Contributing Guide

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Ways to Contribute

Reporting Bugs

1. Search GitHub Issues to check if the problem already exists
2. If not, create a new Issue including:
   • Problem description
   • Steps to reproduce
   • Expected behavior vs actual behavior
   • Browser/OS version
   • Relevant screenshots or logs

Feature Requests

1. Create a Feature Request on GitHub Issues
2. Describe the use case and expected behavior
3. Explain why this feature would be valuable to the project

Submitting Code

1. Fork the project
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature
3. Write code and tests
4. Ensure all checks pass:

   # Backend
   cd arthas-server
   go build ./...
   go test ./...
   go vet ./...
   
   # Frontend
   cd arthas-client
   npx tsc --noEmit
   npm run build

5. Commit: git commit -m "feat: your feature description"
6. Push: git push origin feature/your-feature
7. Create a Pull Request

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Development Workflow

Branch Strategy

Branch	Purpose
main	Stable releases
develop	Development branch
feature/*	Feature development
fix/*	Bug fixes

Commit Convention

Use Conventional Commits:

feat: add message recall feature
fix: fix message loss after reconnection
docs: update deployment documentation
refactor: refactor room management logic
test: add encryption layer unit tests
chore: update dependency versions

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Code Standards

Go Code

• Format with gofmt
• Check with go vet
• Exported functions must have comments
• Error handling uses error returns, not panic
• Concurrency safety uses sync.RWMutex

TypeScript Code

• Strict mode (strict: true)
• Use functional components + React Hooks
• Define Props with interfaces
• Avoid any types
• Use Tailwind CSS, no custom CSS

Security Guidelines

• Never log message content on the server
• Never store roomKey on the server
• Crypto-related code changes require extra review
• New server logs must not contain user messages

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Pull Request Checklist

• Code passes go build ./... and npm run build
• Backend tests pass go test ./...
• Frontend type checking passes npx tsc --noEmit
• New features have corresponding tests
• Documentation updated (if applicable)
• No new security risks introduced
• Commit messages follow convention

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Architecture Decisions

Before contributing, please understand these design decisions:

1. Server Zero-Knowledge — No modification may give the server decryption capability
2. No Persistence — No database, pure in-memory design
3. No Third-Party Crypto Libraries — Frontend uses only Web Crypto API
4. Binary Protocol — Uses MessagePack, not JSON
5. No Router Library — Frontend uses hash routing, no react-router

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Getting Help

• Read the Development Guide to understand the code structure
• Read the Architecture Document to understand design decisions
• Ask questions in Issues

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Code of Conduct

• Respect all contributors
• Discuss technical approaches constructively
• Accept code review feedback
• Be friendly and professional