---
layout: page
title: Introduction to GitHub
order: 1
---
All the basics that you need to know are documented on this page, but for the
full GitHub documentation, visit [help.github.com][help].

If you are already an experienced Git/GitHub user, all you need to know is that
we use the [normal GitHub Pull Request workflow][github flow] for test
submissions.

If you are a first-time GitHub user, read on for more details of the workflow.

## Setup

1.  Create a GitHub account if you do not already have one on
    [github.com][github].

2.  Download and install the latest version of Git:
    [https://git-scm.com/downloads][git]; please refer to the instructions there
    for different platforms.

3.  Configure your settings so your commits are properly labeled:

    On Mac or Linux or Solaris, open the Terminal.

    On Windows, open Git Bash (From the Start Menu > Git > Git Bash).

    At the prompt, type:

        $ git config --global user.name "Your Name"

    _This will be the name that is displayed with your test submissions_

    Next, type:

        $ git config --global user.email "your_email@address.com"

    _This should be the email address you used to create the account in Step 1._

4.  (Optional) If you don't want to enter your username and password every
    time you talk to the remote server, you'll need to set up password caching.
    See [Caching your GitHub password in Git][password-caching].

## Test Repositories

The test repository that you contribute to will depend on the specification
that you are testing.

**Main W3C test repository**: [github.com/w3c/web-platform-tests][main-repo]

## Fork

Now that you have Git set up, you will need to fork the test repository. This
will enable you to [submit][submit] your tests using a pull request (more on this
[below][submit]).

1.  In the browser, go to [web-platform-tests on GitHub][main-repo].

2.  Click the ![fork][forkbtn] button in the upper right.

3.  The fork will take several seconds, then you will be redirected to your
    GitHub page for this forked repository. If you forked the HTML test repo
    (for example), you will now be at
    **https://github.com/username/web-platform-tests**.

4. After the fork is complete, you're ready to [clone](#clone).

## Clone

If your [fork](#fork) was successful, the next step is to clone (download a copy of the files).

### Clone the test repo
At the command prompt, cd into the directory where you want to keep the tests.

        $ git clone --recursive https://github.com/username/web-platform-tests.git

_This will download the tests into a directory named for the repo:_ `web-platform-tests/`.

* You should now have a full copy of the test repository on your local
  machine. Feel free to browse the directories on your hard drive. You can also
  browse them on [github.com][github-w3c] and see the full history of contributions
  there.

### Clone the submodules

* If you cloned the test repo and used the `--recursive` option, you'll find its submodules in `[repo-root]/resources/`.

* If you cloned the the test repo and did not use the `--recursive` option, you will likely have an empty `resources` directory at the root of your cloned repo. You can clone the submodules with these additional steps:

        $ cd web-platform-tests
        $ git submodule update --init --recursive

    _You should now see the submodules in the repository. For example,_ `testharness` _files in should be in the resources directory._


## Configure Remote / Upstream
Synchronizing your forked repository with the W3C repository will enable you to
keep your forked local copy up-to-date with the latest commits in the W3C
repository.

1.  On the command line, navigate to to the directory where your forked copy of
    the repository is located.

2.  Make sure that you are on the master branch.  This will  be the case if you
    just forked, otherwise switch to master.

        $ git checkout master

3.  Next, add the remote of the repository your forked.  This assigns the
    original repository to a remote called "upstream":

        $ git remote add upstream https://github.com/w3c/web-platform-tests.git

4.  To pull in changes in the original repository that are not present in your
    local repository first fetch them:

        $ git fetch upstream

    Then merge them into your local repository:

        $ git merge upstream/master

    For additional information, please see the [GitHub docs][github-fork-docs].

## Branch

Now that you have everything locally, create a branch for your tests.

_Note: If you have already been through these steps and created a branch
and now want to create another branch, you should always do so from the
master branch. To do this follow the steps from the beginning of the [previous
section][remote-upstream]. If you don't start with a clean master
branch you will end up with a big nested mess._

At the command line:

    $ git checkout -b topic

This will create a branch named `topic` and immediately
switch this to be your active working branch.

_The branch name should describe specifically what you are testing.
For Example:_

    $ git checkout -b flexbox-flex-direction-prop

You're ready to start writing tests! Come back to this page you're ready to
[commit][commit] them or [submit][submit] them for review.


## Commit

Before you submit your tests for review and contribution to the main test
repo, you'll need to first commit them locally, where you now have your own
personal version control system with git. In fact, as you are writing your
tests, you may want to save versions of your work as you go before you submit
them to be reviewed and merged.

1.  When you're ready to save a version of your work, go to the command
    prompt and cd to the directory where your files are.

2.  First, ask git what new or modified files you have:

        $ git status

    _This will show you files that have been added or modified_.

