Contributing to EchoNext

Thank you for your interest in contributing to EchoNext! This guide will help you get started.

Ways to Contribute

🐛 Report bugs - Help us find and fix issues
💡 Suggest features - Share your ideas for improvements
📝 Improve documentation - Help others learn EchoNext
🔧 Submit code - Fix bugs or add features
🎓 Create examples - Share how you use EchoNext
💬 Help others - Answer questions in issues and discussions

Getting Started

1. Fork and Clone

# Fork the repository on GitHub
# Then clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/echonext.git
cd echonext

# Add upstream remote
git remote add upstream https://github.com/abdussamadbello/echonext.git

2. Install Dependencies

# Install Go 1.24+
go version

# Install dependencies
go mod download

# Install development tools
go install github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint@latest

3. Create a Branch

# Update your fork
git checkout main
git pull upstream main

# Create a feature branch
git checkout -b feature/my-feature

# Or a bugfix branch
git checkout -b fix/my-bugfix

Making Changes

Code Guidelines

Follow Go conventions
- Use gofmt for formatting
- Follow Effective Go
- Use meaningful variable names
Write clear code
- Add comments for complex logic
- Keep functions small and focused
- Use early returns for error handling
Maintain backwards compatibility
- Don't break existing APIs
- Deprecate before removing
- Document breaking changes

Example of Good Code

// CreateUser creates a new user with the provided information.
// Returns an error if the email is already in use.
func (s *Service) CreateUser(req CreateUserRequest) (*User, error) {
    // Validate email uniqueness
    exists, err := s.emailExists(req.Email)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("checking email: %w", err)
    }
    if exists {
        return nil, echo.NewHTTPError(409, "email already in use")
    }
    
    // Create user
    user := &User{
        Name:  req.Name,
        Email: req.Email,
    }
    
    if err := s.db.Create(user).Error; err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("creating user: %w", err)
    }
    
    return user, nil
}

Testing

Always add tests for your changes:

func TestCreateUser(t *testing.T) {
    // Setup
    db := setupTestDB(t)
    service := NewService(db)
    
    // Test successful creation
    req := CreateUserRequest{
        Name:  "John Doe",
        Email: "john@example.com",
    }
    
    user, err := service.CreateUser(req)
    if err != nil {
        t.Fatalf("CreateUser failed: %v", err)
    }
    
    if user.Name != req.Name {
        t.Errorf("expected name %s, got %s", req.Name, user.Name)
    }
    
    // Test duplicate email
    _, err = service.CreateUser(req)
    if err == nil {
        t.Error("expected error for duplicate email")
    }
}

Run tests:

# Run all tests
go test ./...

# Run with coverage
go test -cover ./...

# Run with verbose output
go test -v ./...

# Run specific test
go test -run TestCreateUser

Linting

Ensure your code passes linting:

# Run linter
golangci-lint run

# Auto-fix issues when possible
golangci-lint run --fix

Submitting Changes

1. Commit Your Changes

Write clear commit messages:

# Good commit messages
git commit -m "feat: add user authentication middleware"
git commit -m "fix: resolve validation error for empty arrays"
git commit -m "docs: update quickstart guide with examples"

# Commit message format
# type: description
#
# Types:
# - feat: New feature
# - fix: Bug fix
# - docs: Documentation changes
# - test: Adding or updating tests
# - refactor: Code refactoring
# - perf: Performance improvements
# - chore: Maintenance tasks

2. Push to Your Fork

git push origin feature/my-feature

3. Create a Pull Request

Go to your fork on GitHub
Click "New Pull Request"
Select your branch
Fill in the PR template:

## Description
Brief description of what this PR does.

## Changes
- List of changes made
- Another change
- And another

## Testing
How to test these changes.

## Related Issues
Closes #123

4. Respond to Review

Address reviewer comments
Make requested changes
Push updates to your branch
PR will update automatically

Types of Contributions

Bug Fixes

Create an issue first (unless it's a typo or obvious fix)
Describe the bug:
- What happened
- What you expected
- Steps to reproduce
- Your environment
Submit a fix with tests

New Features

Open a discussion first for major features
Explain the use case
Get feedback before coding
Submit PR with:
- Implementation
- Tests
- Documentation
- Examples

Documentation

Documentation improvements are always welcome!

# Edit docs
vim docs/guides/my-guide.md

# Preview locally (if using markdown viewer)
# Or just check it on GitHub after pushing

# Submit PR
git add docs/
git commit -m "docs: improve validation guide"
git push origin docs/validation-improvements

Examples

Share how you use EchoNext:

Create a complete example project
Add a detailed README
Include comments in code
Submit to examples/ directory

Development Workflow

Typical workflow for a bug fix:

# 1. Sync with upstream
git checkout main
git pull upstream main

# 2. Create branch
git checkout -b fix/validation-bug

# 3. Make changes
vim echonext.go

# 4. Add tests
vim echonext_test.go

# 5. Run tests
go test ./...

# 6. Lint
golangci-lint run

# 7. Commit
git add .
git commit -m "fix: resolve validation bug for nested structs"

# 8. Push
git push origin fix/validation-bug

# 9. Create PR on GitHub

Typical workflow for a feature:

# 1. Open issue/discussion first
# Get feedback on the feature

# 2. Sync and branch
git checkout main
git pull upstream main
git checkout -b feature/custom-validators

# 3. Implement
vim echonext.go

# 4. Add tests
vim echonext_test.go

# 5. Add docs
vim docs/guides/validation.md

# 6. Add example
vim examples/custom-validation/main.go

# 7. Test everything
go test ./...
golangci-lint run

# 8. Commit and push
git add .
git commit -m "feat: add support for custom validators"
git push origin feature/custom-validators

# 9. Create PR with detailed description

Code Review Process

What to expect:

Initial review - Within a few days
Feedback - Suggestions and questions
Discussion - May iterate on approach
Approval - Once everything looks good
Merge - Maintainer will merge

Good PR practices:

Keep PRs focused and small
One feature/fix per PR
Include tests
Update documentation
Respond to feedback promptly

Community Guidelines

Be respectful - We're all here to learn and improve
Be patient - Maintainers are volunteers
Be constructive - Provide helpful feedback
Be collaborative - Work together toward solutions

Questions?

Check existing issues
Ask in discussions
Read the documentation

License

By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the MIT License.

Thank You!

Your contributions make EchoNext better for everyone. Thank you for taking the time to contribute! 🎉

Contributing to EchoNext

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