CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributor Guide

Thank you for helping improve Eventator. This guide outlines the local workflow and a few expectations so that contributions stay consistent.

Environment setup

1. Install Python 3.10 or later.
2. Install uv.
3. Install project dependencies:

   uv sync

Running Django commands

Use uv run to execute all Django commands through the managed environment:

• Apply migrations: uv run python manage.py migrate
• Load sample data: uv run python manage.py seed_events
• Start the server: uv run python manage.py runserver
• Run tests: uv run python manage.py test

Coding standards

• Keep the project free of unused comments and stray debug prints.
• Follow Django best practices and prefer clarity over clever solutions.
• Ensure templates remain compatible with Tailwind CDN usage; no build step should be required.
• Maintain database-agnostic code even though SQLite is the default.

Adding data

Seed data is stored in data/events.json. Update this file if you want to supply new default events. Always verify that JSON entries include at minimum title and an ISO-formatted event_date.

Submitting changes

1. Leave a star ⭐
2. Create a feature branch.
3. Run the test suite (uv run python manage.py test).
4. Document user-facing changes in README.md when relevant.
5. Open a pull request describing the motivation, the approach taken, and any follow-up work.

By keeping these steps in mind we can provide a smooth onboarding experience for contributors joining Hacktoberfest 2025 with Django Cameroon.