Testing

======= Testing Mixxx development ======

As we develop new features and fix bugs for Mixxx, we need feedback from users. Testing the latest developments is a great way to contribute to Mixxx.

Backup settings and database

Before switching from a stable release of Mixxx to a development version, it is recommended to make a backup copy of your settings and library database. We try to ensure that upgrading to new versions does not interfere with settings from older versions, but we might not catch every potential issue immediately. You can make a backup by copying the whole folder where the mixxx.log file is. If you want to switch back to a stable release of Mixxx after testing a development version, you can copy your backed up settings folder to its original location.

Master builds

Our build server regularly makes new Mixxx installers from our master git branch available for download. We try to keep the master branch reasonably stable and not merge new features until we're fairly confident they are not going to create serious issues. However, if you want to perform with these, do so at your own risk. If you do decide to perform with a master build, test the same build for several practice sets before your gig to check that it works with your particular setup. If you encounter a bug, please report it.

If you are using a GNU/Linux distribution other than Ubuntu or a derivative distribution that is compatible with Ubuntu .deb packages, you will need to compile from source code to test the master git branch.

GitHub pull requests

If you would really like to be on the bleeding edge, you can try out pull requests on GitHub before they get merged to the master branch. This way you can be involved in the design of new features as they are being implemented. If there is an issue with a build from a pull request, comment on the pull request on GitHub instead of opening a bug on Launchpad.

AppVeyor, our continuous integration system for Windows, builds each pull request and makes Windows installers. To get the Windows installer for a pull request, go to the bottom of the page on GitHub, click "Show all checks", then "Details" for AppVeyor. On the AppVeyor website, click the 64 bit ("dist64") or 32 bit ("dist32") build, then click "Artifacts" to get the link to the installer MSI file.

For Mac OS X and GNU/Linux, you will need to start#compile Mixxx from source code yourself. Refer to the Using Git wiki page for how to set up Git on your computer for downloading the code to test pull requests.