Contributing to Avail

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Code of Conduct

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Our Standards

• Respectfulness - Being considerate of differing opinions and experiences
• Empathy - Showing understanding towards other community members
• Collaboration - Working together constructively
• Professionalism - Maintaining professional conduct in all interactions
• Responsibility - Taking ownership of actions and their impact

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Getting Started

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Reporting Issues

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Bug Reports

• Description - Clear description of the issue
• Steps to reproduce - Detailed steps to recreate the bug
• Expected behavior - What should happen
• Actual behavior - What actually happens
• Environment - OS, Rust version, node version
• Logs - Relevant error messages or logs

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Feature Requests

• Use case - Why this feature is needed
• Proposed solution - How it could be implemented
• Alternatives - Other approaches considered
• Impact - Who would benefit from this feature

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Making Changes

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Fork and Clone

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/avail.git
cd avail

git remote add upstream https://github.com/availproject/avail.git
git fetch upstream

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Create a Branch

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
# or
git checkout -b fix/issue-description

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Make Your Changes

// Follow Rust conventions and formatting
// Use descriptive names
// Add documentation comments

/// Processes a new block and updates chain state.
///
/// # Arguments
/// * `block` - The block to process
///
/// # Returns
/// Result indicating success or error
pub fn process_block(block: Block) -> Result<(), Error> {
    // Implementation
}

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Testing Your Changes

cargo test --release --workspace

cargo test --release -p package-name

cargo build --release --features fast-runtime
./target/release/avail-node --dev
# In another terminal:
cd e2e && cargo test -- --test-threads 1

# Format code
cargo fmt

# Run linter
cargo clippy

# Verify compilation with features
cargo build --release --features "runtime-benchmarks try-runtime"

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Code Quality Standards

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Formatting

cargo fmt

cargo fmt --check

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Linting

cargo clippy

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Documentation

• Public APIs
• Complex logic
• Runtime pallets
• RPC methods

/// Brief description of the function.
///
/// More detailed explanation if needed.
///
/// # Arguments
/// * `param` - Description of parameter
///
/// # Returns
/// Description of return value
///
/// # Examples
/// ```
/// let result = function_name(param);
/// ```
pub fn function_name(param: Type) -> ReturnType {
    // Implementation
}

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Committing Changes

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Commit Messages

# Use imperative mood
git commit -m "Add Kate RPC endpoint for proof queries"
git commit -m "Fix memory leak in block processing"
git commit -m "Refactor transaction validation logic"
git commit -m "Update documentation for RPC methods"

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Commit Guidelines

• Keep commits focused and atomic
• One logical change per commit
• Reference issue numbers when applicable: Fix #123: Resolve node crash on startup
• Provide context in the commit body for complex changes

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Submitting a Pull Request

git push origin feature/your-feature-name

# Make changes based on feedback
git add .
git commit -m "Address review feedback"
git push origin feature/your-feature-name

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Pull Request Checklist

• Code is formatted: cargo fmt
• Tests pass: cargo test --release --workspace
• Clippy passes: cargo clippy
• Builds successfully: cargo build --release
• Builds with features: cargo build --release --features runtime-benchmarks
• Self-review completed
• Documentation updated (if needed)
• Commit messages are clear

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Review Process

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What to Expect

1. Initial Review - A maintainer will review your PR within a few days
2. Feedback - You may receive requests for changes or clarifications
3. Iteration - Address feedback and push updates
4. Approval - Once approved, your PR will be merged

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Review Criteria

• Code quality and style
• Test coverage
• Performance implications
• Security considerations
• Documentation completeness
• Breaking changes

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Types of Contributions

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Code Contributions

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Non-Code Contributions

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Development Workflow

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Keeping Your Fork Updated

# Fetch upstream changes
git fetch upstream

# Update your main branch
git checkout main
git merge upstream/main
git push origin main

# Rebase your feature branch
git checkout feature/your-feature-name
git rebase main

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Handling Merge Conflicts

# Update from main
git fetch upstream
git rebase upstream/main

# Resolve conflicts in affected files
# Then continue rebase
git add .
git rebase --continue

# Force push to update PR
git push --force-with-lease origin feature/your-feature-name

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Security

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Documentation Contributions

1. Documentation website code: availproject.github.io
2. Code documentation: In-line comments and doc comments in this repository
3. Wiki: GitHub Wiki

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Getting Help

• Discord - Join our Discord community
• GitHub Discussions - Ask questions in GitHub Discussions
• Documentation - Check the project wiki

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Recognition

• Git commit history
• Release notes
• Community highlights

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Additional Resources