# Welcome! Thank you for contributing to Akka!

We follow the standard GitHub [fork & pull](https://help.github.com/articles/using-pull-requests/#fork--pull) approach to pull requests. Just fork the official repo, develop in a branch, and submit a PR!

You're always welcome to submit your PR straight away and start the discussion (without reading the rest of this wonderful doc, or the README.md). The goal of these notes is to make your experience contributing to Akka as smooth and pleasant as possible. We're happy to guide you through the process once you've submitted your PR.

# The Akka Community

In case of questions about the contribution process or for discussion of specific issues please visit the [akka/dev gitter chat](https://gitter.im/akka/dev).

You may also check out these [other resources](https://akka.io/get-involved/).

# Navigating around the project & codebase

## Branches summary

Depending on which version (or sometimes module) you want to work on, you should target a specific branch as explained below:

* `master` – active development branch of Akka 2.6.x
* `release-2.5` – maintenance branch of Akka 2.5.x
* similarly `release-2.#` branches contain legacy versions of Akka

## Tags

Akka uses tags to categorise issues into groups or mark their phase in development.

Most notably many tags start with a `t:` prefix (as in `topic:`), which categorises issues in terms of which module they relate to. Examples are:

- [t:core](https://github.com/akka/akka/issues?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Aissue%20is%3Aopen%20label%3At%3Acore)
- [t:stream](https://github.com/akka/akka/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3At%3Astream)
- see [all tags here](https://github.com/akka/akka/labels)

In general *all issues are open for anyone working on them*, however if you're new to the project and looking for an issue
that will be accepted and likely is a nice one to get started you should check out the following tags:

- [good first issue](https://github.com/akka/akka/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+label%3A%22good+first+issue%22) - which identifies simple entry level tickets, such as improvements of documentation or tests. If you're not sure how to solve a ticket but would like to work on it feel free to ask in the issue about clarification or tips.
- [help wanted](https://github.com/akka/akka/labels/help%20wanted) - which identifies issues that the core team will likely not have time to work on, or the issue is a nice entry level ticket. If you're not sure how to solve a ticket but would like to work on it feel free to ask in the issue about clarification or tips.
- [nice-to-have (low-priority)](https://github.com/akka/akka/labels/nice-to-have%20%28low-prio%29) - are tasks which make sense, however are not very high priority (in face of other very high priority issues). If you see something interesting in this list, a contribution would be really wonderful!

Another group of tickets are those which start from a number. They're used to signal in what phase of development an issue is:

- [0 - new](https://github.com/akka/akka/labels/0%20-%20new) - is assigned when a ticket is unclear on its purpose or if it is valid or not. Sometimes the additional tag `discuss` is used to mark such tickets, if they propose large scale changes and need more discussion before moving into triaged (or being closed as invalid).
- [1 - triaged](https://github.com/akka/akka/labels/1%20-%20triaged) - roughly speaking means "this ticket makes sense". Triaged tickets are safe to pick up for contributing in terms of likeliness of a patch for it being accepted. It is not recommended to start working on a ticket that is not triaged.
- [2 - pick next](https://github.com/akka/akka/labels/2%20-%20pick%20next) - used to mark issues which are next up in the queue to be worked on. Sometimes it's also used to mark which PRs are expected to be reviewed/merged for the next release. The tag is non-binding, and mostly used as an organisational helper.
- [3 - in progress](https://github.com/akka/akka/labels/3%20-%20in%20progress) - means someone is working on this ticket. If you see a ticket that has the tag, however seems inactive, it could have been an omission with removing the tag, feel free to ping the ticket then if it's still being worked on.

The last group of special tags indicate specific states a ticket is in:

- [bug](https://github.com/akka/akka/labels/bug) tickets indicate potential production issues. Bugs take priority in being fixed above features. The core team dedicates a number of days to working on bugs each sprint. Bugs which have reproducers are also great for community contributions as they're well-isolated. Sometimes we're not as lucky to have reproducers though, then a bugfix should also include a test reproducing the original error along with the fix.
- [failed](https://github.com/akka/akka/labels/failed) tickets indicate a Jenkins failure (for example from a nightly build). These tickets usually include a stacktrace + link to the Jenkins failure, and we'll add a comment when we see the same problem again. Since these tickets can either indicate tests with incorrect assumptions or legitimate issues in the production code we look at them periodically. When the same problem isn't seen again over a period of 6 months we assume it to be a rare flaky test or a problem that might have since been fixed, so we close the issue until it pops up again.

