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+# How to contribute
+
+Note: contributing implies licensing those contributions
+under the terms of [COPYING](../COPYING), which is an MIT-like license.
+
+## Opening issues
+
+* Make sure you have a [GitHub account](https://github.com/signup/free)
+* Make sure there is no open issue on the topic
+* [Submit a new issue](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/new/choose) by choosing the kind of topic and fill out the template
+
+## Submitting changes
+
+* Format the commit messages in the following way:
+
+  ```
+  (pkg-name | nixos/<module>): (from -> to | init at version | refactor | etc)
+
+  (Motivation for change. Additional information.)
+  ```
+
+  For consistency, there should not be a period at the end of the commit message's summary line (the first line of the commit message).
+
+  Examples:
+
+  * nginx: init at 2.0.1
+  * firefox: 54.0.1 -> 55.0
+  * nixos/hydra: add bazBaz option
+
+    Dual baz behavior is needed to do foo.
+  * nixos/nginx: refactor config generation
+
+    The old config generation system used impure shell scripts and could break in specific circumstances (see #1234).
+
+* `meta.description` should:
+  * Be capitalized.
+  * Not start with the package name.
+  * Not have a period at the end.
+* `meta.license` must be set and fit the upstream license.
+  * If there is no upstream license, `meta.license` should default to `stdenv.lib.licenses.unfree`.
+* `meta.maintainers` must be set.
+
+See the nixpkgs manual for more details on [standard meta-attributes](https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual/#sec-standard-meta-attributes) and on how to [submit changes to nixpkgs](https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual/#chap-submitting-changes).
+
+## Writing good commit messages
+
+In addition to writing properly formatted commit messages, it's important to include relevant information so other developers can later understand *why* a change was made. While this information usually can be found by digging code, mailing list/Discourse archives, pull request discussions or upstream changes, it may require a lot of work.
+
+For package version upgrades and such a one-line commit message is usually sufficient.
+
+## Backporting changes
+
+To [backport a change into a release branch](https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual/#submitting-changes-stable-release-branches):
+
+1. Take note of the commit in which the change was introduced into `master`.
+2. Check out the target _release branch_, e.g. `release-19.09`. Do not use a _channel branch_ like `nixos-19.09` or `nixpkgs-19.09`.
+3. Use `git cherry-pick -x <original commit>`.
+4. Open your backport PR. Make sure to select the release branch (e.g. `release-19.09`) as the target branch of the PR, and link to the PR in which the original change was made to `master`.
+
+## Reviewing contributions
+
+See the nixpkgs manual for more details on how to [Review contributions](https://nixos.org/nixpkgs/manual/#chap-reviewing-contributions).