Skip to main content

Contributing to PCSX2

In this section you will learn how to contribute to PCSX2.

As a first step, please review these links as they'll help you understand how the development of PCSX2 works.

How to Contribute​

If you have no experience in programming or just want to help us in any shape or form, here is what you can do:

  • If you find application or emulation bugs, feel free to report an issue on our GitHub
  • If you have a knack for writing articles or testing games in general, we are always looking for help!
    • Please join our Discord if you are interested!
  • A game runs well or has a weird workaround? Head over to the Wiki and let us know on Discord!
  • Want to help translating PCSX2 to your language? Head over to Crowdin and start right away!

However if you do have experience in programming and wanted to contribute code, read on!

Just Starting Out​

Pull Request Guidelines​

The following is a list of general style recommendations that will make reviewing and merging easier:

  • Commit Messages

    • Please try to prefix your commit message, indicating what area of the project was modified.

      • For example GS: message....
      • Looking at the project's commit history will help with keeping prefixes consistent overtime, there is no strictly enforced list.

    • Try to keep messages brief and informative

    • Remove unnecessary commits and squash commits together when appropriate.

      • If you are not familiar with rebasing with git, check out the following resources:

  • Code Styling and Formatting

    • Consult the style guide

    • Run clang-format using the configuration file in the root of the repository

      • Visual Studio Setup
      • IMPORTANT - if you are running clang-format on unrelated changes (ie. formatting an entire file), please do so in a separate commit.
        • If you cannot scope your clang-format to just your changes and do not want to format unrelated code. Try your best to stick with the existing formatting already established in the file in question.

Commenting Etiquette​

GitHub allows users to comment nearly everywhere. You can comment on issues, on commits, or even on one concrete line of a commit. This is a very powerful tool, but also has a great potential for abuse.

Keeping it real​

The comment system is not a forum, and is generally not for idle chat. Many of the devs have comments feeding directly into our inboxes, and a bunch of spam for smileys or statements like "make it faster plz" isn't what we consider a good time. So please be considerate.

There are a few rules an guidelines that we all need to follow in order for this public feedback system to work:

  • Comments should be relevant to the commit/issue and should contain useful information.
  • If you're having general problems with PCSX2, you can use our Issue tracker, or if you don't really know what revision causes it, our Public Forum. This way we can discuss and troubleshoot the issue in depth, in its right place.
  • Statements like "please make it faster" or "please fix my game" are not acceptable and will be deleted.
  • Phrasing the statement as a question like "Will this make it faster?" or "Will this fix my game?" is not acceptable either, and will also be deleted.
  • If we delete your post, there was a good reason for it. Deleting posts without justification would be counter-productive, much the same way that allowing posts with no relevant content would also be counter-productive.

General Documentation And Coding Strategies​