Contributing

Thank you for your interest in contributing to Chat GipiTTY! This guide covers how to contribute to the project, from reporting bugs to submitting code changes.

Ways to Contribute

Reporting Issues

Bug Reports: Found a bug? Please report it with detailed steps to reproduce
Feature Requests: Have an idea for a new feature? Let us know!
Documentation: Help improve the documentation with corrections or additions
Performance Issues: Report performance problems or suggest optimizations

Code Contributions

Bug Fixes: Fix reported issues
New Features: Implement requested features
Performance Improvements: Optimize existing code
Tests: Add or improve test coverage
Documentation: Update code comments and documentation

Development Setup

For detailed development setup instructions, see the Development Workflow section, which covers:

Prerequisites and dependencies
Building from source
Running tests
Project structure
Development tools and debugging

Contribution Process

1. Fork and Clone

Fork the repository on GitHub
Clone your fork locally
Add the upstream repository as a remote

git clone https://github.com/your-username/chat-gipitty.git
cd chat-gipitty
git remote add upstream https://github.com/divanvisagie/chat-gipitty.git

2. Create a Branch

Create a new branch for your work:

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
# or
git checkout -b fix/issue-number

3. Make Changes

Write clear, well-documented code
Follow existing code style and conventions
Add tests for new functionality
Update documentation as needed

4. Test Your Changes

Before submitting, ensure your changes work correctly:

# Run the full test suite
cargo test

# Check formatting
cargo fmt --check

# Run clippy for linting
cargo clippy

# Test manually
cargo run -- "test query"

5. Commit and Push

# Stage your changes
git add .

# Commit with a clear message
git commit -m "Add feature: description of your changes"

# Push to your fork
git push origin feature/your-feature-name

6. Submit a Pull Request

Go to the GitHub repository
Click "New Pull Request"
Select your branch
Fill out the pull request template
Submit for review

Code Style and Standards

Rust Code Style

Follow standard Rust formatting (cargo fmt)
Use cargo clippy to catch common issues
Write clear, descriptive variable and function names
Add documentation comments for public APIs

Commit Messages

Use clear, descriptive commit messages:

Add feature: web search integration

- Implement /search command prefix
- Add automatic model switching for GPT models
- Update documentation with search examples

Documentation

Update relevant documentation for new features
Add examples for new functionality
Keep the README up to date
Update the book documentation for user-facing changes

Adding New Features

New Command Line Options

Add to args.rs in the appropriate struct
Handle the option in main.rs
Update help text and documentation

New Subcommands

Create a new file in src/sub/
Implement the subcommand logic
Add to src/sub/mod.rs
Update argument parsing in args.rs
Add documentation in book/src/

New API Features

Add to the chatgpt/ module
Update request/response structs
Add error handling
Update tests

Testing Guidelines

Types of Tests

Unit tests: Test individual functions and modules
Integration tests: Test feature interactions
Manual testing: Test real-world scenarios

Test Requirements

Add tests for new functionality
Test error conditions and edge cases
Ensure tests are deterministic and isolated
Don't depend on external services in tests

Manual Testing Checklist

# Test basic functionality
cargo run -- "test query"

# Test with different input sources
echo "test" | cargo run -- "analyze this"
cargo run -- -f test_file.txt "analyze this file"

# Test subcommands
cargo run -- config --help
cargo run -- session --help