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New Committers

You've been added as Blender project member with Git write access, welcome! You can use this access now to work on Blender. You're also welcome to work on other features or fixes as discussed with the team online. Please always verify with the owner of the module, or with one of the Blender admins before committing. You can also talk with us on one of the blender.chat channels if in doubt.

Here's the standard checklist & guidelines all new devs need to read:

  1. Always ensure that what you commit is either on your "own code", or you've verified the patch with the owner of the module. If you want to change things in other parts of the code, check with one of the developers who owns/maintains that.

  2. Always carefully check which files you have included in your local Git commit before pushing it to the main repository. Use 'git status', 'git show' and similar commands to inspect your commit. Check carefully if the files marked as modified are actually what you want to commit. Also remember to pull in recent changes to ensure your own changes are still working.
    If needed, use 'git rebase --interactive' to reorder, edit, fixup (join), or split the not yet pushed commits so they keep a comprehensible history and do not break 'git bisect' or other tools like automatic builds.

  3. Verify that the licensing and copyright information is correct in files you commit (especially for new files).

  4. We have adopted Clang Format as the styling tool. You should ensure your coding environment is set up for this tool. Before committing or contributing code ensure the tools has been run on the files you modify.

  5. Blender is strictly cross-platform and we only accept code that compiles correctly for all current platforms. When in doubt, use the buildbot integration in pull requests.

  6. Document new features and changes in the release notes, either before or directly after committing a feature. Please follow the guidelines.

  7. Blender has stages in its development cycle called BCon levels. Patches may be delayed or refused (even if the patch is acceptable) if a new Blender version is being prepared for release. To avoid this, make sure to check on the current BCon stage. See the Release Cycle docs.

Best Practice

Etiquette

  • When making very large changes to blender's source, keep yourself available for some time after committing them (1-3 hrs) in case your changes break blender in some way.
  • Don't make large changes just before a release
    See Release Cycle docs.
  • Developers may reply to your commit logs. Be sure to reply comments on your commit.
  • When committing contributions from others, make sure the log includes their name and task / pull request number.

Code Style

  • When making changes to an area that doesn't follow the guidelines, following the existing style may be preferred. Do not mix functional and style changes in a single commit.
  • Avoid having trailing whitespace in new code.

Commits

  • Always double check your commits before pushing (just as a quick verification to make sure other changes aren't accidentally being included).
  • Add tests when possible.
  • Observe the commit message guidelines.

Branch Usage

Most features should be developed in branches in forks, and then contributed as pull requests.

When multiple developers are working together on a feature and pushing to the same branch, then this branch can be created in the main repository.

  • Use clear names, not cryptic abbreviation.
  • Use lowercase and dashes, for example brush-assets-ui.
  • Avoid committing large binary files. Branches are fetched by all developers and increases the repository size for everyone.
  • When the feature is merged or the branch no longer serves a purposes, delete the branch.
  • Inactive branches are periodically moved to the blender-archive repository.