Contributing

Thank you for your interest in arrow! We welcome contributions of all kinds - bug fixes, features, documentation, and ideas.

Getting Started

Clone the repository and set up your local environment:

git clone https://github.com/arrow-cli/arrow.git cd arrow make build ./bin/arrow --version

You need Go 1.22 or later and GNU Make.

Project Structure

arrow/
  cmd/            CLI entry points
    arrow/        Main binary
  internal/       Internal packages
    pipeline/     Pipeline engine
    config/       Configuration parsing
    cache/        Build cache
    runner/       Step execution
    graph/        Dependency graph
  pkg/            Public API packages
  pipelines/      Example pipelines
  docs/           Documentation source
  Makefile        Build and test tasks

Building and Testing

Common make targets:

Pull Request Guidelines

• Keep changes focused - one feature or fix per PR
• Write tests for new functionality
• Ensure all existing tests pass: make test
• Run the linter: make lint
• Update documentation if you change behavior
• Write clear commit messages following conventional commits
• Add a changelog entry if the change is user-facing

Development Workflow

1. Fork the repository on GitHub
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feat/my-feature
3. Make your changes and commit them
4. Run tests and linting locally
5. Push to your fork and open a pull request
6. Respond to review feedback

Code Style

We follow standard Go conventions with gofmt. The CI pipeline runs golangci-lint to enforce style. When in doubt, match the style of surrounding code.

// Good - clear naming, comments for public symbols
package pipeline

// Run executes a pipeline and returns the results.
func Run(ctx context.Context, p *Pipeline, opts *RunOptions) (*Result, error) {
  if err := p.Validate(); err != nil {
    return nil, fmt.Errorf("validate: %w", err)
  }
  return executeGraph(ctx, p, opts)
}

Code of Conduct

This project follows the Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct. By participating, you agree to maintain a respectful, inclusive environment for everyone.