From: Christian Brabandt Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2025 20:02:20 +0000 (+0100) Subject: Improve contributing guide by adding a section on signing off commits X-Git-Tag: v9.1.1239~2 X-Git-Url: http://git.ipfire.org/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=20e46fa65b98c0e2d47cbb8aef6c9f92a547c504;p=thirdparty%2Fvim.git Improve contributing guide by adding a section on signing off commits related: #16957 closes: #16976 Signed-off-by: Christian Brabandt --- diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md index 17bb9b307d..c766d71d51 100644 --- a/CONTRIBUTING.md +++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md @@ -21,6 +21,31 @@ Contributions will be distributed with Vim under the Vim license. Providing a change to be included implies that you agree with this and your contribution does not cause us trouble with trademarks or patents. There is no CLA to sign. +## Signing-off commits + +While not required, it's recommended to use **Signed-off commits** to ensure +transparency, accountability, and compliance with open-source best practices. +Signed-off commits follow the [Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO)][15], +which confirms that contributors have the right to submit their changes under +the project's license. This process adds a `Signed-off-by` line to commit +messages, verifying that the contributor agrees to the project's licensing +terms. To sign off a commit, simply use the -s flag when committing: + +```sh +git commit -s +``` + +This ensures that every contribution is properly documented and traceable, +aligning with industry standards used in projects like the Linux Kernel or +the git project. By making Signed-off commits a standard practice, we help +maintain a legally compliant and well-governed codebase while fostering trust +within our contributor community. + +When merging PRs into Vim, the current maintainer @chrisbra usually adds missing +`Signed-off-by` trailers for the author user name and email address as well for +anybody that explicitly *ACK*s a pull request as a statement that those +approvers are happy with that particular change. + # Reporting issues We use GitHub issues, but that is not a requirement. Writing to the Vim @@ -113,3 +138,4 @@ mailing list. For other questions please use the [Vi Stack Exchange][8] website, [12]: https://github.com/vim/vim/blob/master/src/testdir/test_filetype.vim [13]: https://github.com/vim/vim/blob/master/runtime/doc/filetype.txt [14]: https://github.com/vim/vim/blob/master/runtime/doc/syntax.txt +[15]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developer_Certificate_of_Origin