Contributing to Gentoo

You are welcome to contribute to Gentoo, even when you have just started using it.

User contributions are what makes Gentoo run; and because we live in a dynamic world, there is always room for improvement.

There are many different topics for you to explore; thus, that brings us to the question: Which topic is of your interest?

Support the community
You can help users in various support mediums:


 * Answer unanswered questions, share how you solved a problem or discuss on the Gentoo Forums.
 * Join our IRC channels if you prefer direct communication, the main IRC channel for users is #gentoo.
 * Subscribe at our mailing lists, the main mailing list for users is gentoo-user.

Document useful information
Gentoo Wiki gathers much information about Gentoo and the hardware and software that it runs; you are welcome to add and edit articles, to make Gentoo Wiki grow:


 * Start a new wiki article to document a new subject, knowledge or package.
 * Improve existing documentation by clicking Edit at the top right of an article.

Report and resolve bugs
Gentoo Bugzilla is the place where we track bugs of Gentoo and its packages; you are welcome to report, confirm and resolve bugs:


 * Report a bug at our Gentoo Bugzilla whenever you come across an error, flaw, failure or fault; Bugzilla HOWTO provides more in-depth information when you need to provide more details.
 * Confirm open bugs by reproducing them, this helps consolidate the cause as well as highlight severe bugs.
 * Offer solutions for open bugs; patches, ebuilds and links to upstream (or other distribution) bug reports are welcome.
 * Participate in our monthly Bugday, squashing bugs together with Gentoo Developers.

Maintain and test packages
The Portage tree is the heart of Gentoo; it is important to keep it alive and kicking, and that's why contributions to it are very valuable.

If you want to become a Gentoo Developer, or instead just do occasional commits to either the Portage tree or an overlay; writing ebuilds is what makes building and installing a package in a managed way on a Gentoo system possible.

After the first steps, you can read our Development Guide to learn more.

When you want to add a new package, update an existing one or find new packages to contribute to; these resources are for you:


 * Report version bumps for existing packages at our Gentoo Bugzilla.
 * Submit a new package for the Portage tree; when you want to maintain that new package, contact the proxy maintainers.
 * Join the sunrise-project, an excellent way to learn about Gentoo Development and work together with other users.
 * Proxy-maintain some of our abandoned packages.
 * Become an arch tester; for instance, check out the arch teams x86 and amd64.
 * Become a Gentoo Developer and join one or more of the many herds to work on a project in your interest.