Bug Fixing

If you’re new to fixing bugs in Ubuntu MATE, and Ubuntu in general, you’ll need a Launchpad account. This Ubuntu Wiki page is an excellent place to learn about bug fixing in Ubuntu.

Recommended Skills

Although programming knowledge is very helpful, there are some non-programming ways to handle reported and triaged issues. For example, there might be a typo or a problem with documentation. If you’re proficient in a non-English language, you might fix a translation error. If you have Internet detective skills, you can track down fixes from upstream developers or other distributions.

Where to Start

The Ubuntu MATE Bug Tracker lists all open bugs. The bug tracker displays a bug’s status (e.g. New, Triaged) and its importance (Undecided, Wishlist, Low, High). If a bug is New, it’s best to triage the bug, to at least be sure it’s a confirmed bug.

If you would like to start in a safe bug-fixing sandbox, you can practice with the trivial bugs of the One Hundred Papercuts project.

Learn More

This Ubuntu Wiki page walks users through fixing bugs in Ubuntu. Also, be sure to join the amazing resource that is the Ubuntu MATE community!

Lastly, this video explains why it’s important to fix bugs in the right place, and why patching at the Ubuntu level (in the packages) is sometimes better than only fixing upstream.