CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributing

Thanks for your interest in contributing to chdtool! 🎉

How to Contribute

1. Fork the repo and create your feature branch:

   git checkout -b feature/my-new-feature

2. Commit your changes with clear messages:

   git commit -m "Add support for XYZ"

3. Push to the branch:

   git push origin feature/my-new-feature

4. Open a Pull Request against develop.

Coding Guidelines

• Follow the existing coding style (Bash best practices: set -euo pipefail, quoting variables, etc.).
• Use inline comments when adding non-obvious logic.
• Keep logging consistent (log vs. verify_output_log).

Testing

• Test against a directory with both single-disc and multi-disc games.
• Run at least once with:
  • --recursive
  • --keep-originals
• Confirm space savings and CHD verification messages.

Versioning

We use Semantic Versioning (semver).

Bump version numbers when you:

• MAJOR: Break backward compatibility
• MINOR: Add new functionality in a backward-compatible manner
• PATCH: Fix bugs or make small improvements

Maintainers should follow the complete release procedure when preparing, tagging, publishing, and verifying a release.

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💡 If unsure, open an Issue first to discuss before coding.