Pull request validation states:

- `validating => [tested | needs-attention]` - signify pull request validation status.

# Akka contributing guidelines

These guidelines apply to all Akka projects, by which we mean both the `akka/akka` repository,
as well as any plugins or additional repositories located under the Akka GitHub organisation.

These guidelines are meant to be a living document that should be changed and adapted as needed.
We encourage changes that make it easier to achieve our goals in an efficient way.

## General workflow

The steps below describe how to get a patch into a main development branch (e.g. `master`). 
The steps are exactly the same for everyone involved in the project (be it core team, or first time contributor).

1. To avoid duplicated effort, it might be good to check the [issue tracker](https://github.com/akka/akka/issues) and [existing pull requests](https://github.com/akka/akka/pulls) for existing work.
   - If there is no ticket yet, feel free to [create one](https://github.com/akka/akka/issues/new) to discuss the problem and the approach you want to take to solve it.
1. [Fork the project](https://github.com/akka/akka#fork-destination-box) on GitHub. You'll need to create a feature-branch for your work on your fork, as this way you'll be able to submit a pull request against the mainline Akka.
1. Create a branch on your fork and work on the feature. For example: `git checkout -b custom-headers-akka-http`
   - Please make sure to follow the general quality guidelines (specified below) when developing your patch.
   - Please write additional tests covering your feature and adjust existing ones if needed before submitting your pull request. The `validatePullRequest` sbt task ([explained below](#the-validatepullrequest-task)) may come in handy to verify your changes are correct.
   - Use the `verifyCodeStyle` sbt task to make sure your code is properly formatted and includes the proper copyright headers.
1. Once your feature is complete, prepare the commit following our [Creating Commits And Writing Commit Messages](#creating-commits-and-writing-commit-messages). For example, a good commit message would be: `Adding compression support for Manifests #22222` (note the reference to the ticket it aimed to resolve).
1. If it's a new feature, or a change of behavior, document it on the [akka-docs](https://github.com/akka/akka/tree/master/akka-docs). If the feature was touching Scala or Java DSL, make sure to document both the Scala and Java APIs.
1. Now it's finally time to [submit the pull request](https://help.github.com/articles/using-pull-requests)!
    - Please make sure to include a reference to the issue you're solving *in the comment* for the Pull Request, as this will cause the PR to be linked properly with the Issue. Examples of good phrases for this are: "Resolves #1234" or "Refs #1234".
1. If you have not already done so, you will be asked by our CLA bot to [sign the Lightbend CLA](http://www.lightbend.com/contribute/cla) online. CLA stands for Contributor License Agreement and is a way of protecting intellectual property disputes from harming the project.
1. A core member will comment `OK TO TEST` on your PR to kick off the build. This is just a sanity check to prevent malicious code from being run on the Jenkins cluster.
1. Now both committers and interested people will review your code. This process is to ensure the code we merge is of the best possible quality, and that no silly mistakes slip through. You're expected to follow-up these comments by adding new commits to the same branch. The commit messages of those commits can be more loose, for example: `Removed debugging using printline`, as they all will be squashed into one commit before merging into the main branch.
    - The community and team are really nice people, so don't be afraid to ask follow up questions if you didn't understand some comment, or would like clarification on how to continue with a given feature. We're here to help, so feel free to ask and discuss any kind of questions you might have during review!
1. After the review you should fix the issues as needed (pushing a new commit for new review etc.), iterating until the reviewers give their thumbs up–which is signalled usually by a comment saying `LGTM`, which means "Looks Good To Me". 
    - In general a PR is expected to get 2 LGTMs from the team before it is merged. If the PR is trivial, or under special circumstances (such as most of the team being on vacation, a PR was very thoroughly reviewed/tested and surely is correct) one LGTM may be fine as well.
1. If the code change needs to be applied to other branches as well (for example a bugfix needing to be backported to a previous version), one of the team will either ask you to submit a PR with the same commit to the old branch, or do this for you.
   - Follow the [backporting steps](#backporting) below.
1. Once everything is said and done, your pull request gets merged :tada: Your feature will be available with the next “earliest” release milestone (i.e. if back-ported so that it will be in release x.y.z, find the relevant milestone for that release). And of course you will be given credit for the fix in the release stats during the release's announcement. You've made it!

