How to Submit a Pull Request

The culmination of your contribution comes in the form of a pull request to the Github repository for your Instant Answer type. A pull request is a great, transparent way to review and discuss potential changes to a repository.

The following are step-by-step instructions for submitting your changes as a pull request.

If this is your first time using Git and GitHub, we've created an overview of using Git to contribute to DuckDuckHack, which culminates in a Pull Request.

Committing Your Changes

The first step is to commit your changes to your local repository. If you've already done this, you can skip to submitting a pull request, below.

Here is how to commit your code in the Codio environment:

  1. Log in to Codio and visit your dashboard. (In the menu, click Codio > Dashboard)

  2. Click on the DuckDuckHack project, which you previously forked and cloned.

  3. Next, open a terminal window if it's not already open. (In the menu, click Tools > Terminal).

  4. Enter the root directory of your forked Instant Answer repository. For example, for Goodies, enter the following into your terminal:

     cd zeroclickinfo-goodies

    Then press enter.

  5. To add all new files to git, type git add ., then press enter.

    This command tells the git repository to include and track changes to the files you've created. Even though the files were physically located in the repository, we need to explicitly tell git to track them.

  6. We are now ready to finally commit the changes. Type git commit -m "Description of your changes" and press Enter. Git should print some text confirming the changes that have been committed.

     [04:35 PM codio@buffalo-pixel zeroclickinfo-goodies {master}]$ git commit -m "Description of your changes"
 [master 6aeb841] Description of your changes
  2 files changed, 56 insertions(+)
  create mode 100644 ...
  create mode 100644 ...

  7. Now we'll upload the changes to our remote repository on GitHub. Once this step is done, we'll be ready to create a pull request back to the main, original DuckDuckGo repository.

If you are using multiple branches, then type git push origin branch_name (where branch_name is the one you want to submit) and press Enter.

If you are working on the master branch alone, simply type git push and press Enter. Enter your GitHub Username and password, press Enter after each. Git will print some text to the Terminal letting you know that your code has been pushed to GitHub.

```
[04:35 PM codio@buffalo-pixel zeroclickinfo-goodies {master}]$ git push
Username for 'https://github.com': GitHubUsername
Password for 'https://[email protected]':
Counting objects: 75, done.
Delta compression using up to 4 threads.
Compressing objects: 100% (60/60), done.
Writing objects: 100% (75/75), 11.05 KiB | 0 bytes/s, done.
Total 75 (delta 36), reused 0 (delta 0)
To https://github.com/GitHubUsername/zeroclickinfo-goodies.git
   138f5bc..c69c517  master -> master
```

Submitting a Pull Request

The steps below are all you need, but it's worth mentioning that GitHub provides excellent instructions as well.

  1. Open a new browser tab and go to your remote repository. For example, for Goodies: https://github.com/YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME/zeroclickinfo-goodies.

  2. Click the "Pull Request" button (grey text, middle of the screen).

    Make sure you are on the correct branch where your changes are located!

  3. Review the changes and click "Create Pull Request".

    Make sure there's only one Instant Answer per pull request.

  4. Enter a title for your pull request:

    If your IA is new, use the format: "New {{IA TOPIC}} {{IA TYPE}}". For example:

    • "New Instagram Spice"
    • "New Firefox Cheat Sheet"

    • "New Color Hex Goodie"

      If you're submitting a fix, use the format: "{{IA NAME}}: Fixes {{ISSUE}}". For example:

    • "Forecast: Fixes #3434"

    • "Cheat Sheet: Fixes #4102"

      (Conveniently, this syntax will auto-close the Github issue when your pull request is merged.)

  5. For new Instant Answers, copy the "Pull Request Template" for your type of Instant Answer from the links below. Paste it into the "Leave a Comment" text box, and answer the questions.

  6. Add a screenshot of your Instant Answer to your answers:

    Go back to your Codio.com browser tab, and open the "Terminal" tab

    Type duckpan server, then press enter.

    Click the DuckPAN Server button at the top of Codio, and type in a sample search query that will trigger your Instant Answer.

    Save a screenshot on your computer.

    Go back to your GitHub.com browser tab.

    Drag-and-Drop your screen shot into the textbox. The picture will be uploaded and a link will be generated.

  7. Finally, click "Create Pull Request"!

Congratulations! A Community Leader or DDG staff member will review your contribution in turn.

Once your pull request is merged into the repository, it should be live on DuckDuckGo.com within a few days.

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