1 ==================================
3 ==================================
6 Thank you for your interest in contributing to LLVM! There are multiple ways to
7 contribute, and we appreciate all contributions. In case you
8 have questions, you can either use the `Forum`_
9 or the #llvm channel on `irc.oftc.net`_.
11 If you want to contribute code, please familiarize yourself with the :doc:`DeveloperPolicy`.
22 If you are working with LLVM and run into a bug, we definitely want to know
23 about it. Please let us know and follow the instructions in
24 :doc:`HowToSubmitABug` to create a bug report.
28 If you are interested in contributing code to LLVM, bugs labeled with the
29 `good first issue`_ keyword in the `bug tracker`_ are a good way to get familiar with
30 the code base. If you are interested in fixing a bug please comment on it to
31 let people know you are working on it.
33 Then try to reproduce and fix the bug with upstream LLVM. Start by building
34 LLVM from source as described in :doc:`GettingStarted` and
35 use the built binaries to reproduce the failure described in the bug. Use
36 a debug build (`-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug`) or a build with assertions
37 (`-DLLVM_ENABLE_ASSERTIONS=On`, enabled for Debug builds).
39 Reporting a Security Issue
40 --------------------------
42 There is a separate process to submit security-related bugs, see :ref:`report-security-issue`.
46 In case you are interested in taking on a bigger piece of work, a list of
47 interesting projects is maintained at the `LLVM's Open Projects page`_. In case
48 you are interested in working on any of these projects, please post on the
49 `Forum`_, so that we know the project is being worked on.
55 Once you have a patch ready, it is time to submit it. The patch should:
57 * include a small unit test
58 * conform to the :doc:`CodingStandards`. You can use the `clang-format-diff.py`_ or `git-clang-format`_ tools to automatically format your patch properly.
59 * not contain any unrelated changes
60 * be an isolated change. Independent changes should be submitted as separate patches as this makes reviewing easier.
61 * have a single commit (unless stacked on another Differential), up-to-date with the upstream ``origin/main`` branch, and don't have merges.
65 Before sending a patch for review, please also try to ensure it is
66 formatted properly. We use ``clang-format`` for this, which has git integration
67 through the ``git-clang-format`` script. On some systems, it may already be
68 installed (or be installable via your package manager). If so, you can simply
69 run it -- the following command will format only the code changed in the most
72 .. code-block:: console
74 % git clang-format HEAD~1
76 Note that this modifies the files, but doesn't commit them -- you'll likely want
79 .. code-block:: console
81 % git commit --amend -a
83 in order to update the last commit with all pending changes.
86 If you don't already have ``clang-format`` or ``git clang-format`` installed
87 on your system, the ``clang-format`` binary will be built alongside clang, and
88 the git integration can be run from
89 ``clang/tools/clang-format/git-clang-format``.
91 We don't currently accept GitHub pull requests, and you'll need to send patches
92 via :ref:`Phabricator#phabricator-reviews <phabricator-reviews>`.
93 (We used to allow patches on the llvm-commits mailing list, but the mailing lists
94 have been deprecated.)
96 To make sure the right people see your patch, please select suitable reviewers
97 and add them to your patch when requesting a review. Suitable reviewers are the
98 code owner (see CODE_OWNERS.txt) and other people doing work in the area your
99 patch touches. If you are using Phabricator, add them to the `Reviewers` field
100 when creating a review and if you are using `llvm-commits`, add them to the CC of
103 A reviewer may request changes or ask questions during the review. If you are
104 uncertain on how to provide test cases, documentation, etc., feel free to ask
105 for guidance during the review. Please address the feedback and re-post an
106 updated version of your patch. This cycle continues until all requests and comments
107 have been addressed and a reviewer accepts the patch with a `Looks good to me` or `LGTM`.
108 Once that is done the change can be committed. If you do not have commit
109 access, please let people know during the review and someone should commit it
112 If you have received no comments on your patch for a week, you can request a
113 review by 'ping'ing a patch by responding to the email thread containing the
114 patch, or the Phabricator review with "Ping." The common courtesy 'ping' rate
115 is once a week. Please remember that you are asking for valuable time from other
116 professional developers.
118 For more information on LLVM's code-review process, please see :doc:`CodeReview`.
122 For developers to commit changes from Git
123 -----------------------------------------
125 Once a patch is reviewed, you should rebase it, re-test locally, and commit the
126 changes to LLVM's main branch. This is done using `git push` if you have the
127 required access rights. See `committing a change
128 <Phabricator.html#committing-a-change>`_ for Phabricator based commits or
129 `obtaining commit access <DeveloperPolicy.html#obtaining-commit-access>`_
132 Here is an example workflow using git. This workflow assumes you have an
133 accepted commit on the branch named `branch-with-change`.
135 .. code-block:: console
137 # Pull changes from the upstream main branch.
138 % git checkout main && git pull
139 # Rebase your change onto main.
140 % git rebase --onto main --root branch-with-change
141 # Rerun the appropriate tests if needed.
142 % ninja check-$whatever
143 # Check that the list of commits about to be pushed is correct.
144 % git log origin/main...HEAD --oneline
146 % git push origin HEAD:main
148 LLVM currently has a linear-history policy, which means that merge commits are
149 not allowed. The `llvm-project` repo on github is configured to reject pushes
150 that include merges, so the `git rebase` step above is required.
152 Please ask for help if you're having trouble with your particular git workflow.
154 .. _git_pre_push_hook:
159 We include an optional pre-push hook that run some sanity checks on the revisions
160 you are about to push and ask confirmation if you push multiple commits at once.
161 You can set it up (on Unix systems) by running from the repository root:
163 .. code-block:: console
165 % ln -sf ../../llvm/utils/git/pre-push.py .git/hooks/pre-push
167 Helpful Information About LLVM
168 ==============================
169 :doc:`LLVM's documentation <index>` provides a wealth of information about LLVM's internals as
170 well as various user guides. The pages listed below should provide a good overview
171 of LLVM's high-level design, as well as its internals:
173 :doc:`GettingStarted`
174 Discusses how to get up and running quickly with the LLVM infrastructure.
175 Everything from unpacking and compilation of the distribution to execution
179 Defines the LLVM intermediate representation.
181 :doc:`ProgrammersManual`
182 Introduction to the general layout of the LLVM sourcebase, important classes
183 and APIs, and some tips & tricks.
185 `LLVM for Grad Students`__
186 This is an introduction to the LLVM infrastructure by Adrian Sampson. While it
187 has been written for grad students, it provides a good, compact overview of
188 LLVM's architecture, LLVM's IR and how to write a new pass.
190 .. __: http://www.cs.cornell.edu/~asampson/blog/llvm.html
193 Book chapter providing a compiler hacker's introduction to LLVM.
195 .. __: http://www.aosabook.org/en/llvm.html
197 .. _Forum: https://discourse.llvm.org
198 .. _irc.oftc.net: irc://irc.oftc.net/llvm
199 .. _good first issue: https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3A%22good+first+issue%22
200 .. _bug tracker: https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/issues
201 .. _clang-format-diff.py: https://reviews.llvm.org/source/llvm-github/browse/main/clang/tools/clang-format/clang-format-diff.py
202 .. _git-clang-format: https://reviews.llvm.org/source/llvm-github/browse/main/clang/tools/clang-format/git-clang-format
203 .. _LLVM's Phabricator: https://reviews.llvm.org/
204 .. _LLVM's Open Projects page: https://llvm.org/OpenProjects.html#what