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# Creating patches

## Overview

If you haven’t already configured git:

    git config --global user.name "Your Name"
    git config --global user.email you@yourdomain.example.com

Then, the workflow is the following:

    # Get the repository if you don't have it
    git clone git://github.com/astropy/astropy.git

    # Make a branch for your patching
    cd astropy
    git branch the-fix-im-thinking-of
    git checkout the-fix-im-thinking-of

    # hack, hack, hack

    # Tell git about any new files you've made
    git add somewhere/tests/test_my_bug.py

    # Commit work in progress as you go
    git commit -am 'BF - added tests for Funny bug'

    # hack hack, hack

    # Commit work
    git commit -am 'BF - added fix for Funny bug'

    # Make the patch files
    git format-patch -M -C master

Then, send the generated patch files to the astropy-dev mailing list — where we will thank you warmly.

## In detail

1. Tell git who you are so it can label the commits you’ve made:

       git config --global user.name "Your Name"
       git config --global user.email you@yourdomain.example.com

   This is only necessary if you haven’t already done this, and you haven’t checked to Make sure git is installed and configured on your computer.

2. If you don’t already have one, clone a copy of the Astropy repository:

       git clone git://github.com/astropy/astropy.git
       cd astropy

3. Make a ‘feature branch’. This will be where you work on your bug fix. It’s nice and safe and leaves you with access to an unmodified copy of the code in the main branch:

       git branch the-fix-im-thinking-of
       git checkout the-fix-im-thinking-of

4. Do some edits, and commit them as you go:

       # hack, hack, hack

       # Tell git about any new files you've made
       git add somewhere/tests/test_my_bug.py

       # Commit work in progress as you go
       git commit -am 'BF - added tests for Funny bug'

       # hack hack, hack

       # Commit work
       git commit -am 'BF - added fix for Funny bug'

   Note the `-am` options to `commit`. The `m` flag just signals that you’re going to type a message on the command line. The `a` flag — you can just take on faith — or see why the -a flag?.

5. When you have finished, check you have committed all your changes:

       git status

6. Finally, make your commits into patches. You want all the commits since you branched from the `master` branch:

       git format-patch -M -C master

   You will now have several files named for the commits:

       0001-BF-added-tests-for-Funny-bug.patch
       0002-BF-added-fix-for-Funny-bug.patch

   Send these files to the astropy-dev mailing list.

When you are done, to switch back to the main copy of the code, just return to the `master` branch:

    git checkout master