DockFlare/CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributing to DockFlare

First off, thank you for considering contributing to DockFlare! I appreciate your time and effort to help make this project better.

As a solo developer on this project, community contributions in various forms are incredibly valuable. This document provides some guidelines for contributing.

How You Can Help

There are many ways you can contribute to DockFlare:

• Reporting Bugs: If you find a bug, please open an Issue on GitHub. Provide detailed steps to reproduce it, what you expected to happen, what actually happened, and information about your setup (DockFlare version, OS, Docker version, etc.).
• Suggesting Enhancements & Ideas: Have an idea for a new feature, an improvement, or a general question? Please start a Discussion on the GitHub repository's "Discussions" tab. This is a great place for broader conversations.
• Improving Documentation: Clear documentation is key! If you see areas for improvement in the README.md, Wiki, or find parts of the setup confusing, your feedback (via Discussions or by improving it yourself via a PR) is welcome.
• Submitting Pull Requests: If you'd like to contribute code, that's fantastic! Please follow the guidelines below. I recommend opening a Discussion or an Issue first to talk about significant changes.

Getting Started (If You Plan to Code)

1. Fork the repository on GitHub.
2. Clone your fork locally: git clone https://github.com/ChrispyBacon-dev/DockFlare.git
3. Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix: git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name or git checkout -b fix/bug-description.
4. Set up your development environment. Ensure you have Python (matching the project version), Docker, Docker Compose, and Node.js/npm (for frontend assets) installed.
5. Install dependencies:
   • Python: pip install -r requirements.txt (preferably in a virtual environment)
   • Node.js: npm install (in the dockflare subdirectory where package.json is located)

Making Changes (For Pull Requests)

• Code Style:
  • Please follow PEP 8 guidelines for Python code.
  • I aim for self-documenting code. Clear variable and function names are preferred over excessive inline comments.
  • I use Black for formatting and Ruff/Flake8 for linting. Running these before committing is appreciated.
• Commit Messages:
  • Write clear and concise commit messages.
  • Start with a capitalized, short (50 characters or less) summary.
  • If necessary, add a blank line and then a more detailed explanatory text.
  • Reference any relevant issue numbers (e.g., Fixes #123).
• Testing:
  • Please test your changes thoroughly. This includes manual testing of the affected functionality and, if possible, thinking about edge cases.
  • Describe the testing you've done in your pull request description.
• Documentation:
  • If your changes affect user-facing functionality or configuration, please update the README.md or relevant Wiki pages.

Submitting a Pull Request

1. Consider opening an Issue or starting a Discussion first, especially for larger changes, so we can align on the approach.
2. Ensure your changes are well-tested.
3. Update documentation if necessary.
4. Push your changes to your fork: git push origin your-branch-name.
5. Open a Pull Request against the unstable branch of the main DockFlare repository. (Critical hotfixes for the stable branch might be considered, but unstable is the primary target for new development).
6. Provide a clear description of your changes in the pull request:
   • What problem does it solve or what feature does it add?
   • How were the changes implemented?
   • How did you test your changes?
   • Reference any related Issues or Discussions.

Community & Support

• For bug reports, please use the GitHub Issues tracker.
• For feature requests, questions, ideas, or general discussion, please use the GitHub Discussions board.

I appreciate your interest and any contributions you make to help improve DockFlare!