Getting Started

How do you get started with Joomla! development? The answer is organized into three areas below.

Reporting and Fixing Issues

Anyone is welcome to report issues or bugs in the Joomla! CMS or Joomla! Platform. For the current Joomla CMS, report issues on the CMS tracker. For issues that only affect version 2.5, use the Joomla 2.5

How do you get started with Joomla! development? The answer is organized into three areas below.

Reporting and Fixing Issues

Anyone is welcome to report issues or bugs in the Joomla! CMS or Joomla! Platform. For the current Joomla CMS, report issues on the CMS tracker. For issues that only affect version 2.5, use the Joomla 2.5 Tracker. You will need to register for an account on joomlacode.org to report an issue. For the Joomla! Platform please report issues at github. You will need to register for a Github account.

The Joomla! Bug Squad (also known as JBS) is the group responsible for sorting out and fixing Joomla! bugs and issues.

Who can join the Bug Squad?

Anyone who knows how to use Joomla! and is willing to learn how to use our version control software can join the Bug Squad. You do NOT need to be a PHP programmer, although it is a great way to learn and improve your programming skills.

How do I get more information?

See the Bug Squad article and Bug Squad Portal in the Wiki.

How do I join the Bug Squad?

Sign up for an account on joomlacode.org, fill out this form, and  e-mail a This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and ask to join.

Writing Joomla! Extensions

One of great things about Joomla! is how easy it is to write extensions for. It is designed to be extended, and there is a large and active community of extension developers. For example, the Joomla! Extensions Directory lists over 9,000 extensions available to Joomla! users.

Extensions allow Joomla! to be used for just about anything that you can imagine doing with a website. Extensions are developed by individuals, large companies, and everything in between.

How do I get started writing Joomla! extensions?

There are a number of useful articles in the Wiki to help you get started. Here are a few:

Different extension types:

• https://docs.joomla.org/Tutorial:What_Are_Extensions
• https://docs.joomla.org/Joomla!_Extensions_Defined

Overall index to developer articles: https://docs.joomla.org/Developers

Tutorials for different extension types:

• https://docs.joomla.org/Tutorial:Plugins
• https://docs.joomla.org/Tutorial:Creating_a_Hello_World_Module_for_Joomla_1.5
• https://docs.joomla.org/Developing_a_Model-View-Controller_%28MVC%29_Component_for_Joomla!1.6

Contributing New Features

Anyone can contribute new features to Joomla. The Production Leadership Team (PLT) is responsible for deciding which features are included into each version.

The general steps for submitting code to the Joomla! CMS are as follows:

1. Sign the Joomla! Contributor Agreement (JCA). This is required so that your code can be included into Joomla! under the GPL license. Click here to sign the agreement on line.
2. Communicate on the CMS list what you are working on and make sure it is consistent with the goals for the upcoming release.
3. Post a description of your project in the CMS Feature Tracker with a status of Open.
4. Fork the jooomla/joomla-cms repository at github. Create a branch and develop your feature. Working from a branch is not required but is recommended for complex features.
5. Follow the Joomla! Coding Standards and write unit and system tests to document your code and test that it works correctly.
6. Keep other developers and the PLT advised of your project status and invite them to review and comment on your work.
7. When you have work ready for testing, send a pull request to the CMS repository and change the feature status on the tracker to Pending. Once it is successfully tested, it will be changed to Ready for Review at which point senior developers will review it. You may also post patches directly to the feature tracker without using a git hub branch.

If your code is accepted, your branch  or patch will be merged with the trunk during the alpha period of the next upcoming release.

The general steps for contributing to the Joomla! Platform are as follow.

1. Read the Platform Developer Manual to learn about using the Platform.
2. Read the Joomla! Platform Coding Standards to learn about the coding standards for the Platform.
3. Sign the Joomla! Contributor Agreement (JCA). This is required so that your code can be included into Joomla! under the GPL license. Click here to sign the agreement on line.
4. Establish an account on github.
5. If this is a major new feature, you may want to post on the platform mailing list to get feedback from other developers. If this feature will impact the CMS you may also want to post on the CMS mailing list.
6. Fork the platform.
7. Develop your feature, making sure to keep up to date with the main platform.
8. When your feature is ready for review, make a pull request.

Note that many great features can be contributed to the community by way of extensions and do not need to be included in the core Joomla! distribution. Also, features that start as extensions can be included into the core program at a later time.