# Adding Packages to ConanCenter

ConanCenterIndex aims to provide the best quality packages of any open source project.
Any C/C++ project can be made available by contributing a "recipe".

Getting started is easy. Try building an existing package with our [developing recipes](../developing_recipes_locally.md)
tutorial. To deepen you understanding, start with the [How to provide a good recipe](#how-to-provide-a-good-recipe) section.
You can follow the three steps (:one: :two: :three:) described below! :tada:

<!-- toc -->
## Contents

  * [:one: Request access](#one-request-access)
  * [Inactivity and user removal](#inactivity-and-user-removal)
  * [:two: Creating a package](#two-creating-a-package)
    * [How to provide a good recipe](#how-to-provide-a-good-recipe)
  * [:three: Submitting a Package](#three-submitting-a-package)
  * [The Build Service](#the-build-service)<!-- endToc -->

## :one: Request access

The first step to add packages to ConanCenter is requesting access. To enroll in ConanCenterIndex repository, please write a comment
requesting access in this GitHub [issue #4](https://github.com/conan-io/conan-center-index/issues/4). Feel free to introduce yourself and
your motivation to join ConanCenter community.

This process helps ConanCenter against spam and malicious code. The process is not fully automated on purpose and the requests are
generally approved on a weekly basis. Feel free to continue to step :two: while waiting for approval.

> **Note** The requests are reviewed manually, checking the GitHub profile activity of the requester to avoid any misuse of the service.
> All interactions are subject to the expectations of the [code of conduct](../code_of_conduct.md). Any misuse or inappropriate behavior
> are subject to the same principals.

When submitting a pull request for the first time, you will be prompted to sign the [CLA](../CONTRIBUTOR_LICENSE_AGREEMENT.md) for your
code contributions. You can view your signed CLA's by going to <https://cla-assistant.io/> and signing in.

## Inactivity and user removal

For security reasons related to the CI, when a user no longer contributes for a long period, it will be considered inactive and removed from the authorized user's list.
For now, it's configured for **4 months**, and it's computed based on the latest commit, not comments or opened issues.
After that time, the CI bot will ask to remove the user name from the authorized users' list through the access request PR, which occurs a few times every week.

When you are interested in contributing again, simply ask again to be included in the [issue #4](https://github.com/conan-io/conan-center-index/issues/4).
The process will be precisely like for newcomers.

## :two: Creating a package

Once you've successfully built an existing recipe following [developing recipes](../developing_recipes_locally.md) tutorial.
You are set to being adding a new package.

Make sure you have:

* Forked and then cloned the [conan-center-index](https://github.com/conan-io/conan-center-index) git repository.
* Make sure you are using a recent [Conan client](https://conan.io/downloads) version, as recipes improve by introducing features of the newer Conan releases.

The easiest way to start is copying a template from our [`package_templates/`](../package_templates) folder to the [`recipes/`](../../recipes/) folder.
Rename the new folder following the [project name](conanfile_attributes.md#name) guidelines. Read templates [documentation](../package_templates/README.md)
to find more information.

Quickly, there's a few items to look at:

* Add _only_ the latest version in the [`config.yml`](folders_and_files.md#configyml) and [`conandata.yml`](folders_and_files.md#conandatayml)
* Make sure to update the [`ConanFile` attributes](conanfile_attributes.md) like `license`, `description`, etc...

In ConanCenter, our belief is recipes should always match upstream, in other words, what the original author(s) intended.

* Options should [follow these recommendations](conanfile_attributes.md#options) as well as match the default value used by the upstream project.
* [Package information](build_and_package.md), libraries, components should match as well. This includes exposing supported build system names.

