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Contributing to SecureChat

Thank you for your interest in contributing to SecureChat! This document provides guidelines and information for contributors.

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

  • C++20 compatible compiler (GCC 10+, Clang 12+, MSVC 2019+)
  • CMake 3.20+
  • Qt 6.2+ (for GUI client)
  • OpenSSL 3.0+
  • Docker & Docker Compose

Development Setup

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Clone your fork: 
    git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/securechat.git
cd securechat
  3. Install dependencies: 
    # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install build-essential cmake libssl-dev libpq-dev qt6-base-dev

# macOS
brew install cmake openssl qt@6
  4. Build the project: 
    mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)

📝 How to Contribute

Reporting Issues

  • Use GitHub Issues to report bugs
  • Include system information, steps to reproduce, and expected behavior
  • For security issues, please email security@securechat.org instead

Suggesting Features

  • Open a GitHub Issue with the "enhancement" label
  • Describe the feature, use case, and potential implementation
  • Discuss the feature before starting implementation

Code Contributions

1. Create a Feature Branch

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
# or
git checkout -b bugfix/issue-description

2. Make Your Changes

  • Follow the coding standards (see below)
  • Add tests for new functionality
  • Update documentation as needed
  • Ensure all tests pass

3. Commit Your Changes

git add .
git commit -m "feat: add new feature description

- Detailed description of changes
- Any breaking changes
- Closes #issue-number"

4. Push and Create Pull Request

git push origin feature/your-feature-name

Then create a Pull Request on GitHub.

🎯 Coding Standards

C++ Guidelines

  • Follow modern C++20 practices
  • Use RAII for resource management
  • Prefer smart pointers over raw pointers
  • Use const correctness
  • Follow the Google C++ Style Guide with these exceptions:
    • Use 4 spaces for indentation
    • Line length limit: 100 characters

Code Formatting

# Format code with clang-format
find src include -name "*.cpp" -o -name "*.hpp" | xargs clang-format -i

Naming Conventions

  • Classes: PascalCase (MessageHandler)
  • Functions/Methods: camelCase (sendMessage)
  • Variables: snake_case (message_count)
  • Constants: UPPER_SNAKE_CASE (MAX_CONNECTIONS)
  • Namespaces: lowercase (securechat::network)

Documentation

  • Use Doxygen comments for public APIs
  • Include examples in documentation
  • Update README.md for significant changes

🧪 Testing

Running Tests

# Build with tests
cmake -DENABLE_TESTS=ON ..
make -j$(nproc)

# Run all tests
ctest --verbose

# Run specific test
./bin/test_encryption

Writing Tests

  • Use Google Test framework
  • Test both positive and negative cases
  • Include performance tests for critical paths
  • Mock external dependencies

Test Coverage

# Generate coverage report
cmake -DENABLE_COVERAGE=ON -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ..
make -j$(nproc)
make test
make coverage

🔒 Security Guidelines

Security Best Practices

  • Never commit secrets, keys, or passwords
  • Use secure coding practices
  • Validate all inputs
  • Follow OWASP guidelines
  • Report security issues privately

Cryptographic Code

  • Use established libraries (OpenSSL)
  • Don't implement custom crypto
  • Follow current best practices
  • Include security tests

📋 Pull Request Guidelines

Before Submitting

  • Code follows style guidelines
  • Tests pass locally
  • Documentation updated
  • No merge conflicts
  • Commit messages are clear

PR Description Template

## Description
Brief description of changes

## Type of Change
- [ ] Bug fix
- [ ] New feature
- [ ] Breaking change
- [ ] Documentation update

## Testing
- [ ] Unit tests added/updated
- [ ] Integration tests pass
- [ ] Manual testing completed

## Checklist
- [ ] Code follows style guidelines
- [ ] Self-review completed
- [ ] Documentation updated
- [ ] No breaking changes (or documented)

🏷️ Commit Message Format

Use conventional commits:

type(scope): description

[optional body]

[optional footer]

Types:

  • feat: New feature
  • fix: Bug fix
  • docs: Documentation
  • style: Formatting
  • refactor: Code restructuring
  • test: Adding tests
  • chore: Maintenance

Examples:

feat(encryption): add AES-256 support
fix(network): resolve connection timeout issue
docs(readme): update build instructions

🌟 Recognition

Contributors will be recognized in:

  • CONTRIBUTORS.md file
  • Release notes
  • Project documentation

📞 Getting Help

  • GitHub Discussions for questions
  • Discord server: [invite-link]
  • Email: dev@securechat.org

📄 License

By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the MIT License.

Thank you for contributing to SecureChat! 🚀