Contributing

Welcome to the RegistryAccord contributor guide. We appreciate your interest in helping improve the protocol and its ecosystem.

Repo Map and Contribution Paths

The RegistryAccord project is organized across multiple repositories:

Protocol and Specifications

• registryaccord-specs: Canonical protocol definitions and schemas

Core Services

• registryaccord-identity-go: Identity service implementation
• registryaccord-cdv-go: Creator Data Vault implementation
• registryaccord-gateway-go: Gateway service implementation

Client Libraries

• registryaccord-sdk-ts: TypeScript SDK
• registryaccord-cli-ts: Command-line interface

Infrastructure and Testing

• registryaccord-devstack: Local development environment
• registryaccord-conformance: Conformance testing suite
• registryaccord-docs-old: This documentation site
• registryaccord-terraform-modules: Infrastructure as Code

Running Devstack + Conformance Locally

Devstack Setup

# Clone the devstack repository
git clone https://github.com/RegistryAccord/registryaccord-devstack.git
cd registryaccord-devstack

# Start all services
make up

# Seed with sample data
make seed

# Run the demo
make demo

Conformance Testing

# Clone the conformance repository
git clone https://github.com/RegistryAccord/registryaccord-conformance.git
cd registryaccord-conformance

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run conformance tests
make test

# Run specific test suites
make test-identity
make test-cdv
make test-gateway

Coding Standards

General Principles

• Follow established patterns in each repository
• Write clear, self-documenting code
• Include comprehensive tests for new features
• Maintain backward compatibility when possible
• Document public APIs and interfaces

Language-Specific Guidelines

Go Services

• Follow Go idioms and best practices
• Use structured logging with correlation IDs
• Implement proper error wrapping
• Follow the project's Makefile conventions

TypeScript Libraries

• Use TypeScript strict mode
• Follow functional programming principles where appropriate
• Implement proper error handling and retry logic
• Maintain browser and Node.js compatibility

PR Expectations

Before Submitting

1. Ensure all tests pass
2. Run linting tools and fix issues
3. Update documentation as needed
4. Add tests for new functionality
5. Follow commit message conventions

Review Process

1. PRs require review from maintainers
2. CI checks must pass
3. Code coverage requirements apply
4. Security scans are performed
5. ADRs may be required for significant changes

ADR Flow

For significant architectural decisions:

1. Create an ADR in the appropriate repository
2. Discuss with maintainers and community
3. Revise based on feedback
4. Finalize and implement
5. Reference in code and documentation

Good First Issues

New contributors should look for issues tagged with good first issue or help wanted. These are typically:

• Documentation improvements
• Bug fixes with clear reproduction steps
• Test coverage enhancements
• Small feature additions

Check the issues tab in any repository to find opportunities to contribute.

Thank you for helping make RegistryAccord better for everyone!