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Contributing to ChangeMate

Welcome to ChangeMate! We appreciate your interest in contributing to our project. Before you start contributing, please take a moment to read through these guidelines.

Getting Started

To contribute to ChangeMate, you'll need to set up the project environment on your local machine. Follow these steps:

Prerequisites

Make sure you have the following installed on your system:

  • Python 3.x
  • Node.js and npm
  • Git

Setup Instructions

  1. Fork the Repository: Click the "Fork" button in the top-right corner of the repository page to create your own copy of the project.

  2. Clone the Repository: Clone your forked repository to your local machine using the following command:

    git clone https://github.com/your-username/ChangeMate.git

  3. Navigate to the Project Directory: Change to the project directory:

    cd ChangeMate

  4. Backend Setup (Django):

    • Create a virtual environment: 
      python -m venv venv
    • Activate the virtual environment:
      • On Windows: 
        venv\Scripts\activate
      • On macOS/Linux: 
        source venv/bin/activate
    • Install Django requirements: 
      pip install -r backend/requirements.txt
    • Apply database migrations: 
      python backend/manage.py migrate
    • Load initial data fixtures (if available): 
      python backend/manage.py loaddata fixtures/[fixture-name].json

  5. Frontend Setup (React):

    • Navigate to the frontend directory: 
      cd frontend
    • Install Node.js dependencies: 
      npm install

  6. API Keys: If the project requires API keys for third-party services, please reach out to the project team to obtain the necessary keys. Once you have the API keys, create a .env file in the root of the project directory and add the keys following the format specified by the team.

    # Example .env file
API_KEY=your-api-key

Making Contributions

Once you have set up the project environment, you're ready to start contributing! Here are the steps to contribute:

  1. Create a New Branch: Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix:

    git checkout -b feature/my-feature

    or

    git checkout -b bugfix/my-bug-fix

  2. Make Changes: Make your changes to the codebase.

  3. Commit Changes: Commit your changes with descriptive commit messages:

    git commit -m 'Add some feature'

  4. Push Changes: Push your changes to your forked repository:

    git push origin feature/my-feature

  5. Open a Pull Request: Submit a pull request against the main branch of the original repository.

Code Review and Feedback

Once you've submitted a pull request, the project maintainers will review your changes. Please be patient during this process and be open to feedback. Make any necessary changes based on the feedback provided.

Questions or Issues

If you have any questions or encounter issues while setting up the project or contributing, feel free to reach out to the project team or create a new issue in the repository.

Thank you for your contribution to ChangeMate!