Contributor Workflow

This document describes the GitHub-based contribution workflow for RustChat. For development setup, coding guidelines, and code quality requirements, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

Fork and Branch

1. Fork the repository on GitHub
2. Clone your fork:

   git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/rustchat.git
   cd rustchat

3. Create a feature branch from main:

   git checkout -b feat/your-feature-name

Commits

All commits must be signed off per the DCO.md:

git commit -s -m "feat: add user search endpoint"

Follow Conventional Commits:

• feat: — New feature
• fix: — Bug fix
• docs: — Documentation only
• test: — Tests
• refactor: — Code change that neither fixes a bug nor adds a feature
• chore: — Maintenance tasks

Tests

Before opening a PR:

# Backend
cd backend && cargo fmt --check && cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings && cargo test --lib

# Frontend
cd frontend && npm ci --ignore-scripts && npm run apply:dependency-patches && npm run build && npm run test:unit

Pull Request

1. Push your branch to your fork
2. Open a pull request against main
3. Fill in the PR template completely
4. Ensure all CI checks pass
5. Address review comments
6. Maintain a clean commit history (rebase if requested)

Review Expectations

• Standard changes: 1 approval
• Architectural or compatibility changes: 2 approvals, including CODEOWNERS reviewers
• All checks must pass before merge
• No direct pushes to main

Good First Issues

Look for issues labeled good-first-issue. These are:

• Small and well-defined
• Have clear acceptance criteria
• Do not touch risky behavior (auth, permissions, payment-like flows)

Getting Help

• Architecture questions: Architecture Guide
• Development setup: Development Guide
• Compatibility: Compatibility Scope
• General questions: GitHub Discussions