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Contributing to cpm

Thank you for contributing to cpm. This guide explains how to set up your environment, make changes, and submit a pull request.

Prerequisites

  • Python >=3.12
  • pip
  • git

Local setup

  1. Fork the repository and clone your fork.
  2. Create and activate a virtual environment.
  3. Install the package in editable mode:
pip install -e .
  1. (Optional, for docs work) Install the documentation dependencies:
pip install -e ".[docs]"
  1. (Optional) Install numba, which compiles the built-in models (cpm.applications) and the kernels in cpm.models.kernels:
pip install -e ".[numba]"

cpm has to work, with the same results, with and without numba, so changes to the models are tested both ways (see Testing).

Development workflow (with direct access to repository)

  1. Create a branch from main.
  2. Make focused changes with clear commit history. See commit message conventions below.
  3. Run tests locally before opening a pull request.
  4. Update documentation and changelog when relevant.
  5. Open a Pull Request on GitHub.

Development workflow (without direct access)

  1. Fork the repository.
  2. (optional) Create a branch from main.
  3. Make focused changes with clear commit history. See commit message conventions below.
  4. Run tests locally before opening a pull request.
  5. Update documentation and changelog when relevant.
  6. Open a Pull Request on GitHub.

Branch naming convention

Start your branch name with one of:

  • feature/ for adding, refactoring, or removing a feature
  • bugfix/ for fixing a bug
  • hotfix/ for urgent, temporary, or process-exception changes
  • test/ for experiments and test-related work
  • docs/ for adding documentation or examples.

Example:

feature/add-hierarchical-export

Code style and quality

  • Format Python code with Black.
  • Keep code readable and focused; avoid unrelated refactors in the same PR.
  • Use NumPy-style docstrings where applicable.
  • Keep public API changes backward-compatible where possible.

Testing

Run the test suite from the repository root:

pytest

If you changed specific functionality, also run targeted tests first (for example, under test/models/ or test/optimisation/).

If you changed the models (cpm.models, cpm.applications) or anything they use, also run the tests with and without numba, and the benchmark suite:

python scripts/local_tests.py

It runs the test suite with numba (if it is installed), with CPM_DISABLE_JIT=1 (as if numba were not installed), and with NUMBA_DISABLE_JIT=1, and then benchmarks/run.py.

numba caches compiled code in the __pycache__ folders under cpm/, and only recompiles a function when its own file changes. After changing cpm/models/kernels.py (yourself, or by pulling), the compiled loops in cpm/applications/_sessions.py still use the old kernels until you delete the cached *.nbi and *.nbc files; scripts/local_tests.py deletes them before it runs.

Documentation

The documentation is built with Sphinx and the PyData theme. It has two sources: the docstrings in cpm/, which make up the API reference, and the pages under docs/.

Building the documentation

pip install -e ".[docs]"
python -m sphinx -W --keep-going -b html docs docs/_build/html

Open docs/_build/html/index.html in a browser. While you write, sphinx-autobuild rebuilds the pages and reloads the browser on every change:

sphinx-autobuild docs docs/_build/html --watch cpm --ignore "*/api/generated/*" --ignore "*/_static/thumbnails/*"

The build must finish without warnings: CI runs it with -W.

Where things live

Folder Contents
docs/get-started/ installation, quickstart, core concepts, troubleshooting
docs/tutorials/ the numbered learning path, as Jupyter notebooks
docs/examples/ research examples, as Jupyter notebooks, grouped by domain in examples/index.md
docs/how-to/ short guides for specific tasks
docs/api/ the API reference pages; add new public objects to the autosummary list of their page
docs/about/ citing, changelog, roadmap, contributing, license
docs/scripts/ checks run in CI, and tools for notebooks

Docstrings

Docstrings use the NumPy style and reStructuredText, not Markdown:

  • math: :math:`�lpha` inline, and a .. math:: block for equations. Docstrings with a backslash must be raw strings (r"""...""").
  • links to cpm objects: :class:`~cpm.generators.Wrapper`, :func:`~cpm.datasets.load_bandit_data`; in a "See Also" section, just the name: cpm.generators.Wrapper : description.
  • other links: `text <https://example.org>`__.
  • `single backticks` show code.

python docs/scripts/md2rst_docstrings.py --check cpm finds Markdown left in docstrings, and python docs/scripts/check_api_coverage.py finds public objects missing from the API reference. To link an API page to the tutorials that use the object, add it to API_TUTORIAL_LINKS in docs/conf.py.

Notebooks

Tutorials and examples are Jupyter notebooks, rendered with their stored outputs; they are not run when the documentation is built. Each notebook follows the same structure:

  1. a short # title, followed by a line with the level, the time it takes, the prerequisites, the cpm components used, and the data,
  2. a "What you'll learn" list,
  3. one setup cell that imports cpm, prints cpm.__version__, and sets a random seed,
  4. the content, with headings that do not skip levels,
  5. a ## Summary and next steps section, and a ## References section.

Link to the API with [`Wrapper`](#cpm.generators.Wrapper), and to other pages with relative links to their files, such as [Tutorial 1](../tutorials/first-model.ipynb), so that the links also work when the notebook is opened in Jupyter. In examples, tag the cell whose figure should be the gallery thumbnail with thumbnail. Notebooks must not write files into docs/.

Before committing a notebook, run it from top to bottom in a fresh kernel, then clean and check it:

jupyter nbconvert --to notebook --execute --inplace docs/tutorials/first-model.ipynb
python docs/scripts/clean_notebooks.py docs/tutorials/first-model.ipynb
python docs/scripts/check_notebooks.py

A new example also needs a card in docs/examples/index.md, and a new tutorial one in docs/tutorials/index.md.

Commit messages

Please follow Conventional Commits.

Examples:

  • feat(models): add drift-bias parameter
  • fix(optimisation): handle empty bounds
  • docs(api): clarify hierarchical fitting inputs

Pull requests

When opening a PR:

  • Keep the PR scope small and focused.
  • Include a clear description of what changed and why.
  • Link related issues.
  • Add/update tests for behavior changes.
  • Update docs when user-facing behavior changes.

Before requesting review, verify:

  • Tests pass locally.
  • The documentation builds without warnings if you changed docstrings or pages.
  • No unrelated files are included.

Troubleshooting and getting help

If you run into issues at any point, please reach out. We are happy to help with anything.

For faster support, please include:

  • What you were trying to do
  • The exact error message or traceback
  • Your Python version and operating system
  • Steps to reproduce the issue

Best ways to get help:

  • Open a GitHub issue for bugs, setup problems, or unclear behavior
  • Open a draft PR if you want feedback while you are still working
  • Ask your question directly in the PR conversation if it is related to your change

Build and release notes

If you are preparing a release artifact:

python setup.py sdist bdist_wheel

Publishing to PyPI is maintainer-only and typically done with:

twine upload dist/*