Where dependencies are involved, there's no shortcuts, inspect the upstream's build scripts for how they are usually consumed. Pick the Conan
generator that matches. The most common example is CMake's `find_package` that can be satisfied by Conan's
[`CMakeDeps`](https://docs.conan.io/1/reference/conanfile/tools/cmake/cmakedeps.html) generator. There are a few
things to be cautious about, many projects like to "vendor" other projects within them. This can be files checked into the repository or
downloaded during the build process. These should be removed, see the [Dependencies section](dependencies.md#handling-internal-dependencies)
for more information.

### How to provide a good recipe

Take a look at existing [recipes](https://github.com/conan-io/conan-center-index/tree/master/recipes) available in ConanCenterIndex which can be
used as good examples, you can use them as the base for your recipe. The GitHub search is very good for matching code snippets, you can see if,
how or when a function is used in other recipes.

> **Note**: Conan features change over time and our best practices evolve so some minor details may be out of date due to the vast number of recipes.

More often than not, ConanCenter recipes are built in more configuration than the upstream project. This means some edge cases need minor tweaks.
We **strongly encourage** everyone to contribute back to the upstream project. This reduces the burden of re-applying patches and overall makes the
the code more accessible.

Read the docs! The [FAQs](../faqs.md) are a great place to find short answers.
The documents in this folder are written to explain each folder, file, method, and attribute.

1. [Folders and Files](folders_and_files.md)
2. [Sources and Patches](sources_and_patches.md)
   1. [`conandata.yml` format](conandata_yml_format.md)
3. [`ConanFile` Attributes](conanfile_attributes.md)
4. [Dependencies](dependencies.md)
5. [Build and Package](build_and_package.md)
   1. [Revisit Patches](sources_and_patches.md#policy-about-patching)
6. [Test Package](test_packages.md)

The one place you are certain to find a lot of information is <https://docs.conan.io>, this has the documentation for everything in Conan.
There are helpful tutorials for cross-build, detailed explication for profiles and settings and much much more!

## :three: Submitting a Package

To contribute a package, you can submit a [Pull Request](https://github.com/conan-io/conan-center-index/pulls) to this GitHub
repository <https://github.com/conan-io/conan-center-index>.

The specific steps to submitting changes are:

* Build and test the new recipe in several combinations. Check [developing recipes](../developing_recipes_locally.md) for tips.
* [Commit and push to your fork repository](https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/using-git/pushing-commits-to-a-remote-repository) then
  [submit a pull request](https://github.com/conan-io/conan-center-index/compare).
* Our automated [build service](#the-build-service) will build 100+ different configurations, and provide messages that indicate if there
  were any issues found during the pull request on GitHub.

When the pull request is [reviewed and merged](../review_process.md), those packages are published to [JFrog's ConanCenter](https://conan.io/center/)
and are made available for everyone.

## The Build Service

The **build service** associated to this repository will generate binary packages automatically for the most common platforms and compilers.
See [the Supported Platforms and Configurations page](../supported_platforms_and_configurations.md) for a list of generated configurations.
For a C++ library, the system is currently generating more than 100 binary packages.

> **Note**: This not a testing service, it is a binary building service for **released** packages. Unit tests shouldn't be built nor run in recipes by default, see the [FAQs](../faqs.md#why-conancenter-does-not-build-and-execute-tests-in-recipes) for more. Before submitting a pull request, please ensure that it works locally for some configurations.

* The CI bot will start a new build only [after the author is approved](#one-request-access). Your PR may be reviewed in the mean time, but is not guaranteed.
* The CI system will also report errors and build logs by creating a comment in the pull-request, the message will include links to the logs for inspecting.
* The Actions are used to lint and ensure the latest conventions are being used. You'll see comments from bots letting you know.

Packages generated and uploaded by this build service do not include any _user_ or _channel_ (we generally recommend using `@user/channel` for private package
repositories as an easy way to distinguish them from public ones). Once the packages are uploaded, you will be able to install them using the reference as
`name/version` so example `conan install fmt/9.1.0@` for 1.x client or `conan install --requires=fmt/9.1.0` for 2.x clients.