3.  For all new or modified files, you need to tell git to add them to the
    list of things you'd like to commit:

        $ git add [file1] [file2] ... [fileN]

    Or:

        $ git add [directory_of_files]

4.  Run `git status` again to see what you have on the 'Changes to be
    committed' list. These files are now 'staged'.

5.  Alternatively, you can run `git diff --staged`, which will show you the
    diff of things to be committed.

6.  Once you've added everything, you can commit and add a message to this
    set of changes:

        $ git commit -m "Tests for indexed getters in the HTMLExampleInterface"

7.  Repeat these steps as many times as you'd like before you submit.

## Submit

If you're here now looking for more instructions, that means you've written
some awesome tests and are ready to submit them. Congratulations and welcome
back!

1.  The first thing you do before submitting them to the W3C repo is to push
them back up to the server:

        $ git push origin topic

    _Note: Here,_ `origin` _refers to remote repo from which you cloned
    (downloaded) the files after you forked, referred to as
    web-platform-tests.git in the previous example;_
    `topic` _refers to the name of your local branch that
    you want to push_.

2.  Now you can send a message that you have changes or additions you'd like
    to be reviewed and merged into the main (original) test repository. You do
    this by using a pull request. In a browser, open the GitHub page for your
    forked repository: **https://github.com/username/web-platform-tests**.

3. Now create the pull request.  There are several ways to create a PR in the
GitHub UI.  Below is one method and others can be found on
[GitHub.com][github-createpr]

    1. Click the ![pull request link][pullrequestlink] link on the right side
    of the UI, then click the ![new pull request][pullrequestbtn] button.

    2.  On the left, you should see the base repo is the
        w3c/web-platform-tests. On the right, you should see your fork of that
        repo. In the branch menu of your forked repo, switch to `topic`

        **Note:** If you see _'There isn't anything to compare'_, click
        the ![edit][editbtn] button and make sure your fork and your `topic`
        branch is selected on the right side.

    3. Select the ![create pull request][createprlink] link at the top.

    4. Scroll down and review the diff

    5. Scroll back up and in the Title field, enter a brief description for
       your submission.

       Example: "Tests for CSS Transforms skew() function."

    6.  If you'd like to add more detailed comments, use the comment field
    below.

    7.  Click ![the send pull request button][sendpullrequest]


4. Wait for feedback on your pull request and once your pull request is
accepted, delete your branch (see '[When Pull Request is Accepted][cleanup]').

That's it! Your pull request will go into a queue and will be reviewed soon.

## Modify

Once you submit your pull request, a reviewer will check your proposed changes
for correctness and style. It is likely that this process will lead to some
comments asking for modifications to your code. When you are ready to make the
changes, follow these steps:

1.  Check out the branch corresponding to your changes e.g. if your branch was
    called `topic`
    run:

        $ git checkout topic

2.  Make the changes needed to address the comments, and commit them just like
    before.

3.  Push the changes to the remote branch containing the pull request:

        $ git push origin topic

4.  The pull request will automatically be updated with the new commit.

Sometimes it takes multiple iterations through a review before the changes are
finally accepted. Don't worry about this; it's totally normal. The goal of test
review is to work together to create the best possible set of tests for the web
platform.

## Cleanup
Once your pull request has been accepted, you will be notified in the GitHub
UI and you may get an email. At this point, your changes have been merged
into the main test repository. You do not need to take any further action
on the test but you should delete your branch. This can easily be done in
the GitHub UI by navigating to the pull requests and clicking the
'Delete Branch' button.

![pull request accepted delete branch][praccepteddelete]

Alternatively, you can delete the branch on the command line.

    $ git push origin --delete <branchName>

## Tips & Tricks

The following workflow is recommended:

1. Start branch based on latest w3c/master
2. Write tests
3. Rebase onto latest w3c/master
4. Submit tests
5. Stop fiddling with the branch base until review is done
6. After the PR has been accepted, delete the branch. (Every new PR should
come from a new branch.)
7. Synchronize your fork with the W3C repository by fetching your upstream and
 merging it. (See '[Configure Remote / Upstream][remote-upstream]')

You need to be able to set up remote upstream, etc. Please refer to [Pro Git
Book][git-book] and enjoy reading.

## Working with Pull Requests as a reviewer

In order to do a thorough review,
it is sometimes desirable to have a local copy of the tests one wishes to review.

Reviewing tests also often results in wanting a few things to be changed.
Generally, the reviewer should ask the author to make the desired changes.
However, sometimes the original author does not respond to the requests,
or the changes are so trivial (e.g. fixing a typo)
that bothering the original author seems like a waste of time.

Here is how to do all that.

### Trivial cases

If it is possible to review the tests without a local copy,
but the reviewer still wants to make some simple tweaks to the tests before merging,
it is possible to do so via the Github web UI.

