If you are working on Python it is very possible you will come across an issue where you need some assistance to solve it (this happens to core developers all the time).
Should you require help, there are a :ref:`variety of options available <communication>` to seek assistance. If the question involves process or tool usage then please check the rest of this guide first as it should answer your question.
If you are comfortable with IRC you can try asking on #python-dev (on
the freenode network). Typically there are a number of experienced
developers, ranging from triagers to core developers, who can answer
questions about developing for Python. Just remember that #python-dev
is for questions involving the development of Python whereas #python
is for questions concerning development with Python.
An alternative to IRC is our own Zulip instance. There are different streams for asking help with core development, as well as core developers' office hour stream. It is preferred that you ask questions here first or schedule an office hour, before posting to python-dev mailing list or filing bugs.
If you are interested in improving Python and contributing to its development, but don’t yet feel entirely comfortable with the public channels mentioned above, Python Mentors are here to help you. Python is fortunate to have a community of volunteer core developers willing to mentor anyone wishing to contribute code, work on bug fixes or improve documentation. Everyone is welcomed and encouraged to contribute.
Several core developers have set aside time to host mentorship office hours. During the office hour, core developers are available to help contributors with our process, answer questions, and help lower the barrier of contributing and becoming Python core developers.
The PSF's code of conduct applies for interactions with core developers during office hours.
| Core Developer | Schedule | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Zachary Ware | See details link | Schedule at https://calendly.com/zware |
| Mariatta Wijaya | Thursdays 7PM - 8PM Pacific (Vancouver, Canada Timezone) | In Python's Zulip Chat, Core > Office Hour stream. A reminder will be posted to both Zulip and Mariatta's twitter account 24 hours before the start. |
Further options for seeking assistance include the python-ideas and
python-dev mailing lists. Python-ideas contains discussion of speculative
Python language ideas for possible inclusion into the language. If an idea
gains traction it can then be discussed and honed to the point of becoming a
solid proposal and presented on python-dev. Python-dev contains discussion
of current Python design issues, release mechanics, and maintenance of
existing releases. As with #python-dev, these mailing lists are for
questions involving the development of Python, not for development
with Python.
If you strongly suspect you have stumbled on a bug (be it in the build process, in the test suite, or in other areas), then open an issue on the issue tracker. As with every bug report it is strongly advised that you detail which conditions triggered it (including the OS name and version, and what you were trying to do), as well as the exact error message you encountered.