The TL;DR; of the above very precise workflow version is:

1. Fork Akka
2. Hack and test on your feature (on a branch)
3. Document it 
4. Submit a PR
5. Sign the CLA if necessary
6. Keep polishing it until received enough LGTM
7. Profit!

### Backporting
Backport pull requests such as these are marked using the phrase `for validation` in the title to make the purpose clear in the pull request list. 
They can be merged once validation passes without additional review (if there are no conflicts). 
Using, for example: current.version 2.5.22, previous.version 2.5, milestone.version 2.6.0-M1    
1. Label this PR with `to-be-backported`
1. Mark this PR with Milestone `${milestone.version}`
1. Mark the issue with Milestone `${current.version}`
1. `git checkout release-${previous.version}`
1. `git pull`
1. Create wip branch
1. `git cherry-pick <commit>`
1. Open PR, target `release-${previous.version}`
1. Label that PR with `backport`
1. Merge backport PR after validation (no need for full PR reviews)
1. Close issue

## Getting started with sbt

Akka is using the [sbt](https://github.com/sbt/sbt) build system. So the first thing you have to do is to download and install sbt. You can read more about how to do that in the [sbt setup](https://www.scala-sbt.org/1.x/docs/Getting-Started.html) documentation.

To compile all the Akka core modules use the `compile` command:

```
sbt compile
```

You can run all tests with the `test` command:

```
sbt test
```

If you want to deploy the artifacts to your local Ivy repository (for example,
to use from an sbt project) use the `publishLocal` command:

```
sbt publishLocal
```

Note that in the examples above we are calling `sbt compile` and `sbt test`
and so on, but sbt also has an interactive mode. If you just run `sbt` you
enter the interactive sbt prompt and can enter the commands directly. This saves
starting up a new JVM instance for each command and can be much faster and more
convenient.

For example, building Akka as above is more commonly done like this:

```
% sbt
[info] Set current project to default (in build file:/.../akka/project/plugins/)
[info] Set current project to akka (in build file:/.../akka/)
> compile
...
> test
...
```

To run a single multi-jvm test:

```
sbt
project akka-cluster
multi-jvm:testOnly akka.cluster.SunnyWeather
```

To format the Scala source code:
```
sbt
akka-cluster/scalafmtAll
akka-persistence/scalafmtAll
```

### Do not use `-optimize` Scala compiler flag

Akka has not been compiled or tested with `-optimize` Scala compiler flag. (In sbt, you can specify compiler options in the `scalacOptions` key.)
Strange behavior has been reported by users that have tried it.

### Compiling with Graal JIT

Akka, like most Scala projects, compiles faster with the Graal JIT enabled. The easiest way to use it for compiling Akka is to:

* Use a JDK > 10
* Use the following JVM options for SBT e.g. by adding them to the `SBT_OPTS` environment variable: `-XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:+EnableJVMCI -XX:+UseJVMCICompiler`

## The `validatePullRequest` task

The Akka build includes a special task called `validatePullRequest` which investigates the changes made as well as dirty
(uncommitted changes) in your local working directory and figures out which projects are impacted by those changes,
then running tests only on those projects.

For example changing something in `akka-actor` would cause tests to be run in all projects which depend on it
(e.g. `akka-actor-tests`, `akka-stream`, `akka-docs` etc.).

To use the task simply type `validatePullRequest`, and the output should include entries like shown below:

```
> validatePullRequest
[info] Diffing [HEAD] to determine changed modules in PR...
[info] Detected uncomitted changes in directories (including in dependency analysis): [akka-protobuf,project]
[info] Detected changes in directories: [akka-actor-tests, project, akka-stream, akka-docs, akka-persistence]
```

By default changes are diffed with the `master` branch when working locally, if you want to validate against a different
target PR branch you can do so by setting the PR_TARGET_BRANCH environment variable for sbt:

```
PR_TARGET_BRANCH=origin/example sbt validatePullRequest
```

If you already ran all tests and just need to check formatting and mima, there
is a set of `all*` command aliases that run `test:compile` (also formats), `mimaReportBinaryIssues`, and `validateCompile` 
(compiles `multi-jvm` if enabled for that project). See `build.sbt` or use completion to find the most appropriate one 
e.g. `allCluster`, `allTyped`.

