: Open a pull request from your branch to the main repository's main branch. Provide a detailed description of your changes.

Contribution Workflow

1. Fork the repository.
2. Clone your fork to your local machine.
3. Create a branch for your work.
4. Make changes and commit them.
5. Push your branch to GitHub.
6. Open a Pull Request in the main repository.

Example Workflow

# Fork the repository and clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/your-username/OpenGovAfrica.git
cd OpenGovAfrica

# Create a branch for your changes
git checkout -b feature-branch

# Make your changes and commit them
git add .
git commit -m "Description of changes"

# Push your branch to GitHub
git push origin feature-branch

# Open a Pull Request

Style Guidelines

Code Style

• Follow PEP 8 for Python code.
• Use meaningful variable and function names.
• Write clear and concise comments where necessary.

Documentation

• Update the relevant documentation for your changes.
• Follow the Markdown Guide for writing Markdown files.
• Ensure documentation is clear, concise, and easy to understand.

JSON Data

• Use clear and consistent naming conventions.
• Validate JSON structure and format.
• Include necessary metadata and context for each entry.

Documentation

We maintain comprehensive documentation to help users and contributors understand and use the project. Please ensure that any changes to the project are accompanied by appropriate updates to the documentation.

Community and Support

Join our community to collaborate, ask questions, and seek support:

• GitHub Issues: For bug reports, feature requests, and enhancements.
• Discussion Forums: OpenGov Africa Discussions
• Social Media: Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Thank You!

Thank you for considering contributing to OpenGov Africa. Your support and contributions are invaluable the African community. Together, we can promote transparency, accountability, and good governance across Africa.