* [General Guidelines](#general-guidelines)
* [What does the Code of Conduct mean for me?](#what-does-the-code-of-conduct-mean-for-me)
* [General Guidelines](#general-guidelines)
* [What does the Code of Conduct mean for me?](#what-does-the-code-of-conduct-mean-for-me)
14. Make changes to the pull request if the reviewing maintainer recommends them.
15. Celebrate your success after your pull request is merged!
14. Make changes to the pull request if the reviewing maintainer recommends them.
15. Celebrate your success after your pull request is merged!
Most of our style is pretty easy to pick up on, but right now it's not entirely consistent. You should match the style of the code surrounding your change, but if that code is inconsistent or unclear use the following guidelines:
Most of our style is pretty easy to pick up on, but right now it's not entirely consistent. You should match the style of the code surrounding your change, but if that code is inconsistent or unclear use the following guidelines:
* Optional Braces: Always include optional braces.
* Good: if (condition) { return false; }
* Bad: if (condition) return false;
* Optional Braces: Always include optional braces.
* Good: if (condition) { return false; }
* Bad: if (condition) return false;
* Think of them as a story describing the feature
* Use them liberally to explain why particular decisions were made.
* Do not write obvious comments
* If you not sure if a comment is obvious, go ahead and include it.
* In general we don't wrap lines, they can be as long as needed. If you do choose to wrap lines please do not wrap any wider than 76 columns.
* Think of them as a story describing the feature
* Use them liberally to explain why particular decisions were made.
* Do not write obvious comments
* If you not sure if a comment is obvious, go ahead and include it.
* In general we don't wrap lines, they can be as long as needed. If you do choose to wrap lines please do not wrap any wider than 76 columns.
-* Separate PR's into logical units. For example, do not submit one PR covering two separate features, instead submit a separate PR for each feature.
+* Separate PR's into logical units. For example, do not submit one PR covering two separate features, instead submit a separate PR for each feature.
* Check for unnecessary whitespace with `git diff --check` before committing.
* Make sure your code change actually compiles.
* Keymaps: Make sure that `make keyboard:your_new_keymap` does not return an error
* Check for unnecessary whitespace with `git diff --check` before committing.
* Make sure your code change actually compiles.
* Keymaps: Make sure that `make keyboard:your_new_keymap` does not return an error
Most first-time QMK contributors start with their personal keymaps. We try to keep keymap standards pretty casual (keymaps, after all, reflect the personality of their creators) but we do ask that you follow these guidelines to make it easier for others to discover and learn from your keymap.
Most first-time QMK contributors start with their personal keymaps. We try to keep keymap standards pretty casual (keymaps, after all, reflect the personality of their creators) but we do ask that you follow these guidelines to make it easier for others to discover and learn from your keymap.
* All Keymap PR's are squashed, so if you care about how your commits are squashed you should do it yourself
* Do not lump features in with keymap PR's. Submit the feature first and then a second PR for the keymap.
* All Keymap PR's are squashed, so if you care about how your commits are squashed you should do it yourself
* Do not lump features in with keymap PR's. Submit the feature first and then a second PR for the keymap.
## Keyboards
Keyboards are the raison d'Γͺtre for QMK. Some keyboards are community maintained, while others are maintained by the people responsible for making a particular keyboard. The `readme.md` should tell you who maintains a particular keyboard. If you have questions relating to a particular keyboard you can [Open An Issue](https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/issues) and tag the maintainer in your question.
## Keyboards
Keyboards are the raison d'Γͺtre for QMK. Some keyboards are community maintained, while others are maintained by the people responsible for making a particular keyboard. The `readme.md` should tell you who maintains a particular keyboard. If you have questions relating to a particular keyboard you can [Open An Issue](https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/issues) and tag the maintainer in your question.
* Keep the number of commits reasonable or we will squash your PR
* Do not lump core features in with new keyboards. Submit the feature first and then submit a separate PR for the keyboard.
* Keep the number of commits reasonable or we will squash your PR
* Do not lump core features in with new keyboards. Submit the feature first and then submit a separate PR for the keyboard.
-Before you put a lot of work into building your new feature you should make sure you are implementing it in the best way. You can get a basic understanding of QMK by reading [Understaning QMK](understanding_qmk.html), which will take you on a tour of the QMK program flow. From here you should talk to us to get a sense of the best way to implement your idea. There are two main ways to do this:
+Before you put a lot of work into building your new feature you should make sure you are implementing it in the best way. You can get a basic understanding of QMK by reading [Understanding QMK](understanding_qmk.md), which will take you on a tour of the QMK program flow. From here you should talk to us to get a sense of the best way to implement your idea. There are two main ways to do this:
* [Open an Issue](https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/issues/new)
Feature and Bug Fix PR's affect all keyboards. We are also in the process of restructuring QMK. For this reason it is especially important for significant changes to be discussed before implementation has happened. If you open a PR without talking to us first please be prepared to do some significant rework if your choices do not mesh well with our planned direction.
* [Open an Issue](https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/issues/new)
Feature and Bug Fix PR's affect all keyboards. We are also in the process of restructuring QMK. For this reason it is especially important for significant changes to be discussed before implementation has happened. If you open a PR without talking to us first please be prepared to do some significant rework if your choices do not mesh well with our planned direction.
* **Consider revisions and different chip-bases** - there are several keyboards that have revisions that allow for slightly different configurations, and even different chip-bases. Try to make a feature supported in ARM and AVR, or automatically disabled on platforms it doesn't work on.
* **Explain your feature** - Document it in `docs/`, either as a new file or as part of an existing file. If you don't document it other people won't be able to benefit from your hard work.
* **Consider revisions and different chip-bases** - there are several keyboards that have revisions that allow for slightly different configurations, and even different chip-bases. Try to make a feature supported in ARM and AVR, or automatically disabled on platforms it doesn't work on.
* **Explain your feature** - Document it in `docs/`, either as a new file or as part of an existing file. If you don't document it other people won't be able to benefit from your hard work.
* Keep the number of commits reasonable or we will squash your PR
* Do not lump keyboards or keymaps in with core changes. Submit your core changes first.
* Keep the number of commits reasonable or we will squash your PR
* Do not lump keyboards or keymaps in with core changes. Submit your core changes first.
* Follow the style of the file you are editing. If the style is unclear or there are mixed styles you should conform to the [coding conventions](#coding-conventions) above.
## Refactoring
To maintain a clear vision of how things are laid out in QMK we try to plan out refactors in-depth and have a collaborator make the changes. If you have an idea for refactoring, or suggestions, [open an issue](https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/issues), we'd love to talk about how QMK can be improved.
* Follow the style of the file you are editing. If the style is unclear or there are mixed styles you should conform to the [coding conventions](#coding-conventions) above.
## Refactoring
To maintain a clear vision of how things are laid out in QMK we try to plan out refactors in-depth and have a collaborator make the changes. If you have an idea for refactoring, or suggestions, [open an issue](https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/issues), we'd love to talk about how QMK can be improved.
Our [Code of Conduct](https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/blob/master/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md) means that you are responsible for treating everyone on the project with respect and courtesy regardless of their identity. If you are the victim of any inappropriate behavior or comments as described in our Code of Conduct, we are here for you and will do the best to ensure that the abuser is reprimanded appropriately, per our code.
Our [Code of Conduct](https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/blob/master/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md) means that you are responsible for treating everyone on the project with respect and courtesy regardless of their identity. If you are the victim of any inappropriate behavior or comments as described in our Code of Conduct, we are here for you and will do the best to ensure that the abuser is reprimanded appropriately, per our code.