## Binary compatibility

Binary compatibility rules and guarantees are described in depth in the [Binary Compatibility Rules
](http://doc.akka.io/docs/akka/snapshot/common/binary-compatibility-rules.html) section of the documentation.

Akka uses [MiMa](https://github.com/lightbend/mima) to
validate binary compatibility of incoming pull requests. If your PR fails due to binary compatibility issues, you may see 
an error like this:

```
[info] akka-stream: found 1 potential binary incompatibilities while checking against com.typesafe.akka:akka-stream_2.12:2.4.2  (filtered 222)
[error]  * method foldAsync(java.lang.Object,scala.Function2)akka.stream.scaladsl.FlowOps in trait akka.stream.scaladsl.FlowOps is present only in current version
[error]    filter with: ProblemFilters.exclude[ReversedMissingMethodProblem]("akka.stream.scaladsl.FlowOps.foldAsync")
```

In such situations it's good to consult with a core team member whether the violation can be safely ignored or if it would indeed
break binary compatibility. If the violation can be ignored add exclude statements from the mima output to
a new file named `<module>/src/main/mima-filters/<last-version>.backwards.excludes/<pr-or-issue>-<issue-number>-<description>.excludes`,
e.g. `akka-actor/src/main/mima-filters/2.6.0.backwards.excludes/pr-12345-rename-internal-classes.excludes`. Make sure to add a comment
in the file that describes briefly why the incompatibility can be ignored.

Situations when it may be fine to ignore a MiMa issued warning include:

- if it is touching any class marked as `private[akka]`, `/** INTERNAL API*/` or similar markers
- if it is concerning internal classes (often recognisable by package names like `dungeon`, `impl`, `internal` etc.)
- if it is adding API to classes / traits which are only meant for extension by Akka itself, i.e. should not be extended by end-users
- other tricky situations

The binary compatibility of the current changes can be checked by running `sbt +mimaReportBinaryIssues`.

## Wire compatibility

Changes to the binary protocol of remoting, cluster and the cluster tools require great care so that it is possible
to do rolling upgrades. Note that this may include older nodes communicating with a newer node so compatibility
may have to be both ways. 

Since during a rolling upgrade nodes producing the 'new' format and nodes producing the 'old' format coexist, a change can require a two-release process: 
the first change is to add a new binary format but still use the old. A second step then starts actually emitting the
new wire format. This ensures users can complete a rolling upgrade first to the intermediate version and then another
rolling upgrade to the next version.

All wire protocol changes that may concern rolling upgrades should be documented in the 
[Rolling Update Changelog](https://doc.akka.io/docs/akka/current/project/rolling-update.html#change-log) 
(found in akka-docs/src/main/paradox/project/rolling-update.md)

## Protobuf

Akka includes a shaded version of protobuf `3.9.0` that is used for internal communication. To generate files
run `protobufGenerate`. The generated files are put in the `src/main/java` of each project and need to be committed. 
The generated files are automatically transformed to use the shaded version of protobuf.

Generation depends on protoc `3.9.0` being on the path. Old versions of
protoc can be downloaded from the [protobuf release page](https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases) and built from
source or downloaded from [maven central](http://repo1.maven.org/maven2/com/google/protobuf/protoc/3.9.0/). See
[Protobuf.scala](https://github.com/akka/akka/blob/master/project/Protobuf.scala) for details of how to override 
the settings for generation.

