These instructions are meant as an introductory, step-by-step guide for new Core Committers.

1. Choose a Launchpad Ticket
   • Ideally, choose a ticket that has the pullrequest and signedoff tags.
   • If it only has the pullrequest tag, you will be responsible for the testing and signoff stage as well as the committing stage.
2. Review, Install, Test
   1. Review the Code
      • Code formatting - whitespace, etc.?
      • Consistency with other code?
      • Good variable names, clear comments?
      • Logically well-constructed?
      • Descriptive commit messages?
      • Release notes?
      • Documentation?
      • Does it need to be rebased to current main? You may do this yourself or ask the original submitter to do so (add the “needsrebase” tag if so).
      • Are there multiple commits? Some patches may be intentionally split into multiple logical commits, but other patches may just have minor changes and corrections in multiple commits that can be squashed for clarity. Creating a local branch to handle the squashing can be useful, or you may wish to refer it back to the original submitter (add the "needswork" tag if so).
   2. Install the Code
      • This will vary depending upon your development environment.
   3. Test the Code
      • Your level of testing will vary depending on code complexity and how well you understand what it is doing.
      • Does it work in the UI?
      • Are there database changes? If so, is there an upgrade script that matches the database changes?
      • Are there Perl/PostgreSQL/NPM-level tests to run?
      • Are there any error messages generated in the server logs?
3. Begin the Merge
   1. git checkout main
   2. git pull origin main
   3. git remote update
   4. git cherry-pick -s [branch id]
      • For multiple commits on a branch: git cherry-pick -s [oldest hash]^..[newest hash]
   5. git commit –amend
   6. Add signoffs as needed (review Launchpad ticket)
   7. Amend title if needed (make sure it includes LP number)
   8. Add Release Note line if needed:
      • Release-note: Adds publication year to pull list.