Contributing to [Pears Hackathon Website]

Thank you for considering contributing to [Pears Hackathon Website]! We welcome contributions from the community, and your help will make this project even better. This guide will help you get started with the process of contributing.

Table of Contents

• Code of Conduct
• Ways to Contribute
  • Reporting Bugs
  • Suggesting Enhancements
  • Submitting Code Changes
• Setting Up Your Development Environment
• Branching Strategy
• Style Guide
• Running Tests
• Pull Request Process
• Additional Resources

Code of Conduct

By participating in this project, you agree to abide by our Code of Conduct. Please be respectful to everyone and foster a welcoming, collaborative environment.

Ways to Contribute

Reporting Bugs

If you find a bug in the project, please let us know! You can report bugs by creating an issue in the GitHub issues section of this repository. Please provide as much information as possible:

• A clear description of the bug
• Steps to reproduce the bug
• Expected behavior vs actual behavior
• Any relevant error messages or logs

Suggesting Enhancements

If you have ideas on how to improve the project, we’d love to hear them. You can open an issue with your suggestion, and we’ll discuss it further. When suggesting a new feature or enhancement, please include:

• A clear and concise description of the enhancement
• Why you think this enhancement would be valuable
• Any potential alternatives you’ve considered

Submitting Code Changes

We welcome code contributions! If you’d like to submit a change or feature, please fork the repository and create a pull request (PR). When submitting code changes, please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository and clone it to your local machine.
2. Create a new branch for your work (git checkout -b feature/your-feature).
3. Make your changes, ensuring you follow the style guide and coding conventions.
4. Write tests if your change involves functionality.
5. Commit your changes with a clear, descriptive commit message.
6. Push your branch to your forked repository (git push origin feature/your-feature).
7. Open a pull request against the main repository’s main branch.

Setting Up Your Development Environment

To set up the project on your local machine, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/username/repo.git

2. Navigate into the project directory:

   cd repo

3. Install dependencies:

   # For JavaScript/Node.js projects:
   npm install
   
   # For Python projects:
   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. For any additional setup instructions (e.g., environment variables, databases), refer to the documentation in the docs/ directory or the project’s setup guide.

Branching Strategy

We use Git flow to manage our branching strategy. Here are the key branches:

• main: The main branch with stable and production-ready code.
• develop: The development branch where new features and bug fixes are merged.
• feature/<feature-name>: Feature branches created from develop for new features.
• hotfix/<bug-name>: Hotfix branches created from main for urgent fixes.

When working on a new feature or bug fix, always branch off from develop.

Style Guide

Please adhere to the following style guidelines when contributing:

• Use camelCase for variables and function names.

• Write clear and descriptive commit messages. Follow this format:

  [TYPE] short description of changes
  
  - Bullet points of what was changed.
  - Any additional details or context.
  

  Example:

  [Fix] Corrected typo in README file
  
  - Fixed spelling error in "Contributers" section
  

• Follow the project's coding conventions (e.g., indentation, line length). If unsure, follow the existing code style.

Running Tests

Before submitting your PR, ensure all tests are passing. To run tests, follow the steps below:

• For JavaScript/Node.js projects:

  npm test

• For Python projects:

  pytest

If you’re adding new features or fixing bugs, please add or update tests as needed.

Pull Request Process

1. Open a pull request against the main branch of the project.
2. Include a clear description of your changes.
3. If the pull request addresses an issue, reference the issue number (e.g., Closes #123).
4. Wait for feedback from the maintainers. Be open to suggestions and requests for changes.
5. Once the pull request is approved, it will be merged into main.

Additional Resources

• GitHub Documentation
• Git Flow
• Contributor License Agreement (CLA) (if applicable)

Thank you for contributing to [Pears Hackathon]! We truly appreciate your efforts to help improve this project.