📌 How to Claim an Issue (`/claim`) & Contribution Guidelines

[krishkhinchi]

Welcome to Kepler! 🚀

Thank you for your interest in contributing to our AI-powered Autonomous Space Traffic Management Platform. To ensure a smooth and fair contribution process, please follow the issue claiming workflow below.

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🛰️ Claiming an Issue

Before you start working on an issue, you must claim it by commenting:

/claim

If the issue is available, our GitHub automation will automatically assign it to you and add the appropriate labels.

Please wait until the issue is assigned before starting your work.

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🔓 Releasing an Issue

If you are unable to continue working on an issue, please make it available for others by commenting:

/unclaim

This will automatically remove your assignment and reopen the issue for other contributors.

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⏳ Claim Expiration Policy

To keep development active and prevent issues from remaining blocked:

• ⏰ A reminder may be sent if there has been no activity for a period of time.
• ❌ If an issue remains inactive for an extended period, it may be automatically unassigned.
• 🔄 Once unassigned, the issue becomes available for any contributor to claim.

If you need more time, simply leave a progress update on the issue.

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📋 Contribution Rules

Please read these carefully before contributing.

✅ Before You Start

• Claim the issue using /claim.
• Wait until you are assigned.
• Read the issue description carefully.
• Ask questions if anything is unclear.

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🚫 Do Not

• Work on an issue that is already assigned to someone else.
• Submit a Pull Request for an issue you haven't claimed.
• Create duplicate Pull Requests for the same issue.
• Make unrelated changes in the same Pull Request.

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✅ Pull Request Guidelines

When submitting your PR:

• Reference the related issue (e.g., Closes #42).
• Keep the PR focused on a single issue.
• Follow the project's coding standards.
• Ensure your code builds successfully.
• Run tests before submitting.
• Update documentation if your changes require it.

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💬 Need Help?

If you have any questions about an issue:

• Leave a comment on the issue.
• Ask for clarification before implementing major changes.
• Be respectful and collaborative with other contributors.

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🤝 Community Guidelines

We aim to build an inclusive and welcoming open-source community.

Please:

• Be respectful.
• Provide constructive feedback.
• Help fellow contributors when possible.
• Review existing issues before opening a new one.

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🌟 Thank You

Every contribution, whether it's code, documentation, testing, bug reports, or ideas, helps make Kepler a better platform for the global open-source community.

Happy contributing, and thank you for helping build the future of autonomous space traffic management! 🚀