## Pull request requirements

For a pull request to be considered at all it has to meet these requirements:

1. Regardless if the code introduces new features or fixes bugs or regressions, it must have comprehensive tests.
1. The code must be well documented in the Lightbend's standard documentation format (see the ‘Documentation’ section below).
1. The commit messages must properly describe the changes, see further below.
1. A pull request must indicate (link to) the issue it is aimed to resolve in the description (or comments) of the PR, in order to establish a link between PR and Issue. This can be achieved by writing "Fixes #1234" or similar in PR description.
1. All Lightbend projects must include Lightbend copyright notices.  Each project can choose between one of two approaches:

    1. All source files in the project must have a Lightbend copyright notice in the file header.
    1. The Notices file for the project includes the Lightbend copyright notice and no other files contain copyright notices.  See http://www.apache.org/legal/src-headers.html for instructions for managing this approach for copyrights.

    Akka uses the first choice, having copyright notices in every file header. When absent, these are added automatically during `sbt compile`.

### Additional guidelines

Some additional guidelines regarding source code are:

- Keep the code [DRY](http://programmer.97things.oreilly.com/wiki/index.php/Don%27t_Repeat_Yourself).
- Apply the [Boy Scout Rule](http://programmer.97things.oreilly.com/wiki/index.php/The_Boy_Scout_Rule) whenever you have the chance to.
- Never delete or change existing copyright notices, just add additional info.
- Do not use ``@author`` tags since it does not encourage [Collective Code Ownership](http://www.extremeprogramming.org/rules/collective.html).
  - Contributors , each project should make sure that the contributors gets the credit they deserve—in a text file or page on the project website and in the release notes etc.

## Documentation

All documentation is preferred to be in Lightbend's standard documentation format [Paradox](https://github.com/lightbend/paradox), which among other things allows all code in the documentation to be externalized into compiled files and imported into the documentation.

To build the documentation locally:

```
sbt
akka-docs/paradox
```

The generated html documentation is in `akka-docs/target/paradox/site/main/index.html`.

Alternatively, use `akka-docs/paradoxBrowse` to open the generated docs in your default web browser.

### Links to API documentation

Akka Paradox supports directives to link to the Scaladoc- and Javadoc-generated API documentation:

* `@apidoc[Flow]` searches for the class name and creates links to Scaladoc and Javadoc (see variants in [sbt-paradox-apidoc](https://github.com/lightbend/sbt-paradox-apidoc#examples))
* `@scaladoc[Flow](akka.stream.scaladsl.Flow)` (see [Paradox docs](https://developer.lightbend.com/docs/paradox/current/directives/linking.html#scaladoc-directive))
* `@javadoc[Flow](akka.stream.javadsl.Flow)` (see [Paradox docs](https://developer.lightbend.com/docs/paradox/current/directives/linking.html#javadoc-directive))

### Scaladoc

Akka generates class diagrams for the API documentation using ScalaDoc. 

Links to methods in ScalaDoc comments should be formatted
`[[Like#this]]`, because `[[this]]` does not work with genjavadoc, and
IntelliJ warns about `[[#this]]`.
For further hints on how to disambiguate links in scaladoc comments see
[this StackOverflow answer](https://stackoverflow.com/a/31569861/354132),
though note that this syntax may not correctly render as Javadoc.

The Scaladoc tool needs the `dot` command from the Graphviz software package to be installed to avoid errors. You can disable the diagram generation by adding the flag `-Dakka.scaladoc.diagrams=false`. After installing Graphviz, make sure you add the toolset to the PATH (definitely on Windows).

### JavaDoc

Akka generates JavaDoc-style API documentation using the [genjavadoc](https://github.com/typesafehub/genjavadoc) sbt plugin, since the sources are written mostly in Scala.

Generating JavaDoc is not enabled by default, as it's not needed on day-to-day development as it's expected to just work.
If you'd like to check if your links and formatting look good in JavaDoc (and not only in ScalaDoc), you can generate it by running:

```
sbt -Dakka.genjavadoc.enabled=true javaunidoc:doc
```

Which will generate JavaDoc style docs in `./target/javaunidoc/index.html`. This requires a jdk version 9 or later.

## External dependencies

All the external runtime dependencies for the project, including transitive dependencies, must have an open source license that is equal to, or compatible with, [Apache 2](http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0).

This must be ensured by manually verifying the license for all the dependencies for the project:

1. Whenever a committer to the project changes a version of a dependency (including Scala) in the build file.
2. Whenever a committer to the project adds a new dependency.
3. Whenever a new release is cut (public or private for a customer).

