Applying .patch files in the repository for local development

[Jatin-Shihora]

Captchas

• I have read the instructions.
• I have searched existing issues and avoided creating duplicates.
• I am not filing an enhancement request.
• I have checked that this issue cannot be reproduced on Mozilla Firefox.
• I have checked that this issue can be reproduced once I removed all my Mods and Custom CSS.

What happened?

I am trying to contribute from the dev branch, but I noticed that the repository only contains .patch files instead of the original .js and .css source files.

For example:

src/browser/components/panelUI.css.patch  
src/browser/themes/shared/tabs.css.patch  

I checked the contribution and installation guidelines, but I couldn't find any mention of how these patches are managed.

Are there specific git commands or workflows I need to follow to apply these patches locally?

It took me almost a day to set up the local dev environment, and I plan to contribute to the documentation to help others set up their environment faster. Once I resolve this, I’d like to add details about patch management as well.

If anyone can help than it would be great. Thanks!

Version

1.10.3b

What platform are you seeing the problem on?

Windows - x64

What component is this issue related to?

Other

Relevant log output if applicable

[Slowlife01]

• The engine folder is a local Git repository.
• The initial commit is automatically generated.
• The .patch files represent differences from this initial commit.
• Patches can be imported using the command npm run import.
• New patches can be generated using the command npm run export <path>, where <path> specifies the file path relative to the engine folder.

[Jatin-Shihora]

Thanks a ton, @Slowlife01! So first, we need to run the import to apply the latest patch changes to the engine directory files. Then, we can tweak whatever files we want in the engine directory. Once we're happy with the changes, we generate a new patch and export those file changes to the equivalent file in the src directory. After that, it's just the usual commit and PR process.

[Original Files] <- [Patch Files] <- [Your Changes]
      ^                    ^
      | (npm run import)   | (npm run export)
      |                    |
[engine dir]           [src dir]

[Slowlife01]

Thanks a ton, @Slowlife01! So first, we need to run the import to apply the latest patch changes to the engine directory files. Then, we can tweak whatever files we want in the engine directory. Once we're happy with the changes, we generate a new patch and export those file changes to the equivalent file in the src directory. After that, it's just the usual commit and PR process.

[Original Files] <- [Patch Files] <- [Your Changes]
      ^                    ^
      | (npm run import)   | (npm run export)
      |                    |
[engine dir]           [src dir]

Yes, when you make changes to the engine folder, you can simply build it. If the changes are only in JavaScript, you can run npm run build:ui. For changes in other languages, you should run the normal build

[mr-cheffy]

We should do better documentation for development... Ill move this issue into the docs repo

[Jatin-Shihora]

Hi @mauro-balades, I’ve added a pull request with details on how to successfully run the build: #157.

I haven’t included anything related to the patch management that @Slowlife01 suggested. Do you think it would be better to add that to building.md, or should I create a separate .md file for it?

[IAmJafeth]

Completed: 7bbd807