botserver/docs/src/chapter-13-community

Contributing to General Bots

Welcome to the General Bots community! We appreciate your interest in contributing to this open-source project. This chapter provides comprehensive guidance for contributors.

Overview

General Bots is an open-source conversational AI platform built in Rust, actively used in production since 2018. We welcome contributions of all kinds:

• Code improvements
• Documentation updates
• Bug reports
• Feature suggestions
• Testing
• Community support

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Before contributing, ensure you have:

• Rust 1.70 or later
• Git experience
• Basic understanding of General Bots architecture

First Steps

1. Fork the Repository

   git clone https://github.com/GeneralBots/BotServer.git
   cd botserver
   

2. Set Up Development Environment

   • Follow the Development Setup guide
   • Run the bootstrap process
   • Verify everything works

3. Find Something to Work On

   • Check good first issues
   • Ask in discussions

Types of Contributions

Code Contributions

Bug Fixes:

• Reproduce the issue
• Write a test case
• Implement the fix
• Submit a pull request

New Features:

• Discuss in an issue first
• Design the solution
• Implement with tests
• Document the feature

Performance Improvements:

• Benchmark existing code
• Implement optimization
• Prove improvement with metrics
• Ensure no regressions

Documentation

Areas Needing Help:

• API documentation
• BASIC keyword examples
• Tutorial content
• Translation

Documentation Standards:

• Clear and concise
• Include examples
• Keep up-to-date
• Follow markdown conventions

Testing

Test Coverage:

• Unit tests for new code
• Integration tests for features
• Regression tests for bugs
• Performance benchmarks

Testing Guidelines:

• Test edge cases
• Mock external dependencies
• Keep tests fast
• Use descriptive names

Development Process

1. Planning

Before starting work:

• Check existing issues
• Discuss major changes
• Get feedback on approach
• Claim the issue

2. Development

While coding:

• Follow Code Standards
• Write tests first (TDD)
• Keep commits atomic
• Update documentation

3. Testing

Before submitting:

• Run all tests locally
• Check code formatting
• Verify no warnings
• Test manually

4. Submission

Creating a pull request:

• Clear description
• Reference related issues
• Include test results
• Update CHANGELOG if needed

Communication

GitHub Discussions

For questions and ideas:

• Feature proposals
• Architecture discussions
• Community support
• General questions

Issue Tracker

For specific problems:

• Bug reports
• Feature requests
• Documentation issues
• Performance problems

Pull Requests

For code review:

• Implementation feedback
• Design discussions
• Testing verification
• Merge coordination

Contribution Guidelines

Code Quality

Requirements:

• Pass all tests
• No compiler warnings
• Formatted with cargo fmt
• Clean cargo clippy output

Best Practices:

• Write self-documenting code
• Add comments for complex logic
• Keep functions small
• Follow SOLID principles

Commit Messages

Format:

type(scope): brief description

Detailed explanation if needed.

Fixes #issue-number

Types:

• feat: New feature
• fix: Bug fix
• docs: Documentation
• style: Formatting
• refactor: Code restructuring
• test: Test additions
• chore: Maintenance

Pull Request Process

1. Create Feature Branch

   git checkout -b feature/your-feature
   

2. Make Changes

   • Implement feature
   • Add tests
   • Update docs

3. Submit PR

   • Push to your fork
   • Open pull request
   • Fill template
   • Request review

4. Code Review

   • Address feedback
   • Update as needed
   • Maintain discussion

5. Merge

   • Squash if requested
   • Ensure CI passes
   • Maintainer merges

Recognition

Contributors

All contributors are recognized:

• Listed in CONTRIBUTORS.md
• Mentioned in release notes
• Community appreciation

Core Team

Regular contributors may be invited to:

• Join core team
• Get merge permissions
• Mentor others

Resources

Documentation

• Development Setup
• Code Standards
• Testing Guide
• Pull Request Guide

Tools

• Rust toolchain
• VS Code with rust-analyzer
• Git and GitHub CLI
• LXC (optional)

Learning

• Rust documentation
• BotServer architecture docs
• BASIC language reference
• Zitadel documentation

Code of Conduct

We maintain a welcoming community:

• Be respectful
• Be inclusive
• Be collaborative
• Be professional

See our full Code of Conduct.

Getting Help

For Contributors

• Ask in pull requests
• Create discussion topics
• Review existing code
• Read documentation

For Maintainers

• Provide clear feedback
• Be responsive
• Guide new contributors
• Maintain standards

Legal

Licensing

• BotServer uses AGPL-3.0 license
• Contributions must be compatible
• You retain copyright
• Grant project license rights

Contributor Agreement

By contributing, you agree that:

• You have the right to contribute
• Your contribution is original
• You grant necessary licenses
• You follow the Code of Conduct

Thank You!

Your contributions make BotServer better for everyone. Whether you're fixing a typo, adding a feature, or helping others, every contribution matters.

Welcome to the community!

See Also

• Development Setup - Setting up your development environment
• Testing - Writing and running tests
• Documentation - Contributing to documentation
• IDE Extensions - IDE integration and tooling
• Chapter 1: Getting Started - Understanding the basics
• Chapter 2: Packages - Bot package system
• Chapter 5: BASIC Reference - Complete command reference
• Chapter 6: Extensions - Extending BotServer
• Chapter 9: Advanced Topics - Advanced features
• Chapter 11: Infrastructure - Deployment and infrastructure
• Chapter 12: Web API - REST and WebSocket APIs

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