# Contributing to Arti

We welcome new contributors!  You can get in contact with us on
[our gitlab instance](https://gitlab.torproject.org/), or on the
[`\#tor-dev IRC` channel on OFTC](https://www.torproject.org/contact/).
Make sure to familiarize yourself with our
[Code of Conduct](https://gitweb.torproject.org/community/policies.git/plain/code_of_conduct.txt).

The new-account process on our gitlab instance is moderated, to reduce
spam and abuse.  (*Insert instructions for anonymous usage here*)

## Licensing notice

Unless you explicitly state otherwise, any contribution intentionally
submitted for inclusion in the work by you, as defined in the Apache-2.0
license, shall be dual licensed as above, without any additional terms or
conditions.

## Setting up your Development Environment

The following section is **not** an exhaustive guide, and only covers common
setup and development tasks.

**Install build dependencies**

You'll need to have a working Rust environment to build the code, and a
working Git installation to fetch the code. Additionally, please install
the SQLite 3 development files and shellcheck to successfully run git hooks.

- [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install) note, for Windows devices
  check the
  [Other Installation Methods](https://forge.rust-lang.org/infra/other-installation-methods.html)

- [Git](https://git-scm.com/downloads) note, for Linux, macOS, and some
  Unix-like devices Git may be available via a package manager; `apt`, `brew`,
  `yum`, `pacman`, etc. Git needs to be compiled with PCRE support to allow
  the use of `git grep -P` in the git hooks. PCRE support is the default in
  some packages, but if you compile from source set `USE_LIBPCRE=YesPlease`
  when running `make` or `--with-libpcre` when running `./configure`.

- SQLite 3 development files (e.g. available via `apt install libsqlite3-dev`)
  
- For git hooks: [shellcheck](https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck#installing)
  (used in [`maint/shellcheck_all`](./maint/shellcheck_all))

**(Optional) install development dependencies**

TL;DR: `./maint/check_env`

If you plan to run scripts inside the `maint/` directory, that are scripts
such as coverage reports, you'll need a few more dependencies. For this,
please execute `./maint/check_env`, which will check your host machine if
all required dependencies are satisfied. If this is not the case, it will
report the missing ones. Keep in mind that this list is pretty comprehensive
and not every script requires all of these dependencies.

**Clone the source code**

In order to get a copy of the latest version of the arti source code:

    $ git clone https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/arti.git

This will create a new git checkout in a directory called `arti`.

**Update the source code**

To get the latest updates, you can run:

    $ git pull origin main

> Note, if you're working on a local git branch it may be wise to use `fetch`
> and `merge` options instead
>
>     $ git fetch origin
>     $ git merge origin/main
>
> Please see a good Git tutorial for more information

**Running the unit tests**

    $ cargo test --all-features

**Installing git hooks**

This repository contains some useful [git hooks](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Customizing-Git-Git-Hooks)
that you might want to use to help avoid your code failing CI checks.
You can install them with

    $ cp -v maint/hooks/* .git/hooks/

**Add fork URL**

If you've created an account at `gitlab.torproject.org`, you can add a
link to your forked arti repository at:

    $ git remote add _name_ git@gitlab.torproject.org:_name_/arti.git
    $ git fetch _name_

> *Tip*: replace `_name_` in above, and following, commands to reflect your sign
> in name.
>
> *Note*: to fork this repository, or contribute to Issues and Merge Requests,
> you will need an account on our gitlab server.  If you don't have an
> account there, you can either
> [request an account](https://gitlab.onionize.space/) or
> [report a bug anonymously](https://anonticket.onionize.space/).
>
> Check the
> [Sign In](https://gitlab.torproject.org/users/sign_in?redirect_to_referer=yes)
> page for further instructions on requesting access.

**Push to fork**

    $ git push _name_ main

> Tip, to open a Merge Request navigate to the Merge Request tab for your
> account's fork; URL will be similar to the following
>
>      https://gitlab.torproject.org/_name_/arti/-/merge_requests

We prefer not to rebase and squash MRs during the review cycle,
so if you want to make changes to your MR, please add new commits rather than squashing.
You can use the
[`fixup!`](https://git-scm.com/docs/git-rebase#Documentation/git-rebase.txt---autosquash)
(or `squash!`)
[autosquash](https://thoughtbot.com/blog/autosquashing-git-commits)
syntax if it seems best;
this is a good idea if the un-fixed state breaks the tests or is otherwise broken,
but is not needed otherwise.

## Where are some good places to start hacking?

You might want to begin by looking around the
[codebase](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/arti/), or getting to
know our [architecture](./doc/dev/Architecture.md).

More tests would always be great. You can look at the [coverage reports](https://tpo.pages.torproject.net/core/arti/coverage/)
to find out what parts need the more love.

Parsing more Tor document types would be neat.

More documentation examples would be great.

Improvements or bugfixes to the existing code would be great.

Improving the look and feel of the documentation would also rock.

We've made a bunch of notes throughout the document in comments with strings
like "FIXME" or "TODO".

When we have TODOs that we want to fix prior to the release of a particular
feature or milestone, we define a special TODO format.
Right now we have "TODO HS" (or "TODO hs") for things we intend to fix
before we release support for Tor Hidden Services (.onion services).

If you want to make a temporary change that ought *definitely* not to be merged,
mark it with <code>XX&#88;</code>.
This will be spotted by the CI, preventing a mistaken merge.
<!-- that's X X X with no spaces.  Putting it here literally would fail CI :-) -->


There is a list of features that I wish other crates had in a file called
`WANT_FROM_OTHER_CRATES`.

Finally, check out
[the bugtracker](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/arti/-/issues).
There are some tickets there labeled as
["First Contribution"](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/arti/-/issues?scope=all&utf8=%E2%9C%93&state=opened&label_name[]=First%20Contribution):
that label means that we think they might be a good place to start out.

## Caveat haxxor: what to watch out for

Please don't assume that what you see here is good Rust: we've tried to
follow best practices, but we've been learning Rust here as we go along.
There are probably aspects of the language or its ecosystem that we're
getting wrong.

Almost nothing about this code should be taken as "final" -- I expect
that we'll need to refactor and move around a whole bunch of code, add a
bunch of APIs, split crates, merge crates, and so on.

There are some places where I am deviating from the existing Tor
protocol under the assumption that certain proposals will be
accepted.  See [Compatibility.md](./doc/Compatibility.md) for more
information.

This code does not attempt to be indistinguishable from the current Tor
implementation.

When building the docs with `cargo doc`, use `--workspace --all-features`,
or you may find broken links.
(We welcome fixes to links broken with `--all-features`.
`cargo doc --workspace --all-features --document-private-items`
is also supported, to reveal (unstable) internal information.)

Enjoy hacking on arti!
