vaultwarden/Supporting-upstream.md

Vaultwarden only provides the API (server) side implementation, so users still rely on clients from upstream (mobile apps, desktop apps and the web-vault). This is a lot of work that is done upstream by Bitwarden, Inc. At the same time Vaultwarden supports some paid features and offers that functionality for free. This raises some [questions about sustaining and supporting upstream](https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/issues/331) development. Many users have raised this issue and were asking how they can support upstream while using Vaultwarden.

## Buying a subscription

Many users just [subscribe to an appropriate plan](https://bitwarden.com/pricing/) for their deployment and leave the license unused. It's kind of a donation because Vaultwarden can't use the purchased license in any way.

You can also support upstream by [buying Bitwarden merch from their shop](https://bitwarden-shop.myshopify.com/).

## Help translating the apps

There are [projects on Crowdin](https://crowdin.com/profile/kspearrin) for each of the apps. If you're fluent in any language other than English, you can help translating the apps.

## Testing, reporting bugs in clients

**Please, always report any bugs found here first.** Chances are these aren't upstream bugs, but bugs in our implementation or in your configuration. [We don't want to waste Kyle's time](https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/issues/336) troubleshooting bugs with 3rd party server. In very rare cases there is a bug upstream, but at this stage we would have any other reason ruled out and the bug confirmed on the upstream server. So the takeaway here is to _not_ report bugs in upstream, but report it here instead even if you think it is client issue. We can work together to see where the problem is.

Cf. our [Bitwarden clients troubleshooting page](https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/wiki/Bitwarden-clients-troubleshooting) for more information.

## Helping other users in the community

There are lot of new users that sometimes struggle with basic stuff. Helping them is a great way to support the project (and to grow the community). From my experience with the community around Vaultwarden, it's great to see people actually helping each other before I get to answer their question - it saves some time and I often end up learning something new.  There's [Bitwarden community on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/bitwarden) for example, there are also [official forums](https://community.bitwarden.com/).