Which licenses are compatible with Apache 2 are defined in [this doc](http://www.apache.org/legal/3party.html#category-a), where you can see that the licenses that are listed under ``Category A`` are automatically compatible with Apache 2, while the ones listed under ``Category B`` need additional action:

> Each license in this category requires some degree of [reciprocity](http://www.apache.org/legal/3party.html#define-reciprocal); therefore, additional action must be taken in order to minimize the chance that a user of an Apache product will create a derivative work of a reciprocally-licensed portion of an Apache product without being aware of the applicable requirements.

Each project must also create and maintain a list of all dependencies and their licenses, including all their transitive dependencies. This can be done either in the documentation or in the build file next to each dependency.

## Creating commits and writing commit messages

Follow these guidelines when creating public commits and writing commit messages.

1. If your work spans multiple local commits (for example; if you do safe point commits while working in a feature branch or work in a branch for a long time doing merges/rebases etc.) then please do not commit it all but rewrite the history by squashing the commits into a single big commit which you write a good commit message for (like discussed in the following sections). For more info read this article: [Git Workflow](http://sandofsky.com/blog/git-workflow.html). Every commit should be able to be used in isolation, cherry picked etc.

2. The first line should be a descriptive sentence what the commit is doing, including the ticket number. It should be possible to fully understand what the commit does—but not necessarily how it does it—by just reading this single line. We follow the “imperative present tense” style for commit messages ([more info here](http://tbaggery.com/2008/04/19/a-note-about-git-commit-messages.html)).

   It is **not ok** to only list the ticket number, type "minor fix" or similar.
   If the commit is a small fix, then you are done. If not, go to 3.

3. Following the single line description should be a blank line followed by an enumerated list with the details of the commit.

4. You can request review by a specific team member  for your commit (depending on the degree of automation we reach, the list may change over time):
    * ``Review by @gituser`` - if you want to notify someone on the team. The others can, and are encouraged to participate.

Example:

    enable Travis CI #1

    * Details 1
    * Details 2
    * Details 3

## Pull request validation workflow details

Akka uses [Jenkins GitHub pull request builder plugin](https://wiki.jenkins-ci.org/display/JENKINS/GitHub+pull+request+builder+plugin)
that automatically merges the code, builds it, runs the tests and comments on the pull request in GitHub.

Upon a submission of a pull request the GitHub pull request builder plugin will post a following comment:

    Can one of the repo owners verify this patch?

This requires a member from a core team to start the pull request validation process by posting a comment consisting only of `OK TO TEST`.
From now on, whenever new commits are pushed to the pull request, a validation job will be automatically started and the results of the validation posted to the pull request.

A pull request validation job can be started manually by posting `PLS BUILD` comment on the pull request.

In order to speed up PR validation times, the Akka build contains a special sbt task called `validatePullRequest`,
which is smart enough to figure out which projects should be built if a PR only has changes in some parts of the project.
For example, if your PR only touches `akka-persistence`, no `akka-remote` tests need to be run, however the task
will validate all projects that depend on `akka-persistence` (including samples).
Also, tests tagged as `PerformanceTest`, `TimingTest`, `LongRunningTest` and all multi-node tests are excluded from PR validation.

You can exclude the same kind of tests in your local build by starting sbt with:

```
sbt -Dakka.test.tags.exclude=performance,timing,long-running -Dakka.test.multi-in-test=false
```

In order to force the `validatePullRequest` task to build the entire project, regardless of dependency analysis of a PRs
changes one can use the special `PLS BUILD ALL` command (typed in a comment on GitHub, on the pull request), which will cause
the validator to test all projects.

Note, that `OK TO TEST` will only be picked up when the user asking for it is considered an admin. Public (!) members of the [akka organization](https://github.com/orgs/akka/people) are automatically considered admins and users manually declared admin in the Jenkins job (currently no one is explicitly listed). `PLS BUILD` and `PLS BUILD ALL` can be issued by everyone that is an admin or everyone who was given permission in the Jenkins Job.

## Source style

Sometimes it is convenient to place 'internal' classes in their own package.
In such situations we prefer 'internal' over 'impl' as a package name.

### Scala style 

Akka uses [Scalafmt](https://scalameta.org/scalafmt/docs/installation.html) to enforce some of the code style rules.

