Source Code

Source code for Apress books is on GitHub, where it can be continuously updated. Read this page to find out more about this project, and how you can contribute.

Where can I find a book’s source code?

You do not need a GitHub account to access our source code, but we recommend signing up to make the most of this service.

If your book’s GitHub repository URL is not listed in the book itself, you can find it by doing the following:

1. Go to github.com/apress.
2. In the Find repositories search field, enter the book’s ISBN, author surname, or book title.
3. Once you have located the repository you want, download the code as a zip using the green button, or, if you have a GitHub account, you can clone it to your machine using Git.
4. That's it!

Source code can be continuously updated after a book has published. That means that if there are any corrections, you will always get the latest version. If for any reason you want to get hold of the original source code, exactly as it is in your copy of the book, you can go to https://github.com/Apress/[repository-name-here]/releases and download release v1.0.

If you have any problems accessing the source code for an Apress book, email [email protected].

How can I contribute?

Copyright for Apress source code belongs to the author(s) of the relevant book. This means that you are not allowed to reuse it for commercial or educational purposes (e.g. in your own book or blog post). However, under fair use we encourage you to make use of the GitHub platform to directly contribute minor corrections and updates for the benefit of the authors and other readers.

1. Make sure you have a GitHub account.
2. Fork the repository for the relevant book.
3. Create a new branch on which to make your change.
4. Commit your change. Include a commit message describing the correction. Please note that if your commit message is not clear, the correction will not be accepted.
5. Submit a pull request (see here).

Only changes that are approved by the author will be accepted.

Information for Authors

Can I be added as a collaborator to my book's repository on GitHub?

Absolutely! Please contact your coordinating editor and include your GitHub username, and a link to the repository.

I need help with Git/GitHub!

GitHub includes detailed help documents at help.github.com. We also recommend the excellent book, Pro Git, written by Scott Chacon and Ben Straub and published by Apress, and available online here.

There's a problem with my book's repository on GitHub.

We've made every effort to ensure that code is migrated to GitHub as a complete package, exactly as you submitted it to us. However, with a lot of books to take care of, it's possible that something got missed. If that's the case, please email Gwenan Spearing at [email protected] with a link to the repository and details of the error, and it will be fixed as soon as possible. 

What if I want to release my source code under an open source license?

Great! We encourage this. First, become a collaborator on your repository (see above), then replace our license file (license.txt) with an open source license of your choice. We recommend the MIT license.