* You are not satisfied with the accuracy of the OCR, and want to ask how you can improve it. Note: You should first read the [ImproveQuality](https://tesseract-ocr.github.io/tessdoc/ImproveQuality.html) documentation.
* You are trying to train Tesseract and you have a problem and/or want to ask a question about the training process. Note: You should first read the **official** guides [[1]](https://tesseract-ocr.github.io/tessdoc/) or [[2]](https://tesseract-ocr.github.io/tessdoc/tess5/TrainingTesseract-5.html) found in the project documentation.
Only report an issue in the latest official release. Optionally, try to check if the issue is not already solved in the latest snapshot in the git repository.
Make sure you are able to replicate the problem with Tesseract command line program. For external programs that use Tesseract (including wrappers and your own program, if you are developer), report the issue to the developers of that software if it's possible. You can also try to find help in the Tesseract forum.
Each version of Tesseract has its own language data you need to obtain. You **must** obtain and install trained data for English (eng) and osd. Verify that Tesseract knows about these two files (and other trained data you installed) with this command:
BUT don't post files with private info (about yourself or others).
When attaching a file to the issue report / forum ...
* Do not post a file larger than 20 MB.
* GitHub supports only few file name extensions like `.png` or `.txt`. If GitHub rejects your files, you can compress them using a program that can produce a zip archive and then load this zip file to GitHub.
Do not attach programs or libraries to your issues/posts.
Attaching a multi-page TIFF image is useful only if you have problem with multi-page functionality, otherwise attach only one or a few single page images.
Note that most of the people that respond to issues and answer questions are either other 'regular' users or **volunteers** developers. Please be nice to them :-)
The [tesseract developers](https://groups.google.com/g/tesseract-dev) forum should be used to discuss Tesseract development: bug fixes, enhancements, add-ons for Tesseract.
Sometimes you will not get a respond to your issue or question. We apologize in advance! Please don't take it personally. There can be many reasons for this, including: time limits, no one knows the answer (at least not the ones that are available at that time) or just that
For that, your clone needs to have all submodules (`googletest`, `test`) included. To do so, either specify `--recurse-submodules` during the initial clone, or run `git submodule update --init --recursive NAME` for each `NAME` later. If `configure` already created those directories (blocking the clone), remove them first (or `make distclean`), then clone and reconfigure.
Have a look at [the README](./README.md) and [testing README](https://github.com/tesseract-ocr/test/blob/main/README.md) and the [documentation](https://tesseract-ocr.github.io/tessdoc/Compiling-%E2%80%93-GitInstallation.html#unit-test-builds) on installation.
In short, after running `configure` from the build directory of your choice, to build the library and CLI, run `make`. To test it, run `make check`. To build the training tools, run `make training`.
As soon as your changes are building and tests are succeeding, you can publish them. If you have not already, please [fork](https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/quickstart/contributing-to-projects) tesseract (somewhere) on GitHub, and push your changes to that fork (in a new branch). Then [submit as PR](https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/proposing-changes-to-your-work-with-pull-requests/creating-a-pull-request-from-a-fork).
Please also keep track of reports from CI (automated build status) and Coverity/CodeQL (quality scan). When the indicators show deterioration after your changes, further action may be required to improve them.