It's recommended to enable Scalafmt formatting in IntelliJ. Use version 2019.1 or later. In
Preferences > Editor > Code Style > Scala, select Scalafmt as formatter and enable "Reformat on file save".
IntelliJ will then use the same settings and version as defined in `.scalafmt.conf` file. Then it's
not needed to use `sbt scalafmtAll` when editing with IntelliJ.

PR validation includes checking that the Scala sources are formatted and will fail if they are not.

### Java style

Akka uses [the sbt Java Formatter plugin](https://github.com/sbt/sbt-java-formatter) to format Java sources.

PR validation includes checking that the Java sources are formatted and will fail if they are not.

### Code discipline opt out

In addition to formatting the Akka build enforces code discipline through a set of compiler flags. While exploring ideas
the discipline may be more of a hindrance than a help so it is possible to disable it by setting the system property `akka.no.discipline`
to any non-empty string value when starting up sbt: `sbt -Dakka.no.discipline=youbet`

PR validation includes the discipline flags and therefore may fail if the flags were disabled during development. Make sure you compile your code at least once with discipline enabled before sending a PR.

### Preferred ways to use timeouts in tests

Avoid short test timeouts, since Jenkins server may GC heavily causing spurious test failures. GC pause or other hiccups of 2 seconds are common in our CI environment. Please note that usually giving a larger timeout *does not slow down the tests*, as in an `expectMessage` call for example it usually will complete quickly.

There are a number of ways timeouts can be defined in Akka tests. The following ways to use timeouts are recommended (in order of preference): 

* `remaining` is first choice (requires `within` block)
* `remainingOrDefault` is second choice
* `3.seconds` is third choice if not using testkit
* lower timeouts must come with a very good reason (e.g. Awaiting on a known to be "already completed" `Future`)

Special care should be given to `expectNoMessage` calls, which indeed will wait the entire timeout before continuing, therefore a shorter timeout should be used in those, for example `200` or `300.millis`. Prefer the method without timeout parameter, which will use the configured `expect-no-message-default` timeout.

You can read up on `remaining` and friends in [TestKit.scala](https://github.com/akka/akka/blob/master/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestKit.scala).

## Contributing modules

For external contributions of entire features, the normal way is to establish it
as a stand-alone feature first, to show that there is a need for the feature. The
next step would be to add it to Akka as an "may change"-feature (in the
akka-contrib subproject) and marking it's public api with the `ApiMayChange` annotation, 
then when the feature is hardened, well documented and
tested it becomes an officially supported Akka feature.

[List of Akka features marked as may change](http://doc.akka.io/docs/akka/current/common/may-change.html)

## Java APIs in Akka

Akka, aims to keep 100% feature parity between the Java and Scala. Implementing even the API for Java in 
Scala has proven the most viable way to do it, as long as you keep the following in mind:

1. Keep entry points separated in `javadsl` and `scaladsl` unless changing existing APIs which for historical 
   and binary compatibility reasons do not have this subdivision.
   
1. Have methods in the `javadsl` package delegate to the methods in the Scala API, or the common internal implementation. 
   The Akka Stream Scala instances for example have a `.asJava` method to convert to the `akka.stream.javadsl` counterparts.
   
1. When using Scala `object` instances, offer a `getInstance()` method. See `akka.Done` for an example.
   
1. When the Scala API contains an `apply` method, use `create` or `of` for Java users.

1. Do not nest Scala `object`s more than two levels. 
   
1. Do not define traits nested in other classes or in objects deeper than one level.

1. Be careful to convert values within data structures (eg. for `scala.Long` vs. `java.lang.Long`, use `scala.Long.box(value)`)

1. Complement any methods with Scala collections with a Java collection version

1. Use the `akka.japi.Pair` class to return tuples

1. If the underlying Scala code requires an `ExecutionContext`, make the Java API take an `Executor` and use 
   `ExecutionContext.fromExecutor(executor)` for conversion.

1. Make use of `scala-java8-compat` conversions, see [GitHub](https://github.com/scala/scala-java8-compat) 
   (eg. `scala.compat.java8.FutureConverters` to translate Futures to `CompletionStage`s).
   Note that we cannot upgrade to a newer version scala-java8-compat because of binary compatibility issues. 

1. Make sure there are Java tests or sample code touching all parts of the API

1. Do not use lower type bounds: `trait[T] { def method[U >: Something]: U }` as they do not work with Java

1. Provide `getX` style accessors for values in the Java APIs

1. Place classes not part of the public APIs in a shared `internal` package. This package can contain implementations of 
   both Java and Scala APIs. Make such classes `private[akka]` and also, since that becomes `public` from Java's point of
   view, annotate with `@InternalApi` and add a scaladoc saying `INTERNAL API`
   
1. Traits that are part of the Java API should only be used to define pure interfaces, as soon as there are implementations of methods, prefer 
   `abstract class`.
      
1. Any method definition in a class that will be part of the Java API should not use any default parameters, as they will show up ugly when using them from Java, use plain old method overloading instead.
   

### Overview of Scala types and their Java counterparts

| Scala | Java |
|-------|------|
| `scala.Option[T]` | `java.util.Optional<T>` (`OptionalDouble`, ...) |
| `scala.collection.immutable.Seq[T]` | `java.util.List<T>` |
| `scala.concurrent.Future[T]` | `java.util.concurrent.CompletionStage<T>` |
| `scala.concurrent.Promise[T]` | `java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture<T>` |
| `scala.concurrent.duration.FiniteDuration` | `java.time.Duration` (use `akka.util.JavaDurationConverters`) |
| `T => Unit` | `java.util.function.Consumer<T>` |
| `() => R` (`scala.Function0[R]`) | `java.util.function.Supplier<R>` |
| `T => R` (`scala.Function1[T, R]`) | `java.util.function.Function<T, R>` |



## Contributing new Akka Streams operators

Documentation of Akka Streams operators is automatically enforced.
If a method exists on Source / Sink / Flow, or any other class listed in `project/StreamOperatorsIndexGenerator.scala`,
it must also have a corresponding documentation page under `akka-docs/src/main/paradox/streams/operators/...`.

The pages structure is well-defined, and must be the same on all documentation pages, please refer to any neighbouring
docs pages in there to see the pattern in action. In general though the page must consist of:

- the title, including where the operator is defined (e.g. `ActorFlow.ask` or `Source.map`)
- a short explanation of what this operator does, 1 sentence is optimal
- an image explaining the operator more visually (whenever possible)
- a link to the operators' "category" (these are listed in `akka-docs/src/main/paradox/categories`)
- the method signature snippet (use the built in directives to generate it)
- a longer explanation about the operator and it's exact semantics (when it pulls, cancels, signals elements)
- at least one usage example

Using this structure, the surrounding infrastructure will **generate the index pages**, so you do not need to maintain
the index or category pages manually.

### Adding new top-level objects/classes containing operators

In case you are adding not only a new operator, but also a new class/object, you need to add it to the 
`project/StreamOperatorsIndexGenerator.scala` so it can be included in the automatic docs generation and enforcing the 
existence of those docs.

# Supporting infrastructure

## Reporting security issues

If you have found an issue in an Akka project that might have security
implications, you can report it to <security@lightbend.com>. We will make
sure those will get handled with priority. Thank you for your responsible
disclosure!

## Continuous integration

Akka currently uses a combination of Jenkins and Travis for Continuous Integration:

* Jenkins [runs the tests for each PR](https://jenkins.akka.io:8498/job/pr-validator-per-commit-jenkins/)
* Jenkins [runs a nightly test suite](https://jenkins.akka.io:8498/view/Nightly%20Jobs/job/akka-nightly/)
* Travis [checks dependency licenses for all PR's](https://travis-ci.org/akka/akka)

The [Jenkins server farm](https://jenkins.akka.io/), sometimes referred to as "the Lausanne cluster", is sponsored by Lightbend.

The cluster is made out of real bare-metal boxes, and maintained by the Akka team (and other very helpful people at Lightbend).

## Related links

* [Akka Contributor License Agreement](http://www.lightbend.com/contribute/cla)
* [Akka Issue Tracker](http://doc.akka.io/docs/akka/current/project/issue-tracking.html)
* [Scalafmt](https://scalameta.org/scalafmt/)
