# New Contributor Checklist

This guide summarizes the steps needed to get up and running as a contributor to Mojaloop. They needn't be completed all in one sitting, but by the end of the checklist, you should have learned a good deal about Mojaloop, and be prepared to contribute to the community.

# 1. Tools & Documentation

• Make sure you have a GitHub account already, or sign up for an account here (opens new window)

• Join the slack community at the self-invite link (opens new window), and join the following channels:

  • #announcements - Announcements for new Releases and QA Status
  • #design-authority - Questions + Discussion around Mojaloop Design
  • #general - General discussion about Mojaloop
  • #help-mojaloop - Ask for help with installing or running Mojaloop
  • #ml-oss-bug-triage - Discussion and triage for new bugs and issues

• Say hi! Feel free to give a short introduction of yourself to the community on the #general channel.

• Review the Git workflow guide (opens new window) and ensure you are familiar with git.

  • Further reading: Introduction to Github workflow (opens new window)

• Familiarize yourself with our standard coding style: https://standardjs.com/

• Browse through the Mojaloop Documentation (opens new window) and get a basic understanding of how the technology works.

• Go through the Developer Tools Guide (opens new window) to get the necessary developer tools up and running on your local environment.

• (Optional) Get the Central-Ledger up and running on local machines:

  • https://github.com/mojaloop/central-ledger/blob/master/Onboarding.md
  • https://github.com/mojaloop/ml-api-adapter/blob/master/Onboarding.md

• (Optional:) Run an entire switch yourself with Kubernetes https://mojaloop.io/documentation/deployment-guide/ (note: if running locally, your Kubernetes cluster will need 8GB or more of RAM)

# 2. Finding an Issue

• Review the good-first-issue (opens new window) list on mojaloop/project (opens new window), to find a good issue to start working on. Alternatively, reach out to the community on Slack at #general to ask for help to find an issue.

• Leave a comment on the issue asking for it to be assigned to you -- this helps make sure we don't duplicate work. As always, reach out to us on Slack if you have any questions or concerns.

• Fork the relevant repos for the issue, clone and create a new branch for the issue

  • Refer to our Git User Guide (opens new window) if you get lost

# 3. Opening your First PR

Complete this part of the guide once you have been added to the Mojaloop GitHub organization. If you don't have access, reach out to us on the #general or #help-mojaloop

• Sign up for Zenhub (opens new window), and connect it to the Mojaloop Organisation, Search for the 'project' workspace

• Install the Zenhub Browser extension (opens new window) for Chrome or Firefox, and browse the (Mojaloop Project Kanban board](https://github.com/mojaloop/project#zenhub)

• When your branch is ready for review, open a new pull request from your repository back into the mojaloop project.

  Note: if the CI/CD pipelines don't run, this may be because your Github account isn't added to the Mojaloop repo

• Ensure the following:

  • A good description of the feature/bugfix you implemented
  • The PR is assigned to yourself
  • You have assigned two or more reviewers. GitHub often has suggested reviewers, but if you don't know who to assign, feel free to ask whoever created the issue.

• (Optional) Post a link to your PR on the #ml-oss-devs channel in Slack so everyone can share in the fun

# 4. Signing the CLA

After you open your first PR, our CI/CD pipelines will ask you to sign the CLA. For more information on what the CLA is and how to sign it, see Signing the CLA