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# How to contribute to Apache Arrow

## Did you find a bug?

The Arrow project uses GitHub as a bug tracker.  To report a bug, sign in to
your GitHub account, navigate to [GitHub issues](https://github.com/apache/arrow/issues)
and click on **New issue** .

To be assigned to an issue, add a comment "take" to that issue.

Before you create a new bug entry, we recommend you first search among existing
Arrow issues in
[GitHub](https://github.com/apache/arrow/issues).

We conventionally prefix the issue title with the component
name in brackets, such as "[C++][Python] Ensure no validity bitmap in
UnionArray::SetData", so as to make lists more easy to navigate, and
we'd be grateful if you did the same.

## Did you write a patch that fixes a bug or brings an improvement?

First create a GitHub issue as described above, selecting **Bug Report** or
**Enhancement Request**. Then, submit your changes as a GitHub Pull Request.
We'll ask you to prefix the pull request title with the GitHub issue number
and the component name in brackets. (for example: "GH-14736: [C++][Python]
Ensure no validity bitmap in UnionArray::SetData"). Respecting this convention
makes it easier for us to process the backlog of submitted Pull Requests.

### Minor Fixes

Any functionality change should have a GitHub issue opened. For minor changes that
affect documentation, you do not need to open up a GitHub issue. Instead you can
prefix the title of your PR with "MINOR: " if meets one of the following:

*  Grammar, usage and spelling fixes that affect no more than 2 files
*  Documentation updates affecting no more than 2 files and not more
   than 500 words.

## Do you want to propose a significant new feature or an important refactoring?

We ask that all discussions about major changes in the codebase happen
publicly on the [arrow-dev mailing-list](https://mail-archives.apache.org/mod_mbox/arrow-dev/).

## Do you have questions about the source code, the build procedure or the development process?

You can also ask on the mailing-list, see above.

## Further information

Please read our [development documentation](https://arrow.apache.org/docs/developers/index.html)
or look through the [New Contributor's Guide](https://arrow.apache.org/docs/developers/guide/index.html).
