Opening a pull request

To contribute new content pages or improve existing content pages, open a pull request (PR). Make sure you follow all the requirements in the Before you begin section.

If your change is small, or you're unfamiliar with git, read Changes using GitHub to learn how to edit a page.

If your changes are large, read Work from a local fork to learn how to make changes locally on your computer.

Changes using GitHub

If you're less experienced with git workflows, here's an easier method of opening a pull request. The figure below outlines the steps and the details follow.

flowchart LR A([fa:fa-user New
Contributor]) --- id1[(K8s/Website
GitHub)] subgraph tasks[Changes using GitHub] direction TB 0[ ] -.- 1[1. Edit this page] --> 2[2. Use GitHub markdown
editor to make changes] 2 --> 3[3. fill in Propose file change] end subgraph tasks2[ ] direction TB 4[4. select Propose file change] --> 5[5. select Create pull request] --> 6[6. fill in Open a pull request] 6 --> 7[7. select Create pull request] end id1 --> tasks --> tasks2 classDef grey fill:#dddddd,stroke:#ffffff,stroke-width:px,color:#000000, font-size:15px; classDef white fill:#ffffff,stroke:#000,stroke-width:px,color:#000,font-weight:bold classDef k8s fill:#326ce5,stroke:#fff,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff; classDef spacewhite fill:#ffffff,stroke:#fff,stroke-width:0px,color:#000 class A,1,2,3,4,5,6,7 grey class 0 spacewhite class tasks,tasks2 white class id1 k8s

Figure - Steps for opening a PR using GitHub

  1. On the page where you see the issue, select the pencil icon at the top right. You can also scroll to the bottom of the page and select Edit this page.

  2. Make your changes in the GitHub markdown editor.

  3. Below the editor, fill in the Propose file change form. In the first field, give your commit message a title. In the second field, provide a description.

  4. Select Propose file change.

  5. Select Create pull request.

  6. The Open a pull request screen appears. Fill in the form:

    • The Subject field of the pull request defaults to the commit summary. You can change it if needed.
    • The Body contains your extended commit message, if you have one, and some template text. Add the details the template text asks for, then delete the extra template text.
    • Leave the Allow edits from maintainers checkbox selected.
  7. Select Create pull request.

Addressing feedback in GitHub

Before merging a pull request, Kubernetes community members review and approve it. The k8s-ci-robot suggests reviewers based on the nearest owner mentioned in the pages. If you have someone specific in mind, leave a comment with their GitHub username in it.

If a reviewer asks you to make changes:

  1. Go to the Files changed tab.
  2. Select the pencil (edit) icon on any files changed by the pull request.
  3. Make the changes requested.
  4. Commit the changes.

If you are waiting on a reviewer, reach out once every 7 days. You can also post a message in the #sig-docs Slack channel.

When your review is complete, a reviewer merges your PR and your changes go live a few minutes later.

Work from a local fork

If you're more experienced with git, or if your changes are larger than a few lines, work from a local fork.

Make sure you have

The figure below shows the steps to follow when you work from a local fork. The details for each step follow.

flowchart LR 1[Fork the K8s/website
repository] --> 2[Create local clone
and set upstream] subgraph changes[Your changes] direction TB S[ ] -.- 3[Create a branch
example: my_new_branch] --> 3a[Make changes using
text editor] --> 4["Preview your changes
locally using Hugo
(localhost:1313)
or build container image"] end subgraph changes2[Commit / Push] direction TB T[ ] -.- 5[Commit your changes] --> 6[Push commit to
origin/my_new_branch] end 2 --> changes --> changes2 classDef grey fill:#dddddd,stroke:#ffffff,stroke-width:px,color:#000000, font-size:15px; classDef white fill:#ffffff,stroke:#000,stroke-width:px,color:#000,font-weight:bold classDef k8s fill:#326ce5,stroke:#fff,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff; classDef spacewhite fill:#ffffff,stroke:#fff,stroke-width:0px,color:#000 class 1,2,3,3a,4,5,6 grey class S,T spacewhite class changes,changes2 white
Figure - Working from a local fork to make your changes

Fork the kubernetes/website repository

  1. Navigate to the
  2. Select Fork.

Create a local clone and set the upstream

  1. In a terminal window, clone your fork and update the :

    git clone git@github.com/<github_username>/website
    cd website
    git submodule update --init --recursive --depth 1
    
  2. Navigate to the new website directory. Set the kubernetes/website repository as the upstream remote:

    cd website
    
    git remote add upstream https://github.com/kubernetes/website.git
    
  3. Confirm your origin and upstream repositories:

    git remote -v
    

    Output is similar to:

    origin	git@github.com:<github_username>/website.git (fetch)
    origin	git@github.com:<github_username>/website.git (push)
    upstream	https://github.com/kubernetes/website.git (fetch)
    upstream	https://github.com/kubernetes/website.git (push)
    
  4. Fetch commits from your fork's origin/main and kubernetes/website's upstream/main:

    git fetch origin
    git fetch upstream
    

    This makes sure your local repository is up to date before you start making changes.

