Contributing to Instructor Classify

We welcome contributions to Instructor Classify! This document provides guidelines and instructions for contributing.

Development Setup

1. Fork the repository and clone your fork:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/instructor-classify.git
   cd instructor-classify
   

2. Create a virtual environment (optional but recommended):

   python -m venv .venv
   source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
   

3. Install in development mode with dev dependencies:

   pip install -e ".[dev]"
   

4. Install pre-commit hooks:

   pre-commit install
   

Development Workflow

1. Create a new branch for your feature or bugfix:

   git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
   

2. Make your changes, following the code style guidelines

3. Run tests to ensure your changes don't break existing functionality:

   pytest
   

4. Update documentation if needed:

   mkdocs serve  # To preview documentation locally
   

5. Commit your changes with a descriptive commit message:

   git add .
   git commit -m "feat: Add new classification feature"
   

6. Push your branch to your fork:

   git push origin feature/your-feature-name
   

7. Create a pull request on GitHub

Commit Message Guidelines

We use conventional commits for our commit messages:

• feat: for new features
• fix: for bug fixes
• docs: for documentation changes
• style: for formatting changes
• refactor: for code restructuring without changing functionality
• test: for adding or modifying tests
• chore: for routine tasks, dependency updates, etc.

Example: feat: Add support for Claude models

Testing

All new features and bug fixes should include tests. We use pytest for testing:

# Run all tests
pytest

# Run specific tests
pytest tests/test_classifier.py

# Run tests with coverage
pytest --cov=instructor_classify

Documentation

Documentation is written in Markdown and built with MkDocs:

• All new features should be documented
• Update existing documentation as needed
• Include code examples to demonstrate usage
• Run mkdocs serve to preview documentation locally before submitting

Pull Request Process

1. Ensure your code follows the style guidelines
2. Ensure all tests pass
3. Update documentation as needed
4. Submit your pull request with a clear title and description
5. Respond to any feedback or requested changes

Release Process

For maintainers:

1. Update version in pyproject.toml following Semantic Versioning
2. Update CHANGELOG.md with all notable changes
3. Create a new release on GitHub with release notes
4. The CI workflow will automatically publish to PyPI

Adding New Features

When adding new features, consider:

1. Backward Compatibility: Ensure existing code continues to work
2. Performance: New features should not significantly degrade performance
3. Testing: Include comprehensive tests
4. Documentation: Add clear documentation with examples

Questions and Support

If you have questions about contributing:

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Ask in the repository's discussion section
• Contact the maintainers directly

Thank you for contributing to Instructor Classify!