Skip to content

CONTRIBUTING.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
268 lines (207 loc) · 5.16 KB

CONTRIBUTING.md

File metadata and controls

268 lines (207 loc) · 5.16 KB

Contributing to StackIt Q&A Platform

Thank you for your interest in contributing to StackIt! This document provides guidelines and information for contributors.

🤝 How to Contribute

1. Fork and Clone

  1. Fork the repository on GitHub
  2. Clone your fork locally: 
    git clone https://github.com/yourusername/stackit-qa-platform.git
cd stackit-qa-platform

2. Setup Development Environment

  1. Install dependencies:

    npm run install-all

  2. Set up environment variables:

    cp server/env.example server/.env
cp client/env.example client/.env

  3. Start development servers:

    npm run dev

3. Create a Feature Branch

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
# or
git checkout -b fix/your-bug-fix

4. Make Your Changes

  • Write clean, readable code
  • Follow the existing code style
  • Add tests for new features
  • Update documentation as needed

5. Test Your Changes

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run linting
npm run lint

# Fix linting issues
npm run lint:fix

# Build the project
npm run build

6. Commit Your Changes

git add .
git commit -m "feat: add new feature description"

Commit Message Format:

  • feat: for new features
  • fix: for bug fixes
  • docs: for documentation changes
  • style: for formatting changes
  • refactor: for code refactoring
  • test: for adding tests
  • chore: for maintenance tasks

7. Push and Create Pull Request

git push origin feature/your-feature-name

Then create a Pull Request on GitHub with:

  • Clear description of changes
  • Screenshots (if UI changes)
  • Link to related issues

📋 Development Guidelines

Code Style

  • Use ESLint and Prettier for code formatting
  • Follow React best practices
  • Use TypeScript for type safety (when possible)
  • Write meaningful variable and function names

Testing

  • Write unit tests for new features
  • Ensure all tests pass before submitting PR
  • Add integration tests for critical flows
  • Maintain good test coverage

Documentation

  • Update README.md for new features
  • Add JSDoc comments for functions
  • Update API documentation
  • Include usage examples

Git Workflow

  • Keep commits small and focused
  • Use descriptive commit messages
  • Rebase on main before submitting PR
  • Squash commits when appropriate

🐛 Bug Reports

When reporting bugs, please include:

  1. Description of the bug
  2. Steps to reproduce
  3. Expected behavior
  4. Actual behavior
  5. Environment details (OS, browser, version)
  6. Screenshots (if applicable)

💡 Feature Requests

When requesting features, please include:

  1. Description of the feature
  2. Use case and benefits
  3. Implementation suggestions (if any)
  4. Mockups or wireframes (if UI feature)

🔧 Development Setup

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 16+
  • npm or yarn
  • MongoDB (local or Atlas)
  • Git

Local Development

# Install dependencies
npm run install-all

# Start development servers
npm run dev

# Run tests
npm test

# Run linting
npm run lint

# Build for production
npm run build

Environment Variables

Create .env files in both server/ and client/ directories:

Server (.env):

PORT=5000
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/stackit
JWT_SECRET=your-secret-key
CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:3000
NODE_ENV=development

Client (.env):

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:5000/api

🧪 Testing

Running Tests

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:watch

# Run tests with coverage
npm run test:coverage

Test Structure

  • Unit tests for individual components
  • Integration tests for API endpoints
  • E2E tests for critical user flows
  • Mock external dependencies

📦 Building

Production Build

# Build frontend
npm run build

# Build and start production server
npm start

Docker (Optional)

# Build Docker image
docker build -t stackit .

# Run with Docker Compose
docker-compose up

🔍 Code Review Process

  1. Automated Checks

    • Tests must pass
    • Linting must pass
    • Build must succeed

  2. Manual Review

    • Code quality review
    • Security review
    • Performance review
    • Documentation review

  3. Approval

    • At least one maintainer approval required
    • All CI checks must pass
    • No merge conflicts

🚀 Release Process

  1. Version Bumping

    • Update version in package.json
    • Update CHANGELOG.md
    • Create release notes

  2. Deployment

    • Deploy to staging environment
    • Run integration tests
    • Deploy to production

  3. Post-Release

    • Monitor for issues
    • Update documentation
    • Announce release

📞 Getting Help

  • Issues: Create an issue on GitHub
  • Discussions: Use GitHub Discussions
  • Email: Contact maintainers directly
  • Documentation: Check README.md and docs/

🏆 Recognition

Contributors will be recognized in:

  • README.md contributors section
  • Release notes
  • Project documentation
  • GitHub contributors page

📄 License

By contributing to StackIt, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the MIT License.

Thank you for contributing to StackIt! 🎉