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We provide several mechanism for getting help.
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Whether you have run into a problem using Autoware, or you just want more information about some aspect of it not covered in the documentation, one of the below options should have you covered.
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Using the correct resource, particularly the interactive forums, will ensure you get a helpful response to your query quickly.
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# Documentation
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## User guide
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Autoware documentation is [available at our ReadTheDocs page](https://autoware.readthedocs.io/en/stable/).
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This documentation should be your first stop when learning how to use Autoware, or how a particular module works.
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## Wiki pages
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The [Autoware wiki](https://github.com/CPFL/Autoware/wiki) provides information mainly on contributing to Autoware, including developer guidelines.
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If you are interested in contributing a bug fix, a new feature, or an entire new module to Autoware, stop by the wiki first and check the Developer's Guide.
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Complying with the Developer's Guide will ensure that your pull request gets merged faster.
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Note: We are aware that the wiki documentation and the ReadTheDocs documentation are incomplete.
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Correcting this is a priority of the releases to be done in 2019.
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If you are willing to write documentation, please sign into GitHub and begin contributing.
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All contributions are welcome!
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As with any open source project, Autoware is improved as much by its users as by its developers.
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# Discourse discussion board
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The [Autoware category](https://discourse.ros.org/c/autoware) on the ROS Discourse discussion board is available as a forum for general discussion of Autoware as well as for asking for help.
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It is quite likely that someone has had the same problem as you, so consider searching the category for similar questions before making a new post.
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If you don't find an answer to your problem, then make a post explaining what is wrong in as much detail as you can.
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- Post the complete output for error messages, starting from the command that you ran.
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If the output is long, use a service such as [GitHubGists](https://gist.github.com/) and link that from your post.
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Copy the text using copy-and-paste, do not re-type it by hand.
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- Do not post screenshots of text.
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Post the text itself.
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This aides people in searching for your error and makes it more likely that they will help you.
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- If you are having a problem with a GUI tool, post a screenshot or movie of the tool showing the problem.
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- Describe the environment in which you are running the software in as much detail as possible.
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Provide the names and versions of packages you are using, your platform/OS and version, hardware used, your compiler tool chain and version (if relevant), etc.
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- If possible, post a bag file (recorded using the [rosbag tool](http://wiki.ros.org/rosbag) of your system so that others can replay your data, reproduce the problem, and find a solution faster.
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- If you are following a tutorial, provide a link to it and state where in the tutorial your problem occurs.
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- Make the topic of your post or bug report or feature request detailed.
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A topic that says "Problem making it go" won't attract many people to help you.
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- If you include code snippets, use the formatting function to make sure they appear correctly.
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Check the preview before you post.
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- When you have a problem, [Short, Self Contained, Correct (Compilable) Examples](http://sscce.org/) or [Minimal, Complete, and Verifiable Examples](https://stackoverflow.com/help/mcve) help us reproduce your error quickly and thus get help to you quickly.
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# Instant chat
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Autoware provides a Slack chat for users and developers to communicate.
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You can join it by following [this link](https://autoware.herokuapp.com/) and requesting an invitation.
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Invitations are sent automatically so you will not have to wait long.
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However this is not an appropriate place to post general requests for support.
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You should only use the chat if a developer asks you to join to discuss your problem in more detail.
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For some requests, the nature of instantaneous chat can make it easier to understand the finer details of a problem.
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# Bug reports
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If your problem is actually a bug in Autoware, then the [issue tracker](https://github.com/cpfl) for the relevant repository should be your next port of call.
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If you do not know which repository is relevant (although hopefully discussion of your problem on the Discourse discussion board has identified that), then post an issue on the [general Autoware repository](https://github.com/CPFL/Autoware) and a developer will help you shift it to the correct place.
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When posting a bug report, it is important to be as detailed and accurate as possible.
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The bug report template will help you fill in the necessary information, but in general all the same advice that applies to the Discourse discussion board also applies to filing a bug report.
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You should also post a debug trace if possible, to identify where in the source code the problem occurs.
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*Do not post requests for help on the issue trackers.*
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They will be closed and you will be directed to the correct place to ask, slowing down the process of you getting help.
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# Feature requests
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If Autoware doesn't do something you need or want, please file a feature request.
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We want Autoware to cover as many use cases as possible, but if we don't know about your necessary features, we can't put them on the roadmap.
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When making a feature request, it helps to know as much about what you want.
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A feature request along the lines of "I want it to turn left more" will likely be ignored, but a feature request that begins "Handle multi-lane roundabouts in countries that drive on the left..." and provides detailed use cases is likely to attract attention.
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# General ROS-related support
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If you have problems or queries that are related to ROS in general rather than specific to Autoware, please see the [ROS support page](http://www.ros.org/support/) for how to get help.
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# How not to get help
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Please don't post support requests that are not related to Autoware, or are about general programming problems.
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There are more appropriate venues for those, such as [Stack Overflow](https://stackoverflow.com/).
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Do not contact the developers directly.
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Using the correct channels means everyone can see your question, and you are more likely to get a response.
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If you contact a few developers directly, that is a lot less eyes on your problem (and a lot more annoyed busy developers.), and it also means that others cannot see the solution to your problem.
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Do not post a request for help that just says "It doesn't work."
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No one will know how to help you. |