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CONTRIBUTING

Thank you for considering contributing to Lahuta! We welcome contributions from anyone, whether you're new to the project or you've been around a long time. This document provides some guidelines to help ensure a smooth collaboration process.

Table of Contents

Getting Started

  1. Fork the repository: Click on the 'Fork' button at the top right of this page and clone your forked repository to your local machine.

  2. Understanding the branches:

  3. main: This is the stable branch that end-users use. This is what gets packaged and distributed.
  4. dev: This is where most development work happens. New features, bug fixes, and most other changes are merged here.
  5. docs: This branch is specifically for documentation-related changes. Though the distinction between docs and dev is minimal, they are kept separate to organize the project better.

  6. feature/...: When working on new features or major changes, branch off from dev using the feature/ prefix. For instance, if you're working on a feature named "msa_indexing", your branch might be called feature/msa_indexing.

  7. Creating your branch:

  8. For features: Branch off from dev and name it feature/your-feature-name.
  9. For documentation: You might prefer branching off from docs, or dev if the documentation changes are minor.

  10. For bug fixes, general enhancements, or other: Typically, branch off from dev.

  11. Commit your changes: Write a clear and concise commit message describing what you did.

  12. Push to your fork: Once you're ready, push your branch to your fork on GitHub.

  13. Create a Pull Request:

  14. If you're pushing a new feature or a major change, create a Pull Request to merge your feature/... branch into the dev branch of the main repository.
  15. For documentation, create a Pull Request either to the docs or dev branch, depending on the nature of the changes.
  16. In general, most contributions will be merged into the dev branch first before they eventually make their way to main during a release cycle.

Code of Conduct

By participating in this project, you are expected to respect common codes of conduct associated with Python projects. As a specific example, consider adhering to the principles outlined in the NumPy Code of Conduct.

How Can I Contribute?

Reporting Bugs

Please check the issue tracker before creating a new bug report. If you're unable to find an open issue addressing the problem, open a new one.

Suggesting Enhancements

If you have ideas or improvements, please send them our way! Just open an issue describing your suggestion.

Styleguides

Python Static Typing with mypy

Lahuta strives to maintain a modern and robust codebase, and as such, it leverages static typing. We use mypy in strict mode. When contributing:

  • Ensure all your Python code is statically typed.
  • Run mypy in strict mode to verify your types.
  • Our Continuous Integration (CI) pipeline checks for any typing issues, and pull requests will fail if any discrepancies are detected.

Linting with ruff

We use the ruff linter to ensure our code remains consistent and adheres to best practices.

  • Before submitting your pull request, ensure you've run ruff to check for any linting issues.
  • Address any warnings or errors ruff raises before submitting your contribution.

Formatting with black

To maintain a consistent code format across the entire project, we employ black.

  • Before committing, make sure to format your code with black.
  • This ensures all code adheres to the same formatting standards.
  • We do not strictly enforce this.

Configuration with pyproject.toml

All project configuration, including for tools like mypy, ruff, and black, is centralized in pyproject.toml. This file serves as the single source of truth for project settings.

  • If you need to alter configurations, make the changes in pyproject.toml.
  • When adding dependencies or changing project metadata, update pyproject.toml accordingly.

Following these guidelines will ensure a smoother review process and will expedite the merging of your contributions.

Additional Notes

Thank you for investing your time in Lahuta's development! We appreciate your effort and are always open to feedback and suggestions.