How do I get started with contributing?

As I’m new to the codebase, I wanted to work on fixing bugs that are not on the critical path. Following https://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Bug_Lists#Documentation_Bugs.2FTo-Dos_for_the_Manual, I went to Bugzilla and found that I can’t make an account to indicate I want to work on a bug.

Hi dariustan,

There’s generally no need to “allocate” bugs as there’s plenty to go round :wink:

Is there a particular bug that you are interested in tackling?
How would you describe your current level of experience with C++?

Have you successfully built the current development source code? That’s the best place to start.
The source code is here: https://github.com/audacity/audacity
The latest build instructions are here: https://github.com/audacity/audacity/blob/master/BUILDING.md
TOP TIP: Do not skip steps.

There are some resources for developers on the Audacity wiki: https://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/For_Developers

Is there a particular bug that you are interested in tackling?

Not any in particular. Fixing bugs is a great way to gain familiarity with the codebase!

How would you describe your current level of experience with C++?

Somewhere between beginner to intermediate. I’m missing experience with large C/C++ codebases at the moment.

Have you successfully built the current development source code? That’s the best place to start.

Yup that was straightforward!

Cool :sunglasses:

If you pick any of the older bugs, or bugs rated as P3 or lower, then the chances are that you will have the bug to yourself.
P1 and P2 bugs are probably being worked on already. P1 bugs MUST be fixed before a release, and P2 bugs are only allowed through at the discretion of the release manager (generally fixed before a release unless getting out a P1 fix is of overriding importance).

Note about code contributions:
I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice, but this is my understanding having spoken at length with members of the Audacity team.

Audacity now requires code contributors to agree to a contributor license agreement. The reason for this is that much of Audacity is currently licensed under the ancient GPL v2, but in order to implement some much requested features (such as VST3 support, which is GPLv3) will require updates to Audacity’s licensing. Other much requested features that may require tweaks to the license include making Audacity available through Microsoft Store and Apple Store (this is becoming increasingly important for Mac users), and integrating cool libraries for “audio source separation”. Important: Audacity will forever be open source!

It is clearly impractical to have to track down everyone that has ever or will ever contribute code every time a tweak to the open source license is required, hence the contributor license agreement (CLA) that gives Audacity the right to tweak the open source license for Audacity as a whole, rather than as hundreds of separate contributions.

The CLA does not affect contributors “copyright”. Copyright still belongs entirely with individual contributors. It is also a “non-exclusive” agreement, meaning that you have full rights to reuse your own code for any purpose under any license terms that you choose. The CLA also does not apply to third party libraries or “loadable modules”.

The current version of Audacity’s contributor license agreement is available here.

If you pick any of the older bugs, or bugs rated as P3 or lower, then the chances are that you will have the bug to yourself.
P1 and P2 bugs are probably being worked on already. P1 bugs MUST be fixed before a release, and P2 bugs are only allowed through at the discretion of the release manager (generally fixed before a release unless getting out a P1 fix is of overriding importance).

Awesome, thanks for the swift reply!

Two thoughts:

  1. There is an Audacity-development channel on discord that you may wish to join: https://discord.gg/qzPfgXnv

  2. When browsing Bugzilla, Mac specific bugs tend to receive less attention that those for Windows.

There is an Audacity-development channel on discord that you may wish to join: > Discord

Thanks, I just joined!

When browsing Bugzilla, Mac specific bugs tend to receive less attention that those for Windows.

:smiling_imp:

The invitation is now invalid, could it become permanent?

I don’t know much about discord, but it seems that it is a private channel. I’ve not found any information about their joining policy.
Perhaps ask “Tantacrul” as he says that he is now in charge of Audacity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMWNvwLiXIQ

No. All of the links expire. Try this one: Discord