Contribution Guidelines for Go RISC-V Repository

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Repository: https://github.com/zte-riscv/go

1. Introduction

This specification applies to the Go RISC-V code repository jointly maintained by ZTE and ByteDance. We are committed to enhancing Golang support for RISC-V architecture, regularly contributing code upstream to golang/go while synchronizing with its latest features.

We warmly welcome community developers to participate! Whether it's fixing bugs, implementing new features, or improving documentation, your contributions will help advance the RISC-V ecosystem.

To ensure efficient collaboration, please review the following guidelines before submitting code:

2. Version Download and Installation

2.1 Download Version

Download the corresponding version from the GitHub Releases page, selecting the version suitable for your system architecture (e.g., linux-riscv64.tar.gz).

The naming rules for versions are：go version number+version release date "YYYYMM", separated by '.', for example: 1.25.3.202512. The version release cycle is one month.

2.2 Extract and Install

Extract the downloaded archive to the target directory:

# Extract to a specified directory (e.g., /usr/local)
tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.xx.x.linux-riscv64.tar.gz

2.3 Configure GOROOT

Configure the GOROOT environment variable to point to the Go installation directory:

Method 1: Temporary Configuration (valid for current session)

export GOROOT=/usr/local/go
export PATH=$PATH:$GOROOT/bin

Method 2: Permanent Configuration (Recommended) Add the following to ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile:

export GOROOT=/usr/local/go
export PATH=$PATH:$GOROOT/bin

Then execute source ~/.bashrc to apply the configuration.

Method 3: System-wide Configuration Edit /etc/profile or /etc/environment and add the above environment variable configuration.

2.4 Verify Installation

After installation, verify with the following command:

go version

If configured correctly, it will display output similar to go version go1.xx.x linux/riscv64.

2.5 Compile

Unlike Go/Golang, this version of the toolchain provides an optional extension configuration feature via the GORISCV64 environment variable. When specific extensions are specified, the compiler will generate assembly instructions corresponding to these extensions in certain scenarios, to achieve optimal performance.

Usage: GORISCV64=[,]...

Example: GORISCV64=rva23u64,zacas,zabha

The currently supported optional extensions are Zacas and Zabha.

3. Pre-Submission Preparation

3.1 Issue Tracking and Discussion

Mandatory:

• Create or claim a related Issue before commencing substantive work
• Clearly describe the change motivation, design approach, and expected impact in the Issue

Recommended:

• For significant changes (e.g., new instruction set support, architectural modifications), submit a design document for prior review

3.2 Branch Management

# Create a feature branch from the current development branch (e.g., go1.25.6-zte-dev):
git fetch origin
git checkout -b your_dev_branch origin/go1.25.6-zte-dev

4. Code Contribution Process

4.1 Development Workflow

Issue Submission:

• For bug reports: Document the problem, environment, and reproduction steps
• For features/optimizations: Describe the technical background and implementation strategy

Pull Request Submission:

• Provide task context in the PR description and reference related Issues
• Resolve all merge conflicts locally before submission

CI and Review:

• Automated test suites will execute upon PR submission (failed tests block merging)
• Require approvals from designated reviewers before merging, reviewers comment +1 or +2.

Merge Policy:

• All commits must be squashed into a single commit

4.2 Commit Message Standards

For squashed commits, follow this format:

git commit -m "package: concise change summary

Fixes #12345
Updates #67890"

• Header: Package prefix + brief description (<50 chars)
• Footer: Issue references

5. Review Process

5.1 Mandatory Requirements

• CI pipeline must pass
• Minimum approvals:
• One +2 from ZTE core maintainers
• One +2 from ByteDance core maintainers

5.2 Review Tiers

• +1: Preliminary approval (requires additional reviewer)
• +2: Final approval for merging

For maintainers and reviewers: when approving the merge, please respond with either +1 or +2.

5.3 Core Maintainers

GitHub	Role	Org	Auth Level
@agiledragon	Maintainer	ZTE	+2
@ctk-1998	Reviewer	ZTE	+1
@lxq015	Reviewer	ZTE	+1
@hehongjun20110618	Maintainer	ZTE	+2
@newborn22	Maintainer	ZTE	+2
@wenchangping	Reviewer	ZTE	+1
@wangpc-pp	Maintainer	ByteDance	+2
@BoyaoWang430	Reviewer	ByteDance	+1

5.4 Review Checklist

• ✅ Go coding standards compliance
• ✅ Passing CI pipelines
• ✅ Corresponding test coverage
• ✅ Performance benchmarks (where applicable)

6. CI Pipeline Requirements

6.1 Test

• Static Analysis: Run go vet on all modified code packages
• Codegen Validation: Verify RISCV64 instruction generation via asmcheck (go/test/codegen/)
• Assembly Tests: Validate machine code output from assembly instructions (go/src/cmd/asm/internal/asm/testdata/riscv64.s)
• Regression Testing: Execute go/src/all.bash on x86/ARM architectures
• Application Testing: Validate test file execution in QEMU-RISCV environment (go/test/zte/*_test.go)

7. Performance Reporting (Optional)

7.1 Benchmark Requirements

For performance-sensitive changes:

Test Environment:

- Hardware: [e.g., SiFive Unmatched, VisionFive2]
- Go Version:
- Test Date:
- CPU (Optional): [Cores, frequency, RISC-V extensions]
- Memory (Optional):

Benchmark Results, benchstat comparison:

benchstat old.txt new.txt

name        old time/op     new time/op    delta    
Fibonacci   125ms ± 2%      98ms ± 3%      -21.60% (p=0.000 n=10+10) 
Sort        456ms ± 1%      401ms± 2%      -12.06% (p=0.000 n=9+10)

8. Appendix

Official Go Contribution Guide: https://golang.org/doc/contribute