docs/source/developers/guide/index.rst
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.. SCOPE OF THIS SECTION .. Make an introduction to the Guide for New Contributors. .. Add an introduction to the project, why to get involved .. and a quick checklist of the contributing process. .. Add the Table of Contents. All detailed explanations .. should be added as a link in the content.
.. _guide-introduction:
New Contributor's Guide
This guide is a resource for contributing to Apache Arrow for new contributors.
No matter what your current skills are, you can try and make your first time contribution to Arrow.
Starting to contribute to a project like Apache Arrow can be intimidating. Taking small steps will make this task easier.
There can be various reasons why you might want to contribute to Arrow:
You find the project interesting and would like to try making a contribution to learn more about the library and grow your skills.
You use Arrow in a project you are working on and you would like to implement a new feature or fix a bug you encountered.
Read more about the project in the :ref:architectural_overview section.
.. note::
Contributors at Apache Arrow are following ASF's
Code of Conduct <https://www.apache.org/foundation/policies/conduct.html>_.
.. _quick-ref-guide:
Here are the basic steps needed to get set up and contribute to Arrow. This is meant both as a checklist and also to provide an overall picture of the process.
For complete instructions please follow :ref:step_by_step (a
step-by-step guide) or R and Python :ref:tutorial-index for an example
of adding a basic feature.
#. Install and set up Git, and fork the Arrow repository
See detailed instructions on how to :ref:set-up Git and fork the
Arrow repository.
#. Build Arrow
Arrow libraries include a wide range of functionalities and may require
the installation of third-party packages, depending on which build
options and components you enable. The C++ build guide
has suggestions for commonly encountered issues - you can find it
:ref:here <cpp-development>.
Anytime you are stuck, feel free to reach out via
appropriate :ref:communication channel.
See a short description about the building process of
:ref:PyArrow or the R package<build-arrow-guide> or go straight to detailed
instructions on how to build one of Arrow libraries in the
documentation <https://arrow.apache.org/docs/>_ .
#. Run the tests
We should run the tests to check if everything is working correctly. For example, you can run the tests from a terminal for Python
.. code-block:: console
$ pytest pyarrow
or in R console for R
.. code-block:: R
devtools::test()
See also the section on :ref:testing.
#. Find an issue (if needed), create a new branch and work on the problem
Finding an issue
You might already have a bug to fix in mind, or a new feature that you want to
implement. But if you don't and you need an issue to work on, then you may need
help finding it. Read through the :ref:finding-issues section to get some ideas.
Finding your way through the project
The first step when starting a new project is the hardest and so we've wrote some guides to help you with this.
You can start by reading through :ref:arrow-codebase section.
Communication
Communication is very important. You may need some help solving problems you encounter on the way (this happens to developers all the time). Also, if you have a GitHub issue you want to solve, then it is advisable to let the team know you are working on it and may need some help.
See possible channels of :ref:communication.
#. Once you implemented the planned fix or feature, write and run tests for it
See detailed instructions on how to :ref:test <testing>. Also run the linter
to make sure the code is :ref:styled <styling> correctly before proceeding
to the next step!
#. Push the branch on your fork and create a Pull Request
See detailed instructions on :ref:create_pr. If you have used AI tools
to help generate your contribution, please also read our guidance on
:ref:ai-generated-code.
If you are ready you can start with building Arrow or choose to follow
one of the :ref:tutorial-index on writing an R binding or Python feature.
There are lots of ways to contribute to the project besides writing code!
Improving the documentation is a great way to start contributing!
For more information visit :ref:documentation section of the guide.
Apache Arrow Cookbooks are a collection of recipes for solving various problems
and completing different tasks using Apache Arrow. They are also a great way to start
contributing. For more information visit
How to contribute to Apache Arrow Cookbook <https://github.com/apache/arrow-cookbook/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md>_
located in the Apache Arrow Cookbook repository.
You are also welcome to take a look at :ref:other-resources section.
We want to encourage everyone to contribute to Arrow!
.. toctree:: :maxdepth: 3
architectural_overview communication step_by_step/index documentation tutorials/index resources