# Contributor access

What you can do in the catalog with and without contributor access, how to ask for it, and how an admin reviews the request.

Source: https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/catalog/contributing

## What anyone signed in can do

You don't need contributor access to take part. Once [signed in](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/getting-started/accounts), you can:

- draft new parts in the [catalog editor](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/catalog/authoring) and new devices in the [device modeler](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/modeler);
- use your drafts in your own projects right away;
- [fork](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/catalog/namespaces#copying-an-entry) other people's entries into your namespace;
- submit your drafts for review, for an admin to publish;
- [report](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/catalog/reports) entries, listings and model files.

## What contributor access adds

Contributors can also:

- **publish** in their own namespace themselves, by approving their own submitted revisions, and review revisions in namespaces they maintain;
- in the device modeler, **Publish** a device with its model file in one step, where others see **Submit for review** (see [Publishing](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/modeler/publishing));
- **upload model files** (GLB or STL) with their licence and credits;
- **add listings**: where equipment, parts and materials are sold, online or in a physical store, with prices and stock reports.

Without it, the app says so where it matters: the **Model file** section of the catalog editor and the **Where to get it** card on an entry's page point you to where you can ask.

## Asking for it

1. Sign in and open [the catalog](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/catalog).
2. Open the **Contribute** panel (on smaller screens, the **Contribute** tab next to **Browse**). It holds the **Contributor access** card.
3. Say in a sentence or two what you would like to add, for example "models of the switches I own" or "prices from my local store". The note needs at least 10 characters.
4. Select **Ask for contributor access**.

The card then shows your request as waiting for an admin. Meanwhile, everything in the first list above keeps working, and your drafts work in your own projects.

![The Contributor access card: what contributor access adds, a box to say what you would like to add, and the Ask for contributor access button](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/shots/catalog/contribute-light.webp)

*Asking for contributor access.*

You can have one request waiting at a time, and send up to five a day.

![The Contributor access card showing a request waiting for an admin, with the note that was sent](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/shots/catalog/contribute-waiting-light.webp)

*A request waiting for an admin.*

## How requests are reviewed

An admin reads each request in the **Contributor requests** card of their **Pending work** panel and approves or declines it.

![An admin's Pending work panel, with the Contributor requests card: the request's note and Approve and Decline buttons](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/shots/catalog/work-rail-light.webp)

*Contributor requests, in an admin's work panel.*

- **Approved**: you are a contributor from then on. The **Contribute** panel goes away, and the upload and listing forms appear.
- **Declined**: the admin may say why. Their reply shows on your **Contributor access** card, and you can ask again.

Admins can also grant or take away contributor access directly. Every request and decision is recorded in the site's audit log.