Development and Contributing

Development and contributing

Choose one bounded correction, reproducible defect or tutorial improvement. Search issues/PRs, read CONTRIBUTING.md and AGENTS.md, then branch from current main.

Source desktop

After prerequisites, run from the repository root:

npm ci
npm run build
npm run download:plugins
npm run build -w @gamecrafter/control-room
npm run start -w @gamecrafter/control-room

Package workspaces build first; Theia/native desktop work is separate. Avoid rebuilding outputs used by an active app. Use an isolated checkout/dependency tree when needed.

The development browser has separate build/start commands for @gamecrafter/control-room-browser at http://127.0.0.1:3000. It is a development/smoke target, not a hosted web product. The developer guide owns detailed commands and isolated profiles.

Validate and contribute

Iterate with the affected package test. Code handoff uses:

npx turbo run build typecheck lint test
npm run format:check

UI changes also need relevant app build/rendered smoke. Docs-only work needs focused content/link/formatting checks, not app builds. Report capability skips; source tests and live engines prove different things.

Add a pending permanent record under docs/changes/ with exact paths, rationale, compatibility, impact and actual validation. Keep the product version while pending.

npm run changelog:update
npm run changelog:check -- --base <branch-base-commit>

Use the PR template and explain observable changes. CI covers Windows/Linux quality and browser smoke, not all integrations. Pin exact npm dependencies; keep durable state in the service. Release publication is separate authorized work.