Create a branch

  1. Decide which branch base to your work on:
  1. Create a new branch based on the branch identified in step 1. This example assumes the base branch is upstream/main:

    git checkout -b <my_new_branch> upstream/main
    
  2. Make your changes using a text editor.

At any time, use the git status command to see what files you've changed.

Commit your changes

When you are ready to submit a pull request, commit your changes.

  1. In your local repository, check which files you need to commit:

    git status
    

    Output is similar to:

    On branch <my_new_branch>
    Your branch is up to date with 'origin/<my_new_branch>'.
    
    Changes not staged for commit:
    (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
    (use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)
    
    modified:   content/en/docs/contribute/new-content/contributing-content.md
    
    no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")
    
  2. Add the files listed under Changes not staged for commit to the commit:

    git add <your_file_name>
    

    Repeat this for each file.

  3. After adding all the files, create a commit:

    git commit -m "Your commit message"
    
  4. Push your local branch and its new commit to your remote fork:

    git push origin <my_new_branch>
    

Preview your changes locally

It's a good idea to preview your changes locally before pushing them or opening a pull request. A preview lets you catch build errors or markdown formatting problems.

You can either build the website's container image or run Hugo locally. Building the container image is slower but displays Hugo shortcodes, which can be useful for debugging.

  1. Build the image locally:

    # Use docker (default)
    make container-image
    
    ### OR ###
    
    # Use podman
    CONTAINER_ENGINE=podman make container-image
    
  2. After building the kubernetes-hugo image locally, build and serve the site:

    # Use docker (default)
    make container-serve
    
    ### OR ###
    
    # Use podman
    CONTAINER_ENGINE=podman make container-serve
    
  3. In a web browser, navigate to https://localhost:1313. Hugo watches the changes and rebuilds the site as needed.

  4. To stop the local Hugo instance, go back to the terminal and type Ctrl+C, or close the terminal window.

Open a pull request from your fork to kubernetes/website

The figure below shows the steps to open a PR from your fork to the K8s/website. The details follow.

flowchart LR subgraph first[ ] direction TB 1[1. Go to K8s/website repository] --> 2[2. Select New Pull Request] 2 --> 3[3. Select compare across forks] 3 --> 4[4. Select your fork from
head repository drop-down menu] end subgraph second [ ] direction TB 5[5. Select your branch from
the compare drop-down menu] --> 6[6. Select Create Pull Request] 6 --> 7[7. Add a description
to your PR] 7 --> 8[8. Select Create pull request] end first --> second classDef grey fill:#dddddd,stroke:#ffffff,stroke-width:px,color:#000000, font-size:15px; classDef white fill:#ffffff,stroke:#000,stroke-width:px,color:#000,font-weight:bold class 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 grey class first,second white
Figure - Steps to open a PR from your fork to the K8s/website

  1. In a web browser, go to the

  2. Select New Pull Request.

  3. Select compare across forks.

  4. From the head repository drop-down menu, select your fork.

  5. From the compare drop-down menu, select your branch.

  6. Select Create Pull Request.

  7. Add a description for your pull request:

    • Title (50 characters or less): Summarize the intent of the change.
    • Description: Describe the change in more detail.
      • If there is a related GitHub issue, include Fixes #12345 or Closes #12345 in the description. GitHub's automation closes the mentioned issue after merging the PR if used. If there are other related PRs, link those as well.
      • If you want advice on something specific, include any questions you'd like reviewers to think about in your description.
  8. Select the Create pull request button.

Congratulations! Your pull request is available in .

After opening a PR, GitHub runs automated tests and tries to deploy a preview using Netlify.

  • If the Netlify build fails, select Details for more information.
  • If the Netlify build succeeds, select Details opens a staged version of the Kubernetes website with your changes applied. This is how reviewers check your changes.

GitHub also automatically assigns labels to a PR, to help reviewers. You can add them too, if needed. For more information, see Adding and removing issue labels.

Addressing feedback locally

  1. After making your changes, amend your previous commit:

    git commit -a --amend
    
    • -a: commits all changes
    • --amend: amends the previous commit, rather than creating a new one
  2. Update your commit message if needed.

  3. Use git push origin <my_new_branch> to push your changes and re-run the Netlify tests.

Changes from reviewers

Sometimes reviewers commit to your pull request. Before making any other changes, fetch those commits.

  1. Fetch commits from your remote fork and rebase your working branch:

    git fetch origin
    git rebase origin/<your-branch-name>
    
  2. After rebasing, force-push new changes to your fork:

    git push --force-with-lease origin <your-branch-name>
    

Merge conflicts and rebasing