Questions tagged [bitcoincore-review]

collects guidance on how to effectively review and test open Bitcoin Core PRs.

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1 vote
2 answers
326 views

Should we inform others that all tests are passed in the course of reviewing a pull request?

I'm not sure is there a right place to ask this question or not, if it is off-topic please let me know. When reviewing a pull request of the Bitcoin Core, is it common to comment and inform others ...
0 votes
2 answers
55 views

What Git workflow do I need to use to be able to compare a PR branch before and after an author's force push?

This is more of a Git question but it is particularly relevant to Bitcoin Core PR review (or other open source projects with stringent review requirements). You've done a review of a PR, the PR author ...
3 votes
1 answer
71 views

Is commenting on github as reviewer good place to ask questions about source code?

I'm not sure even this question is off-topic or not. But bear with me. Currently I have a good knowledge of bitcoin protocol and network but know very little about its source code and implementation ...
2 votes
1 answer
67 views

How can I keep my disk usage under control when regularly running the Bitcoin Core functional tests?

What directories should I delete regularly to keep my disk usage under control when regularly running Bitcoin Core and the unit/functional tests?
3 votes
1 answer
320 views

How can I efficiently search the bitcoin-dev mailing list for discussion of a specific term?

How can I efficiently search the bitcoin-dev mailing list for discussion on a specific term e.g. deprecating BIP37 support? This question was asked by pinheadmz on IRC.
1 vote
1 answer
59 views

What should I include in the description of a Bitcoin Core pull request?

What should I include in the description of a pull request (PR) that I open to the Bitcoin Core repo to help reviewers quickly get up to speed and efficiently review and test the PR?
2 votes
1 answer
100 views

What is DrahtBot on Bitcoin Core pull requests?

I see DrahtBot on a lot of Bitcoin Core pull requests (PRs) e.g. here. What does it do? Is it open source?
1 vote
1 answer
43 views

What mistakes do first time contributors to Bitcoin Core often make?

What mistakes do first time contributors to Bitcoin Core often make with their first pull request?
4 votes
1 answer
314 views

What is fuzz testing?

I've been looking at the Bitcoin Core PR review club sessions on fuzz testing here and here. Can you explain at a high level what is fuzz testing?
0 votes
1 answer
165 views

Should I try to get fuzz testing working on MacOS or should I stick to Linux?

The Bitcoin Core fuzzing docs contain some hints for getting fuzz testing working on MacOS. But if I have access to a Linux machine/VM should I stick to doing all fuzzing on Linux? I'm assuming there ...
0 votes
1 answer
131 views

Which fuzzer should I use to fuzz test Bitcoin Core?

In the Bitcoin Core fuzzing docs there are setup instructions for three different fuzzers: libFuzzer, american fuzzy lop (afl-fuzz) and Honggfuzz. Presumably I should try them in this order. How do ...
1 vote
1 answer
62 views

Should I always run "make clean" between building different PR branches of Bitcoin Core?

I am switching between building different PR branches (ie I built one PR author's branch and now I am building a different PR author's branch). Jon Atack's doc suggests: On the other hand, when you ...
1 vote
1 answer
194 views

I'm digging further into the open Taproot PR. Can you explain the bip340_test_vectors?

I'm digging further into the open Taproot PR. I found these bip340_test_vectors. They have secret keys, public keys, aux_rand (auxiliary randomness), message, signature and whether the signature ...
0 votes
1 answer
92 views

How do I debug Taproot functional tests using pdb?

I am looking at the some of the Taproot functional tests such as feature_taproot.py to review the open Taproot PR. I would like to use pdb to debug these tests. Can you provide some guidance on how to ...
4 votes
1 answer
352 views

I would like to dig into the open Taproot PR to understand it, test it and possibly even review it. Any advice or recommendations?

I would like to dig into the open Taproot PR (PR #19953) to understand it, test it and possibly even review it. Any advice or recommendations?
0 votes
1 answer
84 views

What is an uninitialized read? Can you point out some examples found in Bitcoin Core? How do you detect them?

What is an uninitialized read? Can you point out some examples found in Bitcoin Core? How do you detect them?
2 votes
1 answer
271 views

I have written a test for an open Bitcoin Core PR. Should I open a PR to the author's fork or wait for it to be merged?

I have written an additional test for an open Bitcoin Core pull request (PR). Should I seek to extend the PR by forking the author's fork of Bitcoin Core and opening a pull request to his PR branch? ...
2 votes
1 answer
128 views

How do I set up IRC bouncer to receive messages and follow the discussion while I am offline?

I am now set up on IRC and I can attend the Bitcoin Core PR review club sessions. But when I am offline I can't receive messages and I can't follow the discussion which has happened during the time I ...
0 votes
2 answers
243 views

What is ccache? When should I use it when building and reviewing Bitcoin Core PRs?

What is ccache? Can you provide some guidance on when to use it for building Bitcoin Core PRs and how to use it?
2 votes
1 answer
185 views

What is Valgrind? When should I use it for debugging Bitcoin Core over using gdb, lldb, pdb etc?

I was watching Fabian Jahr's presentation on debugging Bitcoin Core at Bitcoin Edge Dev++ 2019. He mentioned Valgrind briefly at the end. What is it and when should I use it over gdb, lldb, pdb etc?
6 votes
2 answers
265 views

How do I join the Bitcoin Core PR review club meetings on IRC?

I would like to learn about reviewing Bitcoin Core pull requests at the Bitcoin Core PR review club. How do I join the ##bitcoin-core-pr-reviews channel on IRC (Libera.Chat network) and which IRC ...
1 vote
1 answer
100 views

How do I build and review a Bitcoin Core GUI pull request?

I am a designer and I would like to start reviewing pull requests (PRs) in the Bitcoin Core GUI repository. How do I build the adjusted Bitcoin Core GUI in the pull request? I am used to just double ...
2 votes
1 answer
118 views

Why do some Bitcoin Core "good first issues" require scripted-diffs?

I am looking at a good first issue on the Bitcoin Core repo to find and replace a string. But it appears I need to write a scripted-diff and the examples look complicated. What is the point of the ...
4 votes
1 answer
86 views

Should I run the tests every time I review an open Bitcoin Core PR?

I am reviewing an open Bitcoin Core PR. Should I run the tests or can I rely on the CI (continuous integration) output to catch test failures? If I am to ACK a commit should I seek to catch flaky ...
3 votes
1 answer
195 views

what is the significance (if any) of "ACKs for top commit:" in the git commit messages of bitcoin core?

There seems to be a reasonably standardized format for some, but not all, commit messages in bitcoin's git repository. For example, in addition to the usual expository commit message, this commit (...
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5 votes
2 answers
99 views

How much testing is done on each pull request before it is merged?

Frequently after one pull request is merged, multiple other pull requests follow to clean up a problem created by the first PR Recent example: https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/7957 https://...
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