Get Involved

From KDE Community Wiki
Revision as of 09:24, 16 July 2023 by Bbonacci (talk | contribs) (Add Discuss to the Getting in Touch and Working Together section)
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Welcome to the KDE Community! By joining our team, you will be part of an international effort by thousands of people working to deliver an incredible Free Software computing experience.

Meet new friends, learn new skills, and make a difference to millions of users while working with people from all around the globe. This page will give you a brief introduction and help you get started with contributing.

We want to make sure that the KDE Community remains a welcoming and friendly place where people can feel comfortable. We ask you to learn and abide by the KDE Community Code of Conduct when interacting with the rest of the KDE Community.

How to contribute and jump start your career in Free Software with the KDE Community? Watch the recording of the KDE workshop at UOM: Making a Difference

Start Here!

KDE wants to make it easy to get involved! KDE members are available to help new contributors. You can find them listed on the Mentoring page.

Many of them hang out in the #kde-welcome Matrix room. Feel free to ask any questions you have!

When you click on the link above to connect using matrix, if you already have a matrix account, for example myusername on matrix.org homeserver, type @myusername:matrix.org in the "Username" field, where myusername is your username and after the : is the name of the homeserver. If you don't have a matrix account yet, instructions are provided on the matrix page.

Ways to Contribute

Issue Reporting

Whether it's a KDE software bug or improvement ideas, let our developers know! Quality assurance makes KDE software better, and you can join in making sure our users are happy with the final product.

Find out more about issue reporting.

Bug Triaging

Another crucial step to make KDE software better is through bug triaging. Our users submit their tickets on Bugzilla, and we have many to process!

Test and confirm KDE bugs and let developers know! No additional programming experience is required. Use the comments section to confirm the bug and help raise awareness. Hunting for bugs is an incredible entry door into programming.

Find out more about helping squash bugs in KDE software.

Development

By becoming a developer in the KDE community, you can affect people by writing and improving world-class software used by millions. There are many small jobs available, so you don't even need to be an experienced programmer to start developing for KDE!

In the process you'll learn portable, industry-standard skills like C++, Qt, CMake, git, and collaborate with people from all around the world. Writing source code is a challenging and fun experience.

Find out more about becoming a KDE developer.

Quality Assurance

KDE's Quality Assurance team tests pre-release software and proposed changed to make sure that everything works properly! Catching bugs during the development process is the name of the game, so that users of KDE software have a smooth and pleasant experience.

Find out more about performing QA on KDE software.

Accessibility

KDE makes software that is easy to use for people with visual, auditory and motor disabilities. Whether you are familiar with the techniques and technologies involved in enabling equitable access to software, or are just keen to find out more, we want your help!

Find out more about making KDE software more accessible.

Translation

Are you fluent in multiple languages? Our multi-language software is always aiming to be precise and understood by everyone. Our user interface can always use your ability with languages to make it so. Join our translation efforts today!

Find out more about becoming a KDE translator.

Visual and Human Interface Design

Whether you are an artist, a designer, or just someone with an interest in user interaction, join the KDE Visual Design Group!

Wow users with interfaces that just want to be touched. The VDG makes KDE software both beautiful and usable for millions of users. We create icons, desktop themes, sounds, interfaces, and much more. Come join us today!

Find out more about joining the VDG.

Documentation

KDE users need documentation to get started contributing to the project. We value good-quality documentation, and those who write it. Help introduce more users to the KDE platform through powerful documentation.

Find out more about joining the KDE documentation team.

User Support

The KDE Community provides several platforms for users to ask for support from other users. Whether it is technical support, access, or maintenance, our various online channels are available 24/7 for any questions.

Find out more about providing user support.

Promotion

Do you know how to get the word out on the street? As part of the Promo Team, you'll help spread the word about KDE. You'll be part of a great team of people who are moving the world!

If you have skills in marketing, copy writing, and social media management, come join us!

Find out more about spreading the word about KDE.

Web Design

KDE's web presence helps people learn about our awesome technology and how to get it! The web team works closely with the Visual Design Group and Promo teams. It is right at the intersection of visual design and publicity.

As a member of the KDE Web Team, you will work on websites seen by millions and learn portable, industry-standard skills like Jekyll, Drupal, Wordpress, and more.

Find out more about joining the KDE web design team.

Management

KDE Management works under the Gardening team. This team helps make everything run smoothly. If you are "big picture" person, enjoy working with a diverse group of people, or have amazing ideas on how to help KDE, this is the place for you!

Find out more about being a manager in KDE.

KDE Eco & Sustainable Software Design

KDE Eco supports Free & Open Source communities in developing sustainable software. Let's make energy efficiency and digital sustainability part of our culture. We can live up to our responsibility for this and future generations!

Find out more about sustainable software at KDE.

Donations

KDE is a mostly volunteer community made up of people just like you! Our members need support in many areas including web and file-hosting costs, airfare to KDE events, and even hiring some full-time employees.

If you would like to support KDE to continue producing amazing free software, consider donating.

Find out more about making a financial donation to KDE.

Add Your Project to KDE

If you have a project already that you want to bring into KDE, we have an incubation program to help you.

Find out more about making your software a KDE project.

Getting in Touch and Working Together

Our team values courtesy and respect when engaging with others. KDE members use a variety of different venues to communicate, depending on the topic. Here is a list of the ones we use most:

  • KDE Bugtracker - To report a bug or request a new feature.
    The KDE Bugzilla bug tracker is intended for user-to-developer communication and tracks simple bug reports and feature requests. Sign in with your KDE Bugzilla account; it does not use identity.kde.org credentials. If you don't have a KDE Bugzilla account, sign up for one here. More information about the KDE Bugzilla bug tracker is available here.
  • Phabricator tasks - To track and discuss work.
    Phabricator is intended for developer-to-developer task planning and tracking, such as discussing the implementation of a complex feature or coordinating a promotional campaign. Sign into Phabricator with the username and password for your identity.kde.org account; if you don't have one, sign up for one here. Then return to https://phabricator.kde.org, click the "Log In" button at the top of the page, and enter the username and password for your KDE Identity account. More information about Phabricator is available here.
  • Matrix, Internet Relay Chat or Telegram - To start a short, goal-driven discussion.
    Depending on your preference, these conversations should result in the generation of a patch, task, or bug report.
  • Mailing Lists - To start a long-term, open-ended discussion.
    You don't need to subscribe to them all; just a few will do. As a new member of the KDE Community, you should at least subscribe to kde-community and kde-devel. You will need to subscribe before you can send mail to the lists.
  • Discuss - KDE Discuss is KDE’s primary discussion forum. Discuss everything to do with KDE, in particular the software we produce.
  • KDE Culture - The shared norms and guidelines of KDE.
    KDE is a large, diverse, multi-generational organization, and a certain culture has developed over time. You can read about it on the page.


More information is available at #Start_Here!, including getting in touch other other teams.

More Ways to Contribute

KDE participates in a variety of external programs to introduce new contributors to KDE. These include: