GitHub guide

A walkthrough for using GitHub with a view to providing updates (source or documentation or testing) to the Cyrus repository.

  1. Create a GitHub account
  2. Add your ssh key
  3. Fork the repository to make a copy of the code for you to apply changes to.
  4. Issue a pull request to request that your changes are incorporated back into the master codebase.

This guide assumes you are familiar with the workings of Git for source control.

1. Create a GitHub account

Go to GitHub and sign up for an account. You only need the free plan to contribute to Cyrus.

Their help pages have more information on filling out your profile and setting up two-factor authentication for additional security.

2. Add your ssh key

It’s worth adding a ssh key to your account, so you’re not having to input your password every time you access the repository.

If you don’t have an ssh key already (and here’s how to check), you can generate a new key. Once you have a key, add it to GitHub and test it out.

3. Fork the repository

Whether you’re contributing to Cyrus (source, or documentation), contributing to tests with Cassandane or into helping out with SASL or any of the other Cyrus component projects, use the Fork button to make a copy of the repository into your own GitHub work space.

GitHub has more information on how to fork a repository.

Once you have a forked copy, you can clone it into your working area on your computer.

git clone

You will then want to set your local copy to get its changes from the original repository, so it stays in sync. Use git remote -v to show the current origins of your clone which will currently be your fork.

$ git remote -v
origin (fetch)
origin (push)

We want to set that instead to point to the primary original upstream repository.

git remote add upstream

Now we can check to see that the upstream is set:

$ git remote -v
origin (fetch)
origin (push)
upstream (fetch)
upstream (push)

We recommend you create a topic branch and make your changes (don’t forget to test!). Using a topic branch means you can keep your master source in sync without affecting your changes. It also means that if your patch undergoes further revisions before inclusion, you can easily do so.

4. Issue a pull request

When your changes are done, you issue a pull request. This is done by logging into the GitHub interface, swapping to your branch, then selecting New Pull Request.

When submitting the pull request, note if there’s a particular filed bug your patch addresses. The Cyrus Team will review your pull request and make sure it gets integrated!