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Contributing to Lithium-Next

Thank you for your interest in contributing to Lithium-Next! This document provides guidelines and instructions for contributing.

Table of Contents

Code of Conduct

This project adheres to the Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct. By participating, you are expected to uphold this code. Please report unacceptable behavior to the project maintainers.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

  • GCC 13+ or Clang 18+
  • CMake 3.20+
  • Git
  • Python 3.8+ (for pre-commit hooks)

Setting Up the Development Environment

  1. Fork the repository on GitHub
  2. Clone your fork locally: 
    git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/lithium-next.git
cd lithium-next
git submodule update --init --recursive
  3. Add the upstream repository: 
    git remote add upstream https://github.com/ElementAstro/lithium-next.git
  4. Install dependencies: 
    sudo apt-get install -y gcc g++ cmake libcfitsio-dev zlib1g-dev libssl-dev libzip-dev libnova-dev libfmt-dev gettext
  5. Set up pre-commit hooks: 
    pip install pre-commit
pre-commit install

How to Contribute

Reporting Bugs

  • Use the Bug Report template
  • Check existing issues to avoid duplicates
  • Include detailed steps to reproduce
  • Provide system information and logs

Suggesting Features

Contributing Code

  1. Find an issue to work on or create one
  2. Comment on the issue to let others know you're working on it
  3. Create a feature branch
  4. Write code and tests
  5. Submit a pull request

Development Workflow

Building the Project

mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)

Running Tests

cd build
ctest --output-on-failure

Code Formatting

We use clang-format for C++ code formatting. Run before committing:

# Format all files
find src tests -name "*.cpp" -o -name "*.hpp" | xargs clang-format -i

Coding Standards

C++ Style Guide

  • Follow the existing code style in the project
  • Use modern C++20 features where appropriate
  • Prefer std:: containers and algorithms
  • Use RAII for resource management
  • Document public APIs with Doxygen comments

File Organization

  • Headers in src/ alongside implementation files
  • Tests mirror the source structure in tests/
  • Each component should have corresponding tests

Naming Conventions

  • Classes/Structs: PascalCase
  • Functions/Methods: camelCase
  • Variables: snake_case
  • Constants: UPPER_SNAKE_CASE
  • Namespaces: lowercase

Commit Guidelines

We follow Conventional Commits:

<type>(<scope>): <description>

[optional body]

[optional footer(s)]

Types

  • feat: New feature
  • fix: Bug fix
  • docs: Documentation changes
  • style: Code style changes (formatting, etc.)
  • refactor: Code refactoring
  • perf: Performance improvements
  • test: Adding or updating tests
  • build: Build system changes
  • ci: CI/CD changes
  • chore: Other changes

Examples

feat(camera): add support for ASCOM camera binning

fix(sequencer): resolve race condition in task scheduling

docs(readme): update build instructions for Windows

Pull Request Process

  1. Create a branch from master:

    git checkout -b feat/your-feature-name

  2. Make your changes following the coding standards

  3. Write/update tests for your changes

  4. Run the test suite to ensure nothing is broken

  5. Commit your changes following commit guidelines

  6. Push to your fork:

    git push origin feat/your-feature-name

  7. Open a Pull Request using the PR template

  8. Address review feedback promptly

PR Requirements

  • All tests pass
  • Code follows project style guidelines
  • Documentation is updated if needed
  • Commit messages follow conventions
  • PR description clearly explains the changes

Questions?

If you have questions, feel free to:

  • Open a Discussion
  • Check existing issues and documentation

Thank you for contributing to Lithium-Next! 🌟