| 1 | # Contributing to the Neo4j Ecosystem
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| 3 | At [Neo4j](http://neo4j.com/), we develop our software in the open at GitHub.
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| 4 | This provides transparency for you, our users, and allows you to fork the software to make your own additions and enhancements.
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| 5 | We also provide areas specifically for community contributions, in particular the [neo4j-contrib](https://github.com/neo4j-contrib) space.
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| 6 |
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| 7 | There's an active [Neo4j Online Community](https://community.neo4j.com/) where we work directly with the community.
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| 8 | If you're not already a member, sign up!
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| 9 |
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| 10 | We love our community and wouldn't be where we are without you.
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| 11 |
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| 12 | ## Need to raise an issue?
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| 13 |
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| 14 | Where you raise an issue depends largely on the nature of the problem.
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| 16 | Firstly, if you are an Enterprise customer, you might want to head over to our [Customer Support Portal](http://support.neo4j.com/).
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| 18 | There are plenty of public channels available too, though.
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| 19 | If you simply want to get started or have a question on how to use a particular feature, ask a question in [Neo4j Online Community](https://community.neo4j.com/).
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| 20 | If you think you might have hit a bug in our software (it happens occasionally!) or you have specific feature request then use the issue feature on the relevant GitHub repository.
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| 21 | Check first though as someone else may have already raised something similar.
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| 22 |
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| 23 | [StackOverflow](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/neo4j) also hosts a ton of questions and might already have a discussion around your problem.
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| 24 | Make sure you have a look there too.
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| 25 |
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| 26 | Include as much information as you can in any request you make:
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| 27 |
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| 28 | - Which versions of our products are you using?
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| 29 | - Which language (and which version of that language) are you developing with?
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| 30 | - What operating system are you on?
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| 31 | - Are you working with a cluster or on a single machine?
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| 32 | - What code are you running?
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| 33 | - What errors are you seeing?
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| 34 | - What solutions have you tried already?
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| 35 |
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| 36 | ## Want to contribute?
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| 37 |
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| 38 | If you want to contribute a pull request, we have a little bit of process you'll need to follow:
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| 39 |
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| 40 | - Do all your work in a personal fork of the original repository
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| 41 | - [Rebase](https://github.com/edx/edx-platform/wiki/How-to-Rebase-a-Pull-Request), don't merge (we prefer to keep our history clean)
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| 42 | - Create a branch (with a useful name) for your contribution
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| 43 | - Make sure you're familiar with the appropriate coding style (this varies by language so ask if you're in doubt)
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| 44 | - Include unit tests if appropriate (obviously not necessary for documentation changes)
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| 45 | - Take a moment to read and sign our [CLA](http://neo4j.com/developer/cla)
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| 46 |
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| 47 | We can't guarantee that we'll accept pull requests and may ask you to make some changes before they go in.
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| 48 | Occasionally, we might also have logistical, commercial, or legal reasons why we can't accept your work but we'll try to find an alternative way for you to contribute in that case.
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| 49 | Remember that many community members have become regular contributors and some are now even Neo employees!
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| 50 |
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| 51 | ## Got an idea for a new project?
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| 52 |
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| 53 | If you have an idea for a new tool or library, start by talking to other people in the community.
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| 54 | Chances are that someone has a similar idea or may have already started working on it.
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| 55 | The best software comes from getting like minds together to solve a problem.
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| 56 | And we'll do our best to help you promote and co-ordinate your Neo ecosystem projects.
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| 57 |
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| 58 | ## Further reading
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| 59 |
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| 60 | If you want to find out more about how you can contribute, head over to our website for [more information](http://neo4j.com/developer/contributing-code/).
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