Contributing Guide

As of March 2026. Contributions to the Presto ecosystem are welcome, whether you're fixing a typo or contributing a new feature.

Prerequisites

Before you start contributing, make sure your development environment is set up. Refer to the Environment Setup Guide to install the following tools:

• Git
• Node.js + npm
• Go (if contributing to the Presto main repository)
• VSCode + Claude Code (recommended AI-assisted development tools)

Verification: Run git --version && node --version && go version to confirm all tools are available.

Branching Strategy

All Presto repositories follow a single main branch strategy (simplified GitHub Flow model):

• main is the only long-lived branch and is always kept in a releasable state
• All development happens on short-lived feature branches created from main
• There are no develop, release, or other extra branches

Feature branch naming convention:

Prefix	Purpose	Example
feat/	New feature	feat/dark-mode
fix/	Bug fix	fix/pdf-export-crash
docs/	Documentation	docs/update-glossary
refactor/	Refactoring	refactor/template-engine

Development Workflow

Step 1: Fork the Repository

Fork the target repository to your account on GitHub.

Verification: You can see https://github.com/<your-username>/<repo-name> in your browser.

Step 2: Clone and Configure Upstream

git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/<repo-name>.git
cd <repo-name>
git remote add upstream https://github.com/Presto-io/<repo-name>.git

Verification: git remote -v shows origin (your Fork) and upstream (Presto-io original repo).

Step 3: Create a Feature Branch

git checkout main
git pull upstream main
git checkout -b feat/your-feature-name

Verification: git branch shows you're on the new branch.

Step 4: Develop and Commit

Follow the Commit Convention below for your changes. Small, focused commits are recommended --- each commit should do one thing.

Step 5: Push and Create a PR

git push origin feat/your-feature-name

Then create a Pull Request on GitHub, targeting upstream/main.

Verification: You can see your PR on GitHub, and CI checks begin running.

Commit Convention

Commit messages use Chinese, in the format <type>: <description>.

Type	Purpose	Example
feat	New feature	feat: add dark mode support
fix	Bug fix	fix: fix CJK garbled text in PDF export
refactor	Refactoring (no behavior change)	refactor: extract template parser into separate module
ui	UI adjustments	ui: adjust sidebar width
sec	Security-related	sec: fix path traversal vulnerability
docs	Documentation	docs: update glossary
chore	Build/tooling/dependencies	chore: upgrade Go to 1.23
merge	Branch merge	merge: merge feat/dark-mode

PR Workflow

The project currently doesn't have a PR template, but it is recommended that your PR description includes the following:

1. What was done: Briefly describe the changes
2. Why: Explain the motivation or related issue (if any)
3. How to verify: Describe how to test your changes

Example:

## What was done

Added 3 missing terms to the glossary.

## Why

Users reported encountering unfamiliar terms while reading the template developer guide.

## How to verify

Run `npm run check` to confirm lint passes.

After submitting a PR:

• Wait for CI checks to pass (if configured)
• Wait for maintainer review
• After addressing feedback, push to the same branch to automatically update the PR

Coding Conventions

Each repository has different tech stacks and convention requirements. For the complete AI development guide, refer to the AI Development Guide.

Presto Main Repository (Go)

• Use gofmt to format code
• Error handling: return error, don't use panic
• Log format: log.Printf("[module] ...")
• Security annotations: use // SEC-XX: comments to mark security-related code
• Do not introduce new third-party Go dependencies (unless discussed in advance)

Presto Frontend (Svelte 5 + TypeScript)

• Use Svelte 5 runes syntax ($state, $derived, $effect)
• TypeScript strict mode
• Components go in frontend/src/lib/components/
• API clients go in frontend/src/lib/api/
• State management uses .svelte.ts files

Presto-doc (Markdown)

• Toolchain: markdownlint-cli2 + prettier + autocorrect
• Line length limit: 120 characters (tables excluded)
• Run npm run check before committing to confirm zero errors
• The repository has a husky pre-commit hook configured that automatically checks staged files

First-Time Contribution Suggestions

Not sure where to start? Here are some beginner-friendly contribution ideas:

1. Documentation fixes: Fix typos, outdated links, or inaccurate descriptions
2. Dependabot PR Review: Help review auto-created dependency update PRs to confirm CI passes and there are no breaking changes
3. User experience improvements: Based on your experience using Presto, suggest improvements or submit issues
4. Add tests: Add test cases for existing features

Every contribution is valuable --- we look forward to your participation.