Contributing to CentOS Stream - Quickstart
Contributor Onboarding
Tools and workstation setup
To work with dist-git repositories and inspect artifacts or logs in the buildsystem, you need centpkg installed on your workstation:
-
If you have a Fedora workstation:
dnf install centpkg -
If you have a CentOS Linux/Stream or RHEL workstation, enable the EPEL repository and then:
dnf install centpkg
What you do, what the RHEL maintainer takes care of
1.) File an issue!
CentOS Stream defects and feature requests are filed under the RHEL project in issues.redhat.com, Create an issue against CentOS Stream / RHEL 9
The Component is the name of the package that you want to patch
Describe the change that you’d like to make, be sure to double-check for existing issues that describe the feature request or problem that you’re seeing
RHEL developers use issues to coordinate with RHEL QE, schedule work with other maintainers, and track progress against development milestones. RHEL maintainers need to get an issue approved for a release before they can merge your change, but don’t worry, this is something they take care of for you. You just need to file the issue and reference it.
2.) Develop your patch
There are 2 ways to contribute, Source Git is in use by developers of packages that want to accept contributions directly to the source code and the package specs in the same place.
Dist-Git is a familiar packaging format for folks who have done packaging in Fedora. The package specs are stored in git, and archives of the actual source code are located in the lookaside.
In the Gitlab repository you want to change, click the Fork button on the front page to create your own fork.
3.) Reference the issue you filed in your commits
Examples:
-
git commit --signoff -m 'RHEL-1234 This is my awesome patch
Every commit made during your contribution MUST come with an issue referenced in the commit message.
Once the commits are how you like them, push to your fork in Gitlab.
4.) Open a Merge Request
The easiest way to open a merge request is to visit the target repository under the https://gitlab.com/redhat/centos-stream namespace and click the New Merge Request button on the Merge Requests tab.
TODO: Image of the merge-requests tab
Make sure to choose your fork and branch under the Source Branch. And the CentOS Stream repository + branch in Target Branch
TODO: Image of Source branch / Target Branch
5.) Work with the RHEL package maintainer
RHEL maintainers will work with you to evaluate your patch, review any needed changes, and potentially merge your request. If your patch is accepted for inclusion in CentOS Stream and RHEL, the RHEL maintainer will perform a package build and RPMs will show up in the buildsystem: https://kojihub.stream.centos.org/
Release Engineering, pipelines, and package state
What’s going on with package X?
Packages follow a regular process from build to release, all managed by tags in the buildsystem. Here’s a list of important koji tags and what they mean:
| Koji Tag | Purpose |
|---|---|
c9s-gate |
This is where packages first land immediately after they build |
c9s-candidate |
These packages have passed gating based on RHEL CI testing and CentOS Stream CI Testing (coming soon) |
c9s-pending |
These packages have passed gating and preverification, these packages are also added to the buildroot when tagged here |
c9s-build |
This is a tag that includes all of the right inheritance to generate the buildroots |
c9s-compose |
New composes will be generated from packages in this tag |
For example, if you see a package that is listed in the -gate tag but not the -pending tag you know that it hasn’t passed its tests yet, and won’t make it into a compose until those are fixed.
Pungi and the Compose Configs
If you want to make changes to the overall distribution itself, or the artifacts produced by composes, you’ll want to refer to the Distribution component in the RHEL project. Please file an appropriate issue describing the change you’d like to make.
If you’re familiar with Pungi, you’ll recognize the configs in https://gitlab.com/redhat/centos-stream/release-engineering/pungi-centos
These configs follow a Fork/Merge-Request workflow and require review from CentOS Stream release engineers to be merged