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Contribute to Thunderbird for Android

The wait is almost over! Thunderbird for Android will be here soon. As an open-source project, we could not succeed without the incredible volunteer contributors who help us along the way. Whether you’re a fan of problem-solving, localization, testing, development, or even just spreading the word, there’s a role for you in our community. Contributing doesn’t just benefit us – it’s a great way to grow your own skills and make a real difference in the lives of thousands of Thunderbird users worldwide. However you choose to contribute to Thunderbird for Android, we’re always happy to welcome new friends to the project!

Support

If you’re a natural at getting to the root of problems, consider becoming a support contributor!

When you answer a support question, you’re not only helping the person who asked the question, you’re helping the hundreds if not thousands of people who read it. Or if you like writing and editing, you can help with our knowledge base (KB) articles!

Support for Thunderbird on Android will live on Mozilla Support, aka SUMO, just like support for the Desktop application, but under its own product tile. We’ve put together a guide to get you started on SUMO, from setting up an account and finding questions to best practices, whether you to decide to help in the question forums or in the KB articles. Want to talk to other support volunteers? Join us on our Support Crew Matrix channel.

Localization

Thunderbird’s users are all over the world, and our localization contributors put the app and support articles in their language. Thunderbird for Android’s localization lives on Weblate, copyleft libre continuous localization that powers many other open source projects. If you haven’t used Weblate before, they have a useful guide for getting started.

Testing

If you want to try the newest features and help us polish and perfect them before they make it to a general release, join us as a tester. Testers are comfortable using daily and beta releases and providing meaningful feedback to developers.

When they’re available, you can download the Thunderbird for Android Beta releases from the Google Play Store or from GitHub under the ‘Pre-Release’. F-Droid users will need to manually select beta versions. To get update notification for non-suggested versions you need to check ‘Settings > Expert mode > Unstable updates’ in the F-Droid app.

Just like Thunderbird for desktop, we have a mailing list where you can give feedback and talk to developers and fellow beta testers.

Development

Interested at helping at the code level? All our development happens on our GitHub page, where you can read our code contributor section in our CONTRIBUTING.md page.

Look for issues that are tagged ‘good first issue,’ even if you’re an experienced developer but are new to Thunderbird for Android. Use the android-planning mailing list to talk to and get feedback from other developers.

Promote Thunderbird for Android

Spreading the word about Thunderbird for Android is an essential way to contribute, and there are many ways to do this. You can leave us a positive review on the Google Play Store (if you had a positive experience, of course) and encourage others to download and try Thunderbird for Android. This could be friends or family, a local computer club, or any other group you could think of! We’d love to hear your ideas and find a way to support you on the android-planning mailing list.

Financial Support

Financial support is a fantastic way to ensure the project continues to thrive. Your gift goes toward improving features, fixing bugs, and expanding the app’s functionality for all of its users.

By supporting Thunderbird financially, you’re investing in open-source software that respects your privacy and gives you control over your data. Every contribution, no matter how small, helps us maintain our independence and stay true to our mission.