Contributing

Branch and PR workflow

• Do not push new feature work directly to develop.
• Start from the latest develop and use a topic branch:
• feature/<topic>
• fix/<topic>
• docs/<topic>
• Keep one user-visible value per PR.
• Every PR should add or tighten at least one regression, sign-off, or dogfooding check.

PR size rule

• 1 PR = 1 feature or 1 operational improvement
• 1 PR = 1 clear benchmark/sign-off/test story
• Do not mix protocol ingestion, solver tuning, and docs-only cleanup in the same PR

Required checks

Run the smallest relevant set and the broad regression set:

• python3 tests/test_cli_tools.py
• python3 tests/test_benchmark_scripts.py
• python3 tests/test_packaging.py
• python3 tests/test_python_bindings.py -v
• python3 tests/test_ros2_node.py
• ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failure

If the PR touches workflow or docs pipeline files, also run:

• bash scripts/ci/run_hygiene.sh
• bash scripts/ci/run_cppcheck.sh
• python3 -m mkdocs build --strict

CI lanes are split as follows:

• bash scripts/ci/run_core_tests.sh for the cross-platform gate
• bash scripts/ci/run_extended_tests.sh for Linux-only heavy checks such as web, packaging, and ROS2 surfaces
• bash scripts/ci/run_optional_tests.sh for broader Linux-only integration suites such as the full CLI and benchmark script regressions
• bash scripts/ci/run_optional_rtk_signoffs.sh for dataset-gated RTK sign-offs with JSON/log artifacts under output/ci_optional_rtk_signoffs*
• bash scripts/ci/generate_dashboard_artifacts.sh for the dashboard/manifest artifact path used in CI

Docs-only changes keep CI on the lightweight path: hygiene here, plus the separate Docs workflow.

External code references

When taking ideas from external repos:

• mention the source repo in the PR body,
• describe what was adopted at the code/design level,
• add a local regression proving the imported idea still works here.

Current reference repos:

• tomojitakasu/RTKLIB
• rtklibexplorer/RTKLIB
• JAXA-SNU/MALIB
• QZSS-Strategy-Office/madocalib
• QZSS-Strategy-Office/claslib
• commaai/laika
• tomojitakasu/PocketSDR
• globsky/SignalSim