How to contribute for a new BOT API guidelines

[SirStone]

Hi everyone,

I now have what I believe is a working Bot API written in Nim. I still want to run a few more tests, but I’d like to understand how the integration process works.

Here are a few initial questions:

• Maintenance: Are there any specific maintenance rules? For example, is there an obligation to keep the API updated as new features are released?
• How should integration tests be set up?
• How can sample bots be generated automatically in the correct location alongside the existing implementations
• When a PR comes in for the Nim wrapper, will you be the sole person reviewing and merging it?
• Who writes and maintains language-specific documentation?
• Is there an official contact channels for contributors?

I know I can figure some of these out on my own, but I think having clear guidelines on this would be really helpful—it might even be worth adding a "How to Contribute" section to the main website.

If anyone else has questions I missed, feel free to chime in!

[flemming-n-larsen]

First, congrats on getting a Bot API working in Nim! 🎉 You have put a lot of time and care into Tank Royale over the years, and I really appreciate it. You were also right that we had no written guidance for this, so I have added Contributing a Bot API to the contributing guide.

What do you want it to become?

I may be getting ahead of myself here. Are you aiming for a community Nim API that stays under your control, or would you like to pursue having it adopted as an official Bot API? I do not want to guess which outcome you want.

As a community Bot API, it stays in your repository. You decide its direction, releases and maintenance schedule. I would be happy to list it in the API documentation, labelled as community-maintained with its supported schema version. You stay in control. 👍

The official set is currently Java, C#, Python and TypeScript. It is closed today, but the new policy explains how that decision can be reopened. Pursuing that path would start a discussion, not guarantee adoption.

If the Nim API became official, it would move into this repository and become my responsibility, along with any future maintainers. It would no longer be your project alone. When I add a Bot API feature or fix a cross-platform bug, I need to update every official API in the same change, without depending on you being available to implement or review the Nim part. You would still be welcome to contribute, but you would have no continuing obligation and no exclusive control over it.

So, in practical terms, you would give up some control, and I would take on the permanent work of keeping its code, tests, documentation, samples, CI and releases in sync. This is why the bar for adding an official language is high even when the implementation is excellent.

Your questions

• Maintenance: As a community API, it follows your schedule with no formal obligation to stay current. Watch schema/schemas and state the supported schema version. If official, maintenance moves here.
• Integration tests: For a community API, I recommend testing against a real server; bot-api/tests shows how. Official adoption requires the full registry to pass in both directions with a Nim harness.
• Sample bots: Your layout is up to you. The booter only needs a JSON config and a .cmd/.bat or .sh launcher. An official API needs a 1:1 Nim counterpart for every Java sample bot, with the same behavior.
• Review and merging: Your repository and process if community; the normal review process here if official.
• Language-specific documentation: With your API if community; maintained here alongside the other Bot APIs if official.
• Contact: GitHub Discussions and Issues for either path, so this thread is the right place.

Which outcome are you hoping for? Once I know that, we can work out the right next step. 🙂

[SirStone]

I'm happy to tell you that today I've finished my first official release of the bot api written in nim: v 1.0.5

robocode_tankroyale_botapi nim sources
robocode_tankroyale_botapi nim API

• CI/CD on github is active, every commit all tests are run, 3 times, one on linux, one in windows and one on macos.
• All tests, T1 and T2 as requirements for full parity, are green as today.
• at every release all sample bots are compiled and zipped, one zip per architecture linux, windows, macos
• nim is not in TIOBE and require compilation, even if it is compilable for more architectures than what developers will ever use, probably will never be accepted in future official leagues. I'm happy to keep it around, public available, opensource and forkable.

Now I'm working on publishing it on the nimble repository

[flemming-n-larsen]

Congratulations on v1.0.5! 🎉 Having the tests passing, CI running across all three platforms, and packaged sample bots is a great milestone. Thanks for putting this work into bringing Tank Royale to Nim. 💪

Regarding compilation, Nim bots could also be distributed as source files and compiled automatically at startup using:

nim r -d:release MyBot.nim

This compiles and runs the bot in one command and could be used in the existing .cmd/.sh launch scripts, provided Nim, a supported C compiler, and the required dependencies are installed. So compilation itself does not prevent source-based distribution. League support would be a separate question about the rules and available build environment.

Once the package is available on Nimble, just say the word, and I’ll add links from the API Documentation on robocode.dev to the package, your repository, and the API documentation, listed as a community-maintained Nim Bot API. 🙂

Good luck with publishing it on Nimble, and thanks for sharing the release!

[flemming-n-larsen]

@SirStone

I have added a link to your Bot API for nim here:
https://robocode.dev/api/apis.html#community-bot-apis

[SirStone]

i think you linked the an old repo that I still need to remove. https://github.com/SirStone/robocode_tankroyale_botapi this one is the correct one. ps: happy to be the first one in the list! hopefully opening the way for more community maintained APIs. Il Mar 1 Set 2026, 17:06 Flemming N. Larsen ***@***.***> ha scritto:

…

@SirStone <https://github.com/SirStone> I have added a link to your Bot API for nim here: https://robocode.dev/api/apis.html#community-bot-apis — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#239?email_source=notifications&email_token=AAJ7Z3EMHRBRGAOEJ2B4X6T5M3QXVA5CNFSNUABIM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2ENFZWG5LTONUW63SDN5WW2ZLOOQXTCOBSGM2TMOBUUZZGKYLTN5XKO3LFNZ2GS33OUVSXMZLOOSWGM33PORSXEX3DNRUWG2Y#discussioncomment-18235684>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAJ7Z3D5EK2OEWFRQK5SG5T5M3QXVAVCNFSNUABIKJSXA33TNF2G64TZHM2DKNZVGIZTSMRXHNCGS43DOVZXG2LPNY5TCMBWGE2TMOJXUF3AE> . Triage notifications, keep track of coding agent tasks and review pull requests on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS <https://github.com/notifications/mobile/ios/AAJ7Z3DDITBFWMQSBPTDOED5M3QXVA5CNFSNUABIM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2ENFZWG5LTONUW63SDN5WW2ZLOOQXTCOBSGM2TMOBUUZZGKYLTN5XKO3LFNZ2GS33OUVSXMZLOOSVGM33PORSXEX3JN5ZQ> and Android <https://github.com/notifications/mobile/android/AAJ7Z3AWUQOHYR7ONKZJIOT5M3QXVA5CNFSNUABIM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2ENFZWG5LTONUW63SDN5WW2ZLOOQXTCOBSGM2TMOBUUZZGKYLTN5XKO3LFNZ2GS33OUVSXMZLOOSXGM33PORSXEX3BNZSHE33JMQ>. Download it today! You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.*** com>

[flemming-n-larsen]

I have now replaced the link to the new and correct one here: 😊
https://robocode.dev/api/apis.html#community-bot-apis