# Contributing

We welcome contributions from everyone. However, please follow the following guidelines when posting a GitHub Pull Request or filing a GitHub Issue on the systemd project:

## Filing Issues

* We use GitHub Issues **exclusively** for tracking **bugs** and **feature** **requests** of systemd. If you are looking for help, please contact our [mailing list](https://lists.freedesktop.org/mailman/listinfo/systemd-devel) instead.
* We only track bugs in the **two** **most** **recently** **released** **versions** of systemd in the GitHub Issue tracker. If you are using an older version of systemd, please contact your distribution's bug tracker instead.
* When filing an issue, specify the **systemd** **version** you are experiencing the issue with. Also, indicate which **distribution** you are using.
* Please include an explanation how to reproduce the issue you are pointing out.

Following these guidelines makes it easier for us to process your issue, and ensures we won't close your issue right-away for being misfiled.

### Older downstream versions
For older versions that are still supported by your distribution please use respective downstream tracker:
* **Fedora** - [bugzilla](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/enter_bug.cgi?product=Fedora&component=systemd)
* **RHEL-7/CentOS-7** - [bugzilla](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/enter_bug.cgi?product=Red%20Hat%20Enterprise%20Linux%207&component=systemd) or [systemd-rhel github](https://github.com/lnykryn/systemd-rhel/issues)
* **Debian** - [bugs.debian.org](https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/pkgreport.cgi?pkg=systemd)

## Security vulnerability reports

If you discover a security vulnerability, we'd appreciate a non-public disclosure. The issue tracker and mailing list listed above are fully public. If you need to reach systemd developers in a non-public way, report the issue in one of the "big" distributions using systemd: [Fedora](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/enter_bug.cgi?product=Fedora&component=systemd) (be sure to check "Security Sensitive Bug" under "Show Advanced Fields"), [Ubuntu](https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/systemd/+filebug) (be sure to change "This bug contains information that is" from "Public" to "Private Security"), or [Debian](mailto:security@debian.org). Various systemd developers are active distribution maintainers and will propagate the information about the bug to other parties.

## Posting Pull Requests

* Make sure to post PRs only relative to a very recent git master.
* Follow our [Coding Style](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/systemd/systemd/master/CODING_STYLE) when contributing code. This is a requirement for all code we merge.
* Please make sure to test your change before submitting the PR. See [HACKING](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/systemd/systemd/master/HACKING) for details how to do this.
* Make sure to run the test suite locally, before posting your PR. We use a CI system, meaning we don't even look at your PR, if the build and tests don't pass.
* If you need to update the code in an existing PR, force-push into the same branch, overriding old commits with new versions.
* After you have pushed a new version, add a comment about the new version (no notification is sent just for the commits, so it's easy to miss the update without an explicit comment). If you are a member of the systemd project on GitHub, remove the `reviewed/needs-rework` label.

## Final Words

We'd like to apologize in advance if we are not able to process and reply to your issue or PR right-away. We have a lot of work to do, but we are trying our best!

Thank you very much for your contributions!
