Outreachy June 2025 - Applicants please read this first!

[gridbugs]

Welcome! This issue will be used as a central organizational point for contributions to Dune for participants in Outreachy June 2025. The process for making such contributions is outlined here: https://www.outreachy.org/apply/make-contributions/

Slack issues

The outreachy website currently instructs applicants to join the OCaml slack, however this slack is not public. I'm waiting on the admins to update the site to refer to our discord instead, as that's the preferred chat system. Our discord is at https://discord.gg/cCYQbqN.

Before you start

Before making your first contribution, we have a few requests:

• If you haven't already, experience dune as an end user. Either grab the source code for an existing dune project and build it, or make a new "hello world" project from scratch and build it. Take a look at the documentation for installing ocaml and dune.
• Grab the source code for Dune itself (this repo) and compile it. This can sometimes be a little tricky, so I've created a dockerfile with a minimal example of how to do this.
• Read Dune's Contributing Guide.

Making Contributions

Once you've done the above steps, it's time to start contributing to Dune!

For code changes, choose issues you think will take a day or two for you to solve. Many small contributions are generally preferred over a few large contributions. Leave a comment on the issue asking me to assign you and tag me in the comment. If you want to work on a bigger issue, reach out to me first and we'll find a way to split it into smaller pieces that can be tackled in a day or two. Your PR does not have to solve the entire issue in one go.

Some tips to get your PRs merged faster:

• Do not use generative AI for code changes or PR descriptions. (Using AI to help with translation is acceptable.)
• Sign your commits as described in the Contributing Guide (run git commit -s ...). Dune does not allow unsigned commits.
• Include a link to the issue your PR addresses
• Make sure you've tested your change before submitting the PR
• For bugfixes, you should be able to reproduce bug before fixing it so you know your change actually fixes the bug

Creating new issues for problems you run into or writing documentation (ask me how!) are also welcome contributions!

Getting Help

If you run into trouble comment on this issue so other participants can benefit from the solutions. If you want interactive help, try the #dune and #outreachy channels of the OCaml Discord.

[bximbo]

Hi @gridbugs. I am Bimbo, an Outreachy contributor. I am eager to contribute to and collaborate on the "Extend dune to discover system information". But unfortunately I am completely new to OCaml and currently stuck between my terminal and VScode. With your patience, I would really love to learn on the go(which won't be a problem) to make significant contributions that would add value to the project as a whole. Pending when you reply, I am currently going through this material. I really look forward to working with you. Thank you

[create2000]

Hey @bximbo. This below contains some guidelines on how to get dune started on your local env, and how to set it up. If you're stuck, I'd be glad to assist. https://www.outreachy.org/apply/make-contributions/

[gridbugs]

Welcome! Once you've got Dune building on your machine, feel free to choose a "good first issue" and start contributing.

[bximbo]

Thank you @create2000. I just got to this stage of my installation of OCaml. (See picture below)

Please let me know if i am moving correctly

[create2000]

Excellent! You're doing great

[akshitasure12]

Hey @gridbugs,
I’m Akshita Sure, an Outreachy applicant, and I’m excited about the opportunity to contribute to the project. I’ve been going through the resources and getting familiar with the codebase. If there are any best practices or guidelines you'd recommend for contributing, I’d be eager to follow them.
Thank you so much for your time and guidance!

[gridbugs]

Welcome! The guidelines for contributing are outlined here: https://github.com/ocaml/dune/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md

[akshitasure12]

Thank you for the warm welcome and for sharing the guidelines. Additionally, I tried joining the Slack channel, but it seems I need an invitation to access the workspace. Could you please let me know your preferred mode of communication for discussions and any further questions I might have?

[gridbugs]

Join the discord instead, as the slack is not public.

[hansika2806]

Hello @gridbugs,
I am Hansika, an Outreachy applicant, i am eager to contribute to the project "Extend dune to discover system information". I know I’m a bit late, but I’m currently working on setting up my development environment. Once that’s done, I’ll start looking into a good first issue to contribute to and work on it as soon as possible. This is my first time contributing to open source, so I’d really appreciate any guidance along the way.