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Contributing to YTPTube

YTPTube is a personal-first project. While contributions are welcome, all final decisions rest with the maintainer.

Core Principles

  • The maintainer has final say on all changes and project direction.
  • This project is built for personal use first. Community contributions are secondary.
  • All contributions require prior discussion and approval.
  • All pull requests must target the dev branch never master.
  • Contributions must align with the project's goals, architecture, and coding standards.

Opening a PR without prior approval will result in immediate closure without review.

Contribution Process

1. Start a Discussion

Before writing any code, propose your idea through one of these channels:

  • Open a GitHub Issue for bug fixes or small features
  • Start a GitHub Discussion for larger changes or questions

Include in your proposal:

  • What you want to change
  • Why it's needed or beneficial
    • Bug fixes and functional improvements are prioritized
    • Performance enhancements with measurable impact
    • Features that align with the project's core purpose
    • Not acceptable: Personal UI/UX preferences, stylistic changes, or "I think it looks better" rationale
  • How you plan to implement it (high-level approach)
  • Any relevant context or use cases

2. Wait for Approval

  • Only proceed after explicit approval from the maintainer to not waste effort.
  • The maintainer may suggest modifications or alternative approaches.
  • Not all proposals will be accepted this protects project coherence.

3. Develop Your Changes

Branch from dev:

git checkout dev
git pull origin dev
git checkout -b feature/descriptive-name

Follow project standards:

  • Match existing code style and conventions
  • Add or update tests for all changes:
    • New features MUST include tests
    • Bug fixes MUST include a regression test
  • Ensure all linting and tests pass
  • Keep changes focused and atomic

4. Submit a Pull Request

Target the dev branch:

  • Reference the approved issue or discussion number
  • Provide a clear description of what changed and why
  • List any breaking changes or migration steps
  • Ensure CI checks pass

PR template checklist:

  • Discussed and approved beforehand
  • Targets dev branch
  • Tests added/updated and passing
  • Linting passes
  • Documentation updated (if needed)

Automatic Rejections

The following will be closed immediately without review:

  • PRs opened without prior discussion and approval
  • PRs targeting master instead of dev
  • Large refactors or architectural changes without approval
  • Fully AI-generated code without meaningful human oversight
  • Changes that don't align with project goals or philosophy
  • PRs where the contributor cannot explain or justify the changes

AI-Assisted Development

AI tools are permitted as development aids, but you remain fully responsible for all submitted code.

Acceptable Use

AI-assisted code is welcome when:

  • You fully understand every line being submitted
  • The code seamlessly integrates with existing patterns and style
  • You have reviewed, tested, and validated the output yourself
  • Comprehensive tests are included (not AI-generated stubs)
  • The code is indistinguishable in quality from hand-written contributions
  • You can explain and defend design decisions in the PR

AI is a tool, not a substitute for understanding.

Not Acceptable

The following will be rejected:

  • Fully AI-generated PRs with minimal human review
  • Code that introduces new patterns or abstractions without approval
  • "Prompt-dump" output that doesn't match project conventions
  • Changes the contributor cannot explain or justify
  • AI-generated test suites that don't meaningfully validate behavior

Disclosure

You are not required to disclose AI usage. However, if code quality suggests pure AI generation without human oversight, the PR will be closed.

You are accountable for correctness, maintainability, and alignment regardless of how the code was created.

Testing Requirements

All contributions must include appropriate tests:

  • New features: Full test coverage including edge cases
  • Bug fixes: Regression test that fails before the fix and passes after
  • Refactors: Existing tests must continue to pass
  • Performance changes: Benchmarks or performance tests when applicable

Tests should be clear, maintainable, and actually validate the intended behavior.

Questions?

  • Check existing Issues and Discussions first
  • Join the project Discord for real-time discussion
  • Be patient, this is a personal project with limited maintenance time

License

By contributing, you agree that your code will be licensed under the project's MIT License.

Thank you for respecting this contribution process. It helps maintain project quality and the maintainer's sanity.