Meshtastic-Android/docs/en/developer/contributing.md

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title	parent	nav_order	last_updated	aliases
Contributing	Developer Guide	8	2026-05-13	contributing pull-request branch-naming

Contributing

Guidelines for contributing to the Meshtastic Android/Desktop/iOS project.

Branch Naming

Branches use conventional-commit style prefixes:

Prefix	Use for
feat/<scope>	New user-visible behavior
fix/<scope>	Bug fixes
refactor/<scope>	Code structure changes
chore/<scope>	Tooling, deps, CI, cleanup
docs/<scope>	Documentation only
build/<scope>	Build system changes
ci/<scope>	CI workflow changes
test/<scope>	Test additions or fixes
deps/<scope>	Dependency updates

Numeric spec prefixes (e.g., 003-app-docs-markdown) are also valid for spec-driven work.

Examples:

• feat/desktop-ble-transport
• fix/bluetooth-reconnect
• 003-app-docs-markdown

Development Workflow

1. Fork the repository (external contributors) or create a branch (maintainers).
2. Implement your changes following the architecture guidelines.
3. Test locally: ./gradlew spotlessCheck detekt kmpSmokeCompile test allTests
4. Commit with clear, descriptive messages.
5. Push and open a Pull Request.

Commit Messages

Follow conventional commit style:

feat(docs): add in-app documentation browser
fix(ble): handle reconnection timeout
refactor(navigation): migrate to typed routes
test(search): add keyword ranking tests

Pull Request Checklist

Before submitting:

• Code compiles on all targets: ./gradlew kmpSmokeCompile
• All tests pass: ./gradlew allTests
• Code style passes: ./gradlew spotlessCheck
• Static analysis passes: ./gradlew detekt
• New code has appropriate test coverage
• No android.* imports in commonMain
• Koin modules registered if new DI is added
• Routes added to Routes.kt if new navigation is introduced
• Documentation updated if user-facing behavior changes

Code Style

• Formatting: Enforced by Spotless (KtLint rules)
• Static analysis: Detekt with project-specific configuration
• Imports: No wildcard imports; organized automatically by Spotless
• Line length: 120 characters maximum

Run formatting:

./gradlew spotlessApply

Architecture Rules

• Feature modules must not depend on other feature modules
• commonMain must not contain android.*, java.io.*, or platform-specific imports
• Prefer interface + DI over expect/actual for complex platform behaviors
• All navigation routes must be @Serializable and defined in Routes.kt
• Use Koin annotations (@Single, @Factory, @Module) for dependency injection

Verification

Full pre-merge verification:

./gradlew spotlessCheck detekt kmpSmokeCompile test allTests

For docs-specific changes, also run:

./gradlew generateDocsBundle validateDocsBundle

Getting Help

• Meshtastic Discord — #app-development channel
• GitHub Issues — for bug reports and feature requests
• GitHub Discussions — for questions and ideas

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