Thank you for your interest in contributing to the twelve-factor manifesto! This guide will help you get started with contributing to the project in a way that aligns with our community values and governance structure.

1. Familiarize Yourself with the Project

   • Begin by reviewing the Twelve-Factor Manifesto to see the current state.
   • Check out the Twelve-Factor Vision to understand the project's goals and principles.
   • Take a look at the Twelve-Factor Governance document to familiarize yourself with how we operate.

2. Find an Area to Contribute

   • Contributions come in many forms: documentation, bug fixes, new features, or participating in discussions.
   • Look for open issues on our GitHub repository that are tagged as good first issue for beginners, or explore areas where you feel you can provide value.

3. Join the Discussion

   • Engaging with the community is crucial to contributing. You can:
     • Participate in discussions on open issues.
     • Broader discussions often happen on the mailing list
     • Near real-time collaboration happens on discord
   • Respectful dialogue and collaboration a key to our community's success.

1. Fork the Repository
   • Create a personal fork of the twelve-factor repository.
2. Clone Your Fork
   • Clone your fork to your local development environment targeting the next branch.

   git clone -b next https://github.com/your-username/twelve-factor.git
   cd twelve-factor

3. Create a new Branch

   git checkout -b your-branch-name

4. Make Your Changes
   • Ensure your changes adhere to the project’s guidelines.
5. Submit a Pull Request
   • Push your changes to your fork and submit a pull request (PR) to the main repository.
   • In your PR description, link to any relevant issues and explain the purpose and scope of your changes.
6. Review Process
   • A maintainer will review your pull request. Feedback might be provided to help align your contribution with the project’s standards.
   • Small changes require sign-off from one maintainer, while medium and large changes will undergo a broader review process as outlined in the governance document.