# Development Overview

Thanks for contributing to Fides! This section of the docs is designed to help you become familiar with how we work, the standards we apply, and how to ensure your contribution is successful.

If you're stuck, don't be shy about asking for help [on GitHub](https://github.com/ethyca/fides/issues).

## Getting Started  
The first step is to clone the Fides repo for development:

```
git clone https://github.com/ethyca/fides
```

Once that's complete, there are a few different ways to spin up the project and get coding!

### Developer Workflows  
There are a few different ways to develop Fides, they are listed below _in order of how strongly they are recommended!_

1. The recommended way to work on Fides is by utilizing the `Noxfile` commands:
    1. Make sure that you have `docker` and `nox` (`pip install nox`) installed.
    2. Run `nox` in the root directory to see a list of all of the possible Nox commands. This is helpful as a reference when trying to find new commands or remember old ones!
    3. Run `nox -s dev -- shell` to spin up the entire `fides` application as well as a shell within the `fides` webserver container.
    4. You can and should run all of your various development commands from within this shell, such as `pytest`, `black`, etc.
2. While it is possible to install all application dependencies and develop on the project without Docker, this is neither recommended nor tested.

#### Issues  
- MSSQL: Known issues around connecting to MSSQL exist today for Apple M1 users. M1 users that wish to install `pyodbc` locally, please reference the workaround [here](https://github.com/mkleehammer/pyodbc/issues/846).

- Package not found: When running `nox -s dev`, if you get a `importlib.metadata.PackageNotFoundError: fides`, do `nox -s dev -- shell`, and then run `pip install -e .`. Verify Fides is installed with `pip list`.

### Write your code  
We have no doubt you can write amazing code! However, we want to help you ensure your code plays nicely with the rest of the Fides ecosystem. Many projects describe code style and documentation as a suggestion; in Fides it's a CI-checked requirement.

- To learn how to style your code, see the [style guide](/content/docs/community/development/code_style/index.html).
- To learn how to migrate the database schema, see the [database migration guide](/content/docs/community/development/database_migration/index.html).
- To learn how to document your code, see the [docs guide](/content/docs/community/development/documentation/index.html).
- To learn how to test your code, see the [tests guide](/content/docs/community/development/testing/index.html).
- To learn what format your PR should follow, make sure to follow the [pull request guidelines](/content/docs/community/development/pull_requests/index.html).

### Submit your code  
In order to submit code to Fides, please:
- [Fork the Fides repository](https://help.github.com/en/articles/fork-a-repo)
- [Create a new branch](https://help.github.com/en/desktop/contributing-to-projects/creating-a-branch-for-your-work) on your fork
- [Open a Pull Request](https://help.github.com/en/articles/creating-a-pull-request-from-a-fork) once your work is ready for review
- Once automated tests have passed, a maintainer will review your PR and provide feedback on any changes it requires to be approved. Once approved, your PR will be merged into Fides.

### Congratulations  
You're a Fides contributor - welcome to the team! 🎉

[Development Hints and Tips](/content/docs/community/hints_tips/index.html) [Contributing Details](/content/docs/community/development/contributing_details/index.html)