This document covers how you can contribute, as well as some choices the project makes.
When opening an issue, write a short yet descriptive name for the title. For example, putting the first line of an error stack trace is not a descriptive title. You do not need to triage the issue or PR, a maintainer will give it the applicable tags.
Please copy logs, terminal output, and code into a code block in the issue or PR. Do not include screenshots since those are very difficult to debug.
- Avoid callback hell— this is why
async
/await
is used a lot. - Use guard clauses
- If you're more of a visual learner, this video is helpful: Why You Shouldn't Nest Your Code
- Don't use single letter variable names, with the exception of
i
infor
loops - Don't abbreviate in variable names
- Don't put types in variable names, it already has a type
- Don't put units in your variable names, but include units in documentation if the type does not abstract the unit
- Example #1: A variable
time: Date
doesn't need a unit (because ofDate
) - Example #2: A variable
time: number
will need a unit in documentation, since it could be seconds, minutes, etc.
- Example #1: A variable
- Don't put types in types, for example prefixing an interface name with "I"
- Don't name a class "Base" or "Abstract"
The Naming Things in Code video covers everything, though you should keep in mind:
- Units will go into documentation if they are needed
- Bend the utils recommendation since some code can't be attributed to some other piece of code, it really is just a utility.
For the different functions and variables, write a short description of what it does and how it should be used. I certainly haven't been the best about doing this, so if you find missing docs an issue or PR would be welcome.
npm
is used rather than pnpm
or yarn
since it makes it easier for new contributors and simplifies tooling.
You can build the project with npm run build
, or run watch mode with npm run dev
.
two builds are produced: One using tsc
, which is meant for almost all use cases, and one using esbuild
which bundles the project into a single minified file for browsers.
You can automatically run formatting with the npm run format
command
Tabs are used in formatting since they take up less space in files, in addition to making it easier to work with. You can't accidently click the wrong space then have to move around trying to delete the single tab width of indentation.
Trailing commas are used to reduce the amount of individual line changes in commits, which helps to improve clarity and commit diffs. For example:
const someObject = {
a: 1,
b: 2,
+ c: 3,
}
instead of
const someObject = {
a: 1,
- b: 2
+ b: 2,
+ c: 3
}
Other style choices are made to steamline the development process, making faster or more efficent. If you make changes to formatting, please make sure they make the development process better, not worse.
You can run tests with the npm test
command.
Tests are located in the tests
directory. They are written in Typescript to catch type errors, and test step-by-step using Jest. Suite names are focused around a set of features (directories, links, permissions, etc.) rather than specific functions or classes.