Contributing to Decred
Decred is open to contributions across all domains, including software development, design, communications, community support, research and documentation. At its core, Decred is an open source project with a mission to build free software which provides universal access to a method of securely storing and communicating value.
As with many other open source software development projects, people working on Decred do so autonomously and voluntarily. People contribute to Decred because they want the project to succeed and there is some aspect they are personally attached to, enough to want to spend some of their time working on it. The Treasury has funds to pay people for this work, once they demonstrate that they are capable of adding significant value in a particular domain.
The strength of the open source approach to production is that individuals efficiently allocate themselves to the tasks they are most interested in and apt for. Contributors are typically not keen to spend time managing or directing others, so this model tends to only suit people who enjoy working independently in a self-directed manner.
Guidelines
While the process of contributing will vary depending on domain, the basic steps will be as follows:
- Understand the basics of Decred by using its software and reading our documentation or other educational content.
- Find a part of the project you feel you have the skills to contribute to.
- Check with the Decred team before starting work, to avoid duplication.
- Submit work for review.
If contributing code, see the contributor guidelines in the Decred developer documentation.
Becoming a paid Contractor
Decred has a Treasury fund to pay contributors who work effectively to advance the project. To become a paid contractor one must demonstrate that one’s work is of value to the project. The recruitment blog post by Project Organizer Jake Yocom-Piatt is the definitive guide to becoming a contractor.
The people who are best placed to judge whether a new contributor would make a good addition to a team are the people who are already working in that team. New contributors who produce good work will be invited to become a paid contractor.
At present, this process is informal, but a formal process for granting a Decred Contractor Clearance (DCC) that allows an individual to bill for their work has been proposed and approved by stakeholders. This process will involve three established contractors in the relevant domain agreeing that a new contributor should be invited to become a contractor. This DCC model will go live once the contractor management system is operational.
As part of becoming a paid contractor, you will agree on an hourly rate at which you can bill for your work on the project.
The Contributor Compensation page has details of how billing and payments work.
Questions about becoming a contributor or contractor can be asked in the #recruiting room - available on bridged chat platforms. The first steps are generally to read the recruitment blog post, explore the sub-project(s) you’re most interested in contributing to, and talk to the people who work on those already. Developers can find a list of software projects at devdocs.decred.org.
The following posts also describe aspects of the contractor recruitment process, and may be of interest:
Hear from some of our contractors
For a more personal perspective, check these stories where some Decred contributors share their experience of getting involved in Decred: