Contributing

Thank you for your interest in contributing to PT! This project welcomes contributions from the community.

Development Setup

  1. Fork the repository

git clone https://github.com/cumulus13/pt-go.git
cd pt-go

  1. Install dependencies

go mod download

  1. Run in development

go run pt/main.go --help

  1. Build

go build -o pt pt/main.go

  1. Format code

go fmt ./...

  1. Run linters (optional)

golangci-lint run

Making Changes

  1. Create a feature branch

git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature

  1. Make your changes

  2. Test thoroughly (see Testing section)

  3. Commit your changes

git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'

  1. Push to your fork

git push origin feature/amazing-feature

  1. Open a Pull Request on GitHub

Code Style

  • Follow standard Go conventions

  • Use go fmt to format code

  • Add comments for exported functions

  • Keep functions small and focused

  • Use meaningful variable names

Testing

Manual Testing

Test basic functionality

# Test basic write
echo "Hello World" | pbcopy  # macOS
pt test.txt

# Test append
echo "Line 2" | pbcopy
pt + test.txt

# Test backup listing
pt -l test.txt

# Test restore
pt -r test.txt --last

# Test diff
pt -d test.txt --last

# Test recursive search
mkdir -p deep/nested/path
echo "test" | pbcopy
pt deep/nested/path/file.txt
cd ../../..
pt -l file.txt  # Should find it automatically

# Test tree
pt -t

# Test safe delete
pt -rm test.txt

# Test check command
pt check

# Test commit
pt commit -m "Test commit"

Run Tests (if implemented)

go test ./...

Feature Ideas

Want to contribute? Here are some ideas:

Completed Features

  • ✅ Config file support (.ptrc) - v1.0.19

  • ✅ Backup comments/metadata - v1.0.19

  • ✅ Check mode to skip identical content - v1.0.19

  • ✅ Recursive file search - v1.0.25

  • ✅ Delta diff integration - v1.0.25

  • ✅ Interactive file selection - v1.0.25

Open Ideas

  • Custom backup directory location (absolute path)

  • Backup compression (gzip)

  • Backup to cloud storage (S3, GCS)

  • Web UI for backup management

  • Backup cleanup strategies (by age, size)

  • File watching mode (auto-backup on change)

  • Backup tags (additional metadata)

  • Multi-file operations

  • Backup encryption

Reporting Issues

Please include:

  • PT version (pt --version)

  • OS and version

  • Steps to reproduce

  • Expected vs actual behavior

  • Relevant debug output (run with --debug)

Pull Request Process

  1. Ensure your code follows the style guidelines

  2. Update documentation if needed

  3. Add tests for new features

  4. Ensure all tests pass

  5. Update the CHANGELOG.md (if exists)

  6. Submit PR with clear description

License

By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the MIT License.