# Contribute

Eclim is a project developed entirely in my spare time, so its growth and success can be directly impacted by contributions from the community. There are several ways in which you can contribute:

1. Documentation: The documentation can always use improvements. Right now it is written entirely by me, and as such, it may not be as detailed in some areas as it should. What the documentation could really use is some help from its users:

   - Point out any grammar or spelling errors, since some always manage to slip through.
   - Point out areas of the documentation that are vague and could use elaboration.
   - Write new guides to be included in the “Guides” section of the site.

2. Bug Reports: Some people are a bit shy about speaking up and reporting bugs. I want to urge people not to be. If something doesn’t work, report it. It may be a bug, but even if it is just a configuration issue on your end, a misconception on how you thought it should work, or some other quirk specific to your environment, speak up. These can signal that some scripts may need to validate or account for some aspect of the user’s environment, or that the documentation may need some work to ensure the user knows what to expect. Any issue that goes unreported, goes unfixed, so please report all issues, big and small.

3. Feature Requests: On occasion I receive a request or two, but I would like to encourage more people to voice their opinion on what they think should be added or changed in eclim. Once again, nothing is too small to suggest. Chances are, that if you have something that you would like added or changed, there are others out there that would benefit from the same addition or modification.

   To see what features I have already thought about, you can view my todo list.

4. Code Contributions: In addition to reporting bugs or requesting features, you can also take that next step and implement a fix or feature yourself. I just ask that you document your patch accordingly so that I know exactly what you are attempting to fix or add. Also, if you plan to add a medium or large feature, please let me know prior to beginning your work. That way I can keep a small list of who is working on what to avoid any duplication of effort and link people together that wish to work on the same feature. The list would also afford me the ability to contact you should a change to eclim possibly affect what you are working on. If you plan on making any code contributes, please read the developer guide first.

5. Monetary Contributions: I am not currently accepting any donations. My day job pays well, and I work on eclim for the love of it. If you have money you would like to donate, it would go to much better use if you donated to vim, where it is used to help children in Uganda. Feel free to mention your referral from eclim if appropriate.