Contributing

Contributing

Thanks for your interest in contributing to TREK! Here are the guidelines for submitting pull requests.

Before You Start

• Ask in Discord first — Before writing any code, pitch your idea in the #github-pr channel on our Discord server. We'll let you know if the PR is wanted and give direction. PRs without prior approval will be closed
• Check existing issues — Look for open issues or discussions before starting work
• Target the dev branch — All PRs must be opened against dev, not main. Exception: PRs that only modify files under wiki/ may target any branch
• One thing per PR — Keep PRs focused on a single change. Don't bundle unrelated fixes

Pull Request Guidelines

Code Quality

• Write clean, readable code that matches the existing style
• No unnecessary abstractions or over-engineering
• Don't add features beyond what was discussed in the issue
• Don't add comments unless the logic isn't self-evident
• Don't add error handling for scenarios that can't happen

What We Look For

• Does it solve the stated problem? — The PR should match the issue it addresses
• Is it minimal? — No extra refactoring, no "while I'm here" changes
• Does it break anything? — Breaking changes are not acceptable
• Is the code clean? — Consistent style, no debug logs, no dead code

Commit Messages

Use conventional commits:

fix(component): short description of what was fixed
feat(component): short description of new feature

PR Description

Follow the template provided by default (.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md).

What Will Get Your PR Closed

• PRs that weren't discussed and approved in #github-pr on Discord first
• PRs that add unnecessary complexity (e.g. a redo button when undo already exists)
• PRs with breaking changes
• PRs that change code style or formatting across unrelated files
• PRs that add dependencies without justification

Development Setup

See the Development Environment page for the full setup guide, including forking, remote configuration, branch conventions, and available scripts.

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	React 18, TypeScript, Zustand, Leaflet, Tailwind CSS, Vite
Backend	Express, TypeScript, better-sqlite3
Real-time	WebSocket (ws)
Database	SQLite with WAL mode
Auth	JWT (HS256), bcrypt, TOTP MFA, OIDC
Maps	Leaflet + react-leaflet, OSRM, Nominatim, CartoDB tiles
i18n	15 languages (EN, DE, ES, FR, NL, IT, PT-BR, CS, PL, HU, RU, ZH, ZH-TW, AR, ID)