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How to Contribute

CAKEbox brings together community-contributed resources designed to support you. If you have guidance, templates, reflections, or examples that others would benefit from, we encourage you to contribute!

Contributions may include:

  • Writing new content
  • Uploading existing materials
  • Signposting useful external resources

Need help?

If you have any questions or need guidance, please contact the committee at cake-management@mlist.is.ed.ac.uk.

How to Contribute via GitHub

CAKEbox is hosted on GitHub, which allows contributors to submit content for review. The general workflow is:

  1. Create a GitHub account.
  2. Fork the CAKEbox repository.
  3. Create a new branch for your changes.
  4. Make your edits to the project files.
  5. Commit your changes with a clear, descriptive message.
  6. Issue a pull request (PR) against the main branch.
  7. The committee will review your PR, provide feedback, and merge it when ready.

New to GitHub?

If you are new to GitHub, we recommend starting with the Hello World guide.

You can also make small changes directly in your browser by following our guide:
Editing a GitHub Pages Webpage in Your Web Browser

How to add new content:

First, decide which theme your contribution falls under:

Central themes

If you want to create a new theme, follow the guidance in this Guide for contributing a new central theme.

Once you have selected the appropriate theme, navigate to the corresponding folder within the docs directory. This is where you can add your new content or upload files.

Writing new content

  • Write your content as a Markdown file. We recommend using the Contribution Template to get started!
  • Add a meaningful heading and assign the correct tag.
  • Place your Markdown file in the folder for your chosen theme.
  • When the correct tag is applied, the resource will automatically appear on the theme’s index.md page. No further action is needed.

Uploading existing materials

  • Upload existing PDFs or other files that can be rendered on the website into the correct theme folder.
  • Non-Markdown files (i.e. that don't have a tag) will not be listed automatically, so you must manually add them to the list of resources in index.md with a description. Example internal link.

Signposting useful external resources

  • External resources will also not be listed automatically, so you must list them with a link and a clear description. Example external link.

List of all "How to Contribute" resources:

Contributing