1. Open the pull request. E.g. https://github.com/w3c/web-platform-tests/pull/1234
2. Go to the ![Files changed][files-changed] view (e.g. https://github.com/w3c/web-platform-tests/pull/1234/files)
3. Locate the files you wish to change, and click the ![pencil][pencil-icon] icon in the upper right corner
4. Make the desired change
5. Write a commit message (including a good title) at the bottom
6. Make sure the ![Commit directly to the [name-of-the-PR-branch] branch.][commit-directly] radio button is selected.

   _Note: If the PR predates the introduction of this feature by Github,
   or if the author of the PR has disabled write-access by reviewers to the PR branch,
   this may not be available,
   and your only option would be to commit to a new branch, creating a new PR._
7. Click the ![Commit Changes][commitbtn] button.


### The Normal Way

This is how to import the Pull Request's branch
into your existing local checkout of the repository.
If you don't have one, go [fork](#fork), [clone](#clone), and [configure](#configure-remote--upstream) it.

1. Move into your local clone: `cd wherever-you-put-your-repo`
2. Add a remote for the PR author's repo: `git remote add <author-id> git://github.com/<author-id>/<repo-name>.git`
3. Fetch the PR: `git fetch <author-id> <name-of-the-PR-branch>`
4. Checkout that branch: `git checkout <name-of-the-PR-branch>`

   _The relevant `<author-id>`, `<repo-name>`, and `<name-of-the-PR-branch>` can be found by looking for this sentence in on the Github page of the PR:
   ![Add more commits by pushing to the name-of-the-PR-branch branch on author-id/repo-name.][more-commits]_

If all you meant to do was reviewing files locally, you're all set.
If you wish to make changes to the PR branch:

1. Make changes and [commit](#commit) normally
2. Push your changes upstream: `git push <author-id> <name-of-the-PR-branch>`

   _Note: If the PR predates the introduction of this feature by Github,
   or if the author of the PR has disabled write-access by reviewers to the PR branch,
   this will not work, and you will need to use the alternative described below._

If, instead of modifying the existing PR, you wish to make a new one based on it:

1. Set up a new branch that contains the existing PR by doing one of the following:
   1. Create a new branch from the tip of the PR:
   `git branch <your-new-branch> <name-of-the-PR-branch> && git checkout <your-new-branch>`
   2. Create a new branch from `master` and merge the PR into it:
   `git branch <your-new-branch> master && git checkout <your-new-branch> && git merge <name-of-the-PR-branch>`
2. Make changes and [commit](#commit) normally
3. Push your changes to **your** repo: `git push origin <your-new-branch>`
4. Go to the Github Web UI to [submit a new Pull Request](#submit).

   _Note: You should also close the original pull request._

When you're done reviewing or making changes,
you can delete the branch: `git branch -d <name-of-the-PR-branch>`
(use `-D` instead of `-d` to delete a branch that has not been merged into master yet).

If you do not expect work with more PRs from the same author,
you may also discard your connection to their repo:
`git remote remove <author-id>`

[branch]: #branch
[commit]: #commit
[clone]: #clone
[forkbtn]: {{ site.baseurl }}{% link /assets/forkbtn.png %}
[git]: https://git-scm.com/downloads
[git-book]: https://git-scm.com/book
[github]: https://github.com/
[github-w3c]: https://github.com/w3c
[github-fork-docs]: https://help.github.com/articles/fork-a-repo
[github-createpr]: https://help.github.com/articles/creating-a-pull-request
[help]: https://help.github.com/
[main-repo]: https://github.com/w3c/web-platform-tests
[password-caching]: https://help.github.com/articles/caching-your-github-password-in-git
[pullrequestlink]: {{ site.baseurl }}{% link /assets/pullrequestlink.png %}
[pullrequestbtn]: {{ site.baseurl }}{% link /assets/pullrequestbtn.png %}
[editbtn]: {{ site.baseurl }}{% link /assets/editbtn.png %}
[createprlink]: {{ site.baseurl }}{% link /assets/createprlink.png %}
[sendpullrequest]: {{ site.baseurl }}{% link /assets/sendpullrequest.png %}
[praccepteddelete]: {{ site.baseurl }}{% link /assets/praccepteddelete.png %}
[submit]: #submit
[remote-upstream]: #configure-remote-upstream
[cleanup]: #cleanup
[pencil-icon]: {{ site.baseurl }}{% link /assets/pencil-icon.png %}
[commitbtn]: {{ site.baseurl }}{% link /assets/commitbtn.png %}
[commit-directly]: {{ site.baseurl }}{% link /assets/commit-directly.png %}
[files-changed]: {{ site.baseurl }}{% link /assets/files-changed.png %}
[more-commits]: {{ site.baseurl }}{% link /assets/more-commits.png %}
[github flow]: https://guides.github.com/introduction/flow/