# Contributing

How to contribute to Knowns based on the current GitHub repository guidance

This page summarizes the current contribution guidance from the [Knowns repository](https://github.com/knowns-dev/knowns).

## Core Principles

Before adding or changing anything, align with these principles from the main project guidance:

- Keep it simple
- Keep files as the source of truth
- Preserve a CLI-first workflow
- Keep output readable for AI agents

Knowns intentionally prefers fewer strong primitives over more complexity.

## Getting Started

Current repository development expects:

- Go `1.24.2+`
- optionally Node.js and `pnpm` for UI work

Typical development commands from the repository:

```
make build
make dev
make test
make test-e2e
make test-e2e-semantic
make lint
make cross-compile
make ui
```

## What Makes A Good Contribution

High-value contributions usually include:

- bug fixes with tests
- documentation improvements
- performance improvements
- accessibility improvements
- CLI usability improvements

## Discuss First

Open an issue before implementing changes in these areas:

- new commands or major features
- file format changes
- new dependencies
- architecture changes

## Change Expectations

When contributing:

- write minimal, focused code
- follow existing patterns
- add tests for new behavior
- update docs when behavior changes
- use clear commit messages

## Testing And Quality

From the repository guidance, contributors should validate changes with the project test and lint commands.

For Go-first work, the main commands are:

```
make test
make test-e2e
make lint
```

For UI work, rebuild the embedded UI as needed:

```
make ui
```