Contributing to YARA-X

July 27, 2026 · View on GitHub

Thank you for your interest in contributing to YARA-X! We welcome contributions from the community, whether it's reporting bugs, improving documentation, or submitting pull requests.

Contributor License Agreement (CLA)

YARA-X is a project maintained by VirusTotal (a subsidiary of Google). Contributions to this project must be accompanied by a Contributor License Agreement (CLA).

Signing the CLA

Before we can accept and merge your pull requests, you will need to sign a Contributor License Agreement:

Individual CLA: If you are contributing as an individual, please complete the online Individual Contributor License Agreement.
Corporate CLA: If you are contributing on behalf of your employer, your organization must sign a Corporate Contributor License Agreement.

When you open a pull request, an automated status check (cla/google) will verify whether you have signed the CLA. If you have not signed it yet, follow the link provided by the status check to complete the agreement.

`CONTRIBUTORS` and `AUTHORS` Files

CONTRIBUTORS: Lists individuals who are authorized to contribute code to the repository. Names and email addresses are added after the individual or their organization agrees to the CLA.
AUTHORS: Lists copyright holders for the repository (such as Google Inc. or corporate contributors).

Code Style & Formatting

We adhere to standard Rust coding conventions and enforce code quality checks in CI:

Formatting (rustfmt):
- Code formatting is configured via rustfmt.toml (e.g. max_width = 79).
- Format your code before submitting a PR:
```
cargo fmt --all
```
- Verify formatting compliance locally:
```
cargo fmt --all --check
```
Linting (clippy):
- We use Clippy to ensure clean, idiomatic Rust code.
- Ensure there are no Clippy warnings or errors before submitting your PR:
```
cargo clippy --workspace --tests --no-deps -- --deny clippy::all
```
Style References:
- Refer to the canonical Rust Style Guide for style rules.

Development & Contribution Workflow

Follow these steps to contribute code or fixes:

Fork & Clone:
- Fork the YARA-X repository on GitHub and clone your fork locally.
Create a Feature Branch:
- Create a branch for your changes:
```
git checkout -b feature/my-changes
```
Make Your Changes & Test:
- Implement your feature, bug fix, or documentation update.
- Run the test suite:
```
cargo test --workspace
```

Verify Code Quality:

Run formatting and linter checks:

cargo fmt --all --check
cargo clippy --workspace --tests --no-deps -- --deny clippy::all

Submit a Pull Request:
- Push your branch to your GitHub fork and open a Pull Request against main.
- Ensure you have signed the Google CLA so the cla/google status check passes.

Reporting Issues

If you encounter bugs or have feature requests, please check existing issues before opening a new one. Feel free to open a new issue with detailed reproduction steps or feature context.