CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributing to ctx

Thank you for your interest in contributing.

Dev environment setup

git clone https://github.com/stevesolun/ctx && cd ctx
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate   # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"

To also run the similarity/embedding tests (requires ~100 MB model download):

pip install -e ".[dev,embeddings]"

Running tests

pytest -q                          # fast suite (skips integration)
pytest -q -m 'not integration'     # same, explicit
pytest -q -m integration           # embedding precision/recall tests
pytest --cov=src -q                # with coverage report

Before opening a PR, run the local fast gate on committed branch history:

scripts/no_mistakes_run.sh fast

This selects the same PR checks as CI, groups independent work into lanes, and runs those lanes in isolated temporary git worktrees so local CPU, graph, docs, package, and test checks can run in parallel. It writes lane timing evidence to .gate/local-fast.json by default. It is the fast front door; the serial preflight/no-mistakes gate remains the authoritative final check:

python scripts/ci_preflight.py --profile pr

The preflight uses the same changed-file classifier as CI. Its no-test policy treats source, workflows, pyproject.toml, scripts/ci_*, maintainer graph/sync scripts, and .no-mistakes.yaml as contract files; include focused src/tests/... coverage unless the diff is a proven version or stats-only release metadata update.

GitHub PRs skip the broad OS/Python test matrix for ordinary changes. Changes under .github/workflows/** set ci_changed, run the full Ubuntu/Windows/macOS pytest matrix on the PR, and make the stable required aggregate fail if that matrix is skipped.

Documentation changes

Public docs surfaces are release-tracked in the canonical qa/feature_status.csv tracker, with supporting rows in docs/qa/feature-user-story-status.csv and docs/qa/dashboard-user-story-status.csv. If you add, remove, or move a .md entry under mkdocs.yml nav, or change linked public assets under docs/assets/javascripts/, docs/services/, or docs/toolbox/templates/, update the relevant supporting row and canonical row with the exact path in entrypoint_or_route and run:

python -m pytest -q --no-cov \
  src/tests/test_bug_smoke_tracker.py \
  src/tests/test_feature_user_story_tracker.py \
  src/tests/test_dashboard_user_story_tracker.py \
  src/tests/test_toolbox_cli.py

Code style

Both ruff and mypy must pass before a PR is merged.

ruff check src hooks scripts          # linting
ruff format --check src hooks scripts # formatting check
mypy src/                # type checking

Fix formatting in one shot:

ruff format src hooks scripts
ruff check --fix src hooks scripts

No-mistakes runner

Maintainer no-mistakes agents can use scripts/no_mistakes_codex_env.sh as the Codex wrapper for this repo. It prepends the verified project Python venv when present and owner-only, plus Codex-bundled resources, without installing or upgrading system packages. Candidate venvs are checked in this order: CTX_NO_MISTAKES_PYTHON_BIN, $PWD/.venv/bin, this repository's .venv/bin, then /tmp/ctx-verify-venv/bin; the first owner-only venv containing pytest, ruff, and mypy wins and is exposed as CTX_NO_MISTAKES_PYTHON_BIN_RESOLVED. CTX_NO_MISTAKES_CODEX_RESOURCES and CTX_NO_MISTAKES_REAL_CODEX override the Codex resource directory or binary. The repo disables review-stage no-mistakes auto-fixes (auto_fix.review: 0) so review findings stay human-approved; rebase, test, document, lint, and CI stages still allow three automated repair attempts.

Release publishing

PyPI publishes must run from a version tag that matches pyproject.toml; manual PyPI workflow dispatch is disabled. The publish workflow resolves the full and runtime graph tarballs from matching GitHub release cache assets first. If a checked-out Git LFS pointer is newer than the cache, it performs a targeted git lfs pull for that artifact only, enforces the configured pointer size cap, verifies SHA-256 and byte size, then runs graph validation before building and publishing the package.

Commit conventions

This repo uses Conventional Commits:

feat:     new feature
fix:      bug fix
refactor: code restructuring without behaviour change
docs:     documentation only
test:     test additions or corrections
chore:    maintenance (deps, CI, tooling)
perf:     performance improvement
ci:       CI/CD changes

Scope is optional but encouraged, e.g. feat(intake): add fuzzy-match gate.

Reporting bugs

Open an issue at https://github.com/stevesolun/ctx/issues. Include:

• Python version and OS
• Full traceback
• Minimal reproduction steps

Pull request process

1. Fork the repo and create a feature branch from main.
2. Make your changes. Add or update tests — the CI gate requires the existing suite to pass.
3. Ensure ruff and mypy pass locally.
4. Open a PR against main. Fill in the PR template.
5. A maintainer will review and merge once CI is green.