Contribution Guidelines

Welcome to the LCFS (Low Carbon Fuel Standard) project! We appreciate your interest in contributing. This document provides guidelines for contributing to the project, ensuring a smooth and effective collaboration process. It is adapted from the original "06. Contributions" wiki page.

By participating in this project, you agree to abide by its terms and the Code of Conduct (link to the existing CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md in the root of your repository).

How to Contribute

1. Reporting Bugs

• Check Existing Issues: Before submitting a bug report, please search the issue tracker on GitHub to see if the bug has already been reported.
• Provide Details: If the bug hasn't been reported, create a new issue. Fill out the bug report template (if available) with as much detail as possible, including:
  • Steps to reproduce the bug.
  • Expected behavior.
  • Actual behavior.
  • Screenshots or error messages (if applicable).
  • Your environment (OS, browser, versions of relevant tools).

2. Suggesting Enhancements or Features

• Check Existing Issues/Discussions: Search the issue tracker and discussions to see if your enhancement or feature has already been suggested or discussed.
• Create a New Issue/Discussion: If not, create a new issue or start a discussion, clearly outlining your suggestion. Provide:
  • A clear and concise description of the enhancement.
  • The problem it solves or the value it adds.
  • Potential implementation ideas (if any).
  • Use cases or examples.

3. Pull Requests (PRs)

We follow the GitHub Flow for contributions. The general process is:

1. Fork the Repository (if you are an external contributor) or Create a Branch (if you are a team member with write access).
   • Branch names should be descriptive, e.g., feature/user-authentication, bugfix/login-issue-123, docs/update-readme.
2. Setup Development Environment: Follow the Development Environment Setup guide.
3. Make Your Changes: Implement your feature or bug fix.
   • Adhere to the Coding Standards and Conventions.
   • Write tests for your changes as per the Testing Procedures.
   • Ensure all existing tests pass.
   • Run pre-commit hooks (see below) to format and lint your code.
4. Commit Your Changes: Write clear and concise commit messages.
   • Follow the Git Commit Message Styleguide.
5. Push Your Branch: Push your changes to your fork or the main repository.
6. Submit a Pull Request: Open a PR against the main (or relevant integration) branch of the bcgov/lcfs repository.
   • Fill out the PR template with details about your changes, linking to any relevant issues.
   • Ensure all automated checks (CI/CD pipeline, linters, tests) pass.
7. Code Review: Your PR will be reviewed by maintainers. Address any feedback or requested changes.
8. Merge: Once approved and all checks pass, your PR will be merged.

Pre-commit Hooks

• Backend: The backend uses pre-commit to run linters (Flake8, MyPy) and formatters (Black, Isort). Install with poetry run pre-commit install in the backend directory. These hooks run automatically before each commit.
• Frontend: The frontend uses Husky for pre-commit hooks (ESLint, Prettier). These are typically installed with npm install.
• Ensure these hooks pass before pushing your changes.

Styleguides

Git Commit Message Styleguide

• Use the present tense (e.g., "Add feature" not "Added feature").
• Use the imperative mood (e.g., "Fix bug in login" not "Fixes bug in login").
• Limit the first line (subject line) to 72 characters or less.
• Provide a more detailed explanation in the commit body if necessary, after a blank line.
• Reference relevant issue numbers (e.g., "Fixes #123").

Code Styleguides

• Python (Backend): Follow PEP 8. Formatting is enforced by Black. Linting by Flake8 and MyPy.
• JavaScript/React (Frontend): Adhere to ESLint and Prettier configurations in the frontend directory.
• For more details, see Coding Standards and Conventions.

Documentation Styleguide

• Use Markdown for all wiki documentation.
• Keep documentation clear, concise, and up-to-date.

Development Setup

For detailed instructions on setting up your development environment, please refer to the Development Environment Setup guide.

Community and Behavioral Expectations

All participation in the LCFS community is governed by the LCFS Code of Conduct (link to the CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md file in your repository root).

License

By contributing to LCFS, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under its Apache License 2.0 (see LICENSE file in the repository root).

Acknowledgements

Thank you for contributing to LCFS! Your efforts help us improve the management and compliance of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

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If you have questions or need clarification on any part of the contribution process, please don't hesitate to ask in the project's communication channels or by opening an issue.