362. OpenClaw Contribution Guide (CONTRIBUTING.md)

O Community & Resources

Basic Information

ProjectDetails
Product NameOpenClaw CONTRIBUTING.md
Product TypeOpen Source Project Contribution Guide Document
Belonging ProjectOpenClaw
File Locationgithub.com/openclaw/openclaw/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md
Target UsersDevelopers, Documentation Contributors, Community Managers
Current Number of Contributors1,200+

Product Overview

The OpenClaw Contribution Guide is one of the core governance documents of the OpenClaw open-source project. It defines the standardized processes for community members to participate in project development, submit code, report issues, and improve documentation. This document is the cornerstone of OpenClaw community governance, ensuring efficient collaboration among over 1,200 contributors.

Core Content

Types of Contributions

  • Code Contributions - Submitting Pull Requests for feature development, bug fixes, and performance optimizations
  • Documentation Contributions - Improving project documentation, writing tutorials, translating content
  • Skill Development - Developing new Skills (skill modules) for the OpenClaw ecosystem
  • Community Management - Participating in issue categorization, PR reviews, and community discussions

Skill Contribution Channels

  • Skill contributions are directed to the ClawHub platform - OpenClaw's community skill center
  • ClawHub is the exclusive platform for publishing and sharing OpenClaw skills
  • Skills are in a portable format, facilitating community expansion

Maintainer Team

  • OpenClaw is selectively expanding its maintainer team
  • Seeking experienced contributors to help shape OpenClaw's direction
  • Maintainer responsibilities include: issue categorization, PR reviews, and driving the project forward
  • Maintainer status is seen as a responsibility rather than an honorary title
  • Requires active and continuous participation in project management

Contribution Process

  1. Fork the project repository
  2. Create a feature branch
  3. Write code following the project's coding standards
  4. Submit a Pull Request and describe the changes
  5. Wait for maintainer review and feedback
  6. Make revisions based on review comments
  7. Merge into the main branch after PR approval

Community Data

MetricData
Total Contributors1,200+
Closed PRs24,598
Pending PRs6,345
Total Commits11,400+
Forks66,400+

Technical Requirements

Welcome Skill Areas

  • Engineering Development (Frontend, Backend, System Architecture)
  • Documentation Writing and Maintenance
  • Community Management and Operations
  • Security Auditing and Testing
  • Internationalization and Localization

Development Environment

  • OpenClaw is built on Node.js/TypeScript
  • Local development requires configuring the appropriate development environment
  • The project uses npm for package management (openclaw npm package)

Comparison with Competitors

FeatureOpenClawLangChainAutoGPT
Number of Contributors1,200+3,000+500+
Contribution BarrierMediumMediumHigh
Skill EcosystemClawHubLangChain HubPlugin System
Documentation QualityHighHighMedium

Key Values

  • Lowering the barrier for new contributors
  • Ensuring code quality and project consistency
  • Establishing transparent decision-making and review processes
  • Promoting diverse community participation (code, documentation, community management)

Sources

External References

Learn more from these authoritative sources: