---
title: "Contributing"
weight: 80
---

By participating in this project, you agree to abide our
[code of conduct](https://github.com/goreleaser/.github/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md).

## Set up your machine

`goreleaser` is written in [Go](https://go.dev/).

Prerequisites:

- [Task](https://taskfile.dev/installation)
- [Go 1.27+](https://go.dev/doc/install)

Other things you might need to run some of the tests (they should get
automatically skipped if a needed tool isn't present):

- [cosign](https://github.com/sigstore/cosign)
- [Docker](https://www.docker.com/)
- [GPG](https://gnupg.org)
- [Podman](https://podman.io/)
- [Snapcraft](https://snapcraft.io/)
- [Syft](https://github.com/anchore/syft)
- [upx](https://upx.github.io/)

## Building

Clone `goreleaser` anywhere:

```sh
git clone git@github.com:goreleaser/goreleaser.git
```

`cd` into the directory and install the dependencies:

```bash
go mod tidy
```

You should then be able to build the binary:

```bash
go build -o goreleaser .
./goreleaser --version
```

## Testing your changes

You can create a branch for your changes and try to build from the source as you go:

```sh
task build
```

When you are satisfied with the changes, we suggest you run:

```sh
task ci
```

Before you commit the changes, we also suggest you run:

```sh
task fmt
```

### A note about Docker multi-arch builds

If you want to properly run the Docker tests, or run `goreleaser release
--snapshot` locally, you might need to setup Docker for it.
You can do so by running:

```sh
task docker:setup
```

### A note about Windows

Make sure to enable "Developer Mode" in Settings.

## Writing pipes

Pipes should follow these conventions for consistent error output:

- **Do not prefix error messages with the pipe name.** Error wrapping with
  the pipe name is done at the meta-pipe level (`publish`, `announce`,
  `defaults`), so individual pipes should only describe the problem itself
  (e.g., `"no archives found"` instead of `"archive: no archives found"`).
- **Use the pipe's `String()` method for context.** Meta-pipes wrap errors
  using `fmt.Errorf("%s: %w", pipe.String(), err)`, which provides
  consistent, non-redundant context.

## Creating a commit

Commit messages should be well formatted, and to make that "standardized", we
are using Conventional Commits.

You can follow the documentation on
[their website](https://www.conventionalcommits.org).

## AI usage guidelines

AI usage is permitted as long as it is disclosed.
"Disclosed" can mean any of the following:

1. Commits have the `Co-authored-by` or `Assisted-by` markers in the commit messages
2. Issues, pull requests, and discussions should explicitly say AI was used

Beyond that, if you used it for coding, you should:

1. Fully understand the changes
2. Review all the work

Agents that keep going on random repositories pretending to be a human doing
things are not allowed.

We reserve the right to close any and all issues, pull requests, and discussions
that do not follow these rules.

## Submitting a pull request

Push your branch to your `goreleaser` fork and open a pull request against the main branch.

## Financial contributions

You can contribute in our OpenCollective or to any of the contributors directly.
See [this page](https://goreleaser.com/sponsors) for more details.
