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Contributing to Gruntwork IaC Library

Contributions to Gruntwork IaC Library are welcome and appreciated! In fact, Gruntwork receives over 1,000 customer pull requests per year.

You can contribute in the following ways:

  • Update an existing "building block" module or service module.
  • Contribute to a new module.
  • Report a bug.

Start by filing a GitHub issue​

Before starting work on a new feature, file a GitHub issue in the relevant repository. Doing so gives you the opportunity to clarify your approach, gather input from maintainers and the community, and address any questions before investing significant time in coding. If you’re uncertain about any part of your contribution, don’t hesitate to ask for guidance.

For minor updates, like adding a variable or output value, you may proceed directly to creating a pull request, as detailed below.

Proceed to a pull request​

If opening a pull request is appropriate, follow these guidelines:

Update the documentation first​

Update the documentation before modifying any code. This step follows the principle of Readme Driven Development. Doing so ensures the documentation remains current and allows you to conceptualize the solution at a high level before diving into implementation.

Update the tests​

Add or update automated tests before changing the code, following the practice of Test Driven Development. Begin by creating or updating test cases, ensuring they fail with clear error messages. Then, modify the code to make the test pass. This approach keeps the tests up to date and validates existing and new functionality. Refer to the test folder in the repository for instructions on running tests locally.

Update the code​

With tests in place, implement your code changes. Use the new test cases to confirm that the changes work as intended.

Create a pull request​

Create a pull request with your changes. Make sure to include the following information:

  1. A description of the change, including a link to the corresponding GitHub issue.
  2. Notes regarding any backward incompatibility.
  3. Any other relevant details.

How to create a pull request on a Gruntwork repository​

As a Gruntwork customer, you are granted read-only access to Gruntwork repositories. This means you cannot push branches directly to these repositories. Instead, follow the steps below to open a pull request:

  1. Fork the Gruntwork repository into a repository within an organization where you have write access.
  2. Push your branch to your forked repository.
  3. Open a pull request against the Gruntwork repository. Set the base branch to Gruntwork’s main or master branch, and compare the branch to the branch in your forked repository.

For additional details, refer to GitHub’s documentation.

Merge and release​

Gruntwork maintainers will review your contribution and provide feedback as necessary. Once approved, they will merge the changes and release a new version.