General Contribution Rules
Fork workflow, PR checklist, issue templates, review process, and GitHub labels.
Contributing to OpenCV
OpenCV is maintained on GitHub at github.com/opencv/opencv and accepts contributions via pull requests. The opencv_contrib repository (github.com/opencv/opencv_contrib) holds extra and experimental modules — new algorithms typically start there before being promoted to the main repo. The official CONTRIBUTING.md in the main repository is a redirect to the GitHub wiki at github.com/opencv/opencv/wiki/How_to_contribute.
What You Can Contribute
Section titled “What You Can Contribute”Code Style & PR Guidelines
C++ naming conventions, clang-format configuration, and Doxygen documentation.
Local Testing Guide
Run accuracy and performance tests from the build folder without installing OpenCV.
Three Repositories You Need
Section titled “Three Repositories You Need”Most contributors work with three repositories:
| Repository | Purpose |
|---|---|
github.com/opencv/opencv | Core library — the main repository |
github.com/opencv/opencv_contrib | Extra modules — new algorithms start here |
github.com/opencv/opencv_extra | Test data — required for running the test suite |
When adding a new algorithm, it must be submitted to opencv_contrib first. After proving stability and community interest, it may be promoted to the main repository.