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Contributing to mGBA

mGBA is an open-source project and welcomes contributions from the community. Whether you're fixing bugs, adding features, improving documentation, or helping with testing, your contributions are valuable.

Ways to Contribute

Code Contributions

  • Bug Fixes: Fix reported bugs or issues
  • New Features: Implement requested features or improvements
  • Performance Improvements: Optimize code for better performance
  • Platform Support: Add or improve support for specific platforms
  • Code Refactoring: Improve code quality and maintainability

Non-Code Contributions

  • Bug Reports: Report bugs with detailed information
  • Feature Requests: Suggest new features or improvements
  • Documentation: Improve documentation and guides
  • Testing: Test new builds and report issues
  • Translation: Translate mGBA interface to other languages

Development Workflow

Fork and Clone

  1. Fork the mGBA repository on GitHub
  2. Clone your fork locally:
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/mgba.git
cd mgba

Create a Branch

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
# or
git checkout -b fix/bug-description

Make Changes

  • Make your changes to the codebase
  • Test your changes thoroughly
  • Follow coding standards and style guidelines
  • Write or update tests if applicable

Commit Changes

Write clear, descriptive commit messages:

git add .
git commit -m "Brief description of changes

Detailed explanation of what was changed and why."

Push and Create Pull Request

git push origin feature/your-feature-name

Then create a Pull Request on GitHub with:

  • Clear description of changes
  • Reference to related issues if applicable
  • Testing information
  • Screenshots or examples if relevant

Coding Standards

Code Style

  • Follow existing code style in the codebase
  • Use consistent indentation (spaces, not tabs)
  • Write clear, self-documenting code
  • Add comments for complex logic
  • Keep functions focused and concise

Naming Conventions

  • Use descriptive variable and function names
  • Follow C naming conventions for C code
  • Use camelCase for C++ code
  • Avoid abbreviations unless widely understood

Testing

Before submitting a pull request:

  • Test your changes on multiple platforms if possible
  • Verify existing functionality still works
  • Test edge cases and error conditions
  • Check for memory leaks or performance regressions
  • Test with various games and ROMs

Reporting Bugs

When reporting bugs, include:

  • Detailed description of the problem
  • Steps to reproduce the issue
  • Expected vs. actual behavior
  • System information (OS, CPU, GPU, mGBA version)
  • ROM information (game name, region, version if known)
  • Error messages or logs if available
  • Screenshots or videos if applicable

Requesting Features

When requesting features:

  • Describe the feature clearly and in detail
  • Explain the use case or motivation
  • Provide examples of how it would work
  • Consider implementation complexity
  • Check if similar features already exist

Documentation

Contributing to documentation:

  • Improve existing documentation for clarity
  • Add missing documentation for features
  • Fix errors or outdated information
  • Add code examples or tutorials
  • Translate documentation to other languages

License

By contributing to mGBA, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL 2.0), the same license as mGBA itself.

Get Started: Check the Architecture documentation to understand mGBA's codebase structure before making code contributions.

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