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Contributing

Want to help make financial planning easier? Here's how to contribute.

What needs work​

Easy stuff (good for beginners):

  • Fix typos in docs
  • Add more realistic examples
  • Improve error messages
  • Write tests for edge cases

Medium stuff:

  • Add new API endpoints
  • Improve validation logic
  • Performance optimizations
  • Better example data

Hard stuff:

  • Frontend/UI (currently just an API)
  • Database integration (currently just memory cache)
  • Multi-currency support
  • Inflation adjustments

Browse issues to see what's open. Look for good-first-issue if you're new.

Getting started​

  1. Fork the repo on GitHub
  2. Clone your fork: git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/Predictor.git
  3. Create a branch: git checkout -b fix-something-cool
  4. Make your changes
  5. Test them: dotnet test
  6. Push: git push origin fix-something-cool
  7. Submit a pull request

Development setup​

You need .NET 8.

git clone https://github.com/Marcin99b/Predictor.git
cd Predictor/src
dotnet restore
dotnet build
dotnet test
dotnet run --project Predictor.Web

API runs at https://localhost:7176. Swagger docs at /swagger.

Code style​

Follow the existing patterns. There's an .editorconfig file that handles most formatting.

Key points:

  • Use meaningful variable names
  • Add tests for new features
  • Keep methods small and focused
  • Don't break existing tests

Testing​

# Run all tests
dotnet test

# Just integration tests
dotnet test src/Predictor.Tests.Integration

# Performance tests (need API running first)
dotnet test src/Predictor.Tests.Performance

Add tests for new features. Integration tests are often easier than unit tests for this kind of logic.

What gets accepted​

Definitely yes:

  • Bug fixes
  • Better documentation
  • More test coverage
  • Performance improvements
  • New features from the roadmap

Probably yes:

  • New API endpoints that make sense
  • Better validation
  • Code cleanup

Probably no:

  • Breaking changes to existing API
  • Features that make the API way more complex
  • Stuff that doesn't relate to financial planning

When in doubt, open an issue first to discuss.

Pull request process​

  1. Make sure tests pass
  2. Update docs if you changed the API
  3. Write a good description of what you did and why
  4. Link to any related issues

I'll try to review PRs quickly. If something needs changes, I'll let you know.

Ideas for contributions​

Documentation:

  • More real-world examples
  • FAQ section
  • Video tutorials
  • API client examples in different languages

Features:

  • Goal tracking endpoints
  • Scenario comparison
  • Data export (CSV, PDF)
  • Webhook notifications when goals are hit

Performance:

  • Database backend instead of memory cache
  • Caching for common calculations
  • Background processing for complex scenarios

UI/Frontend:

  • Web dashboard
  • Mobile app
  • Interactive charts and graphs

Developer experience:

  • Client SDKs (Python, JavaScript, etc.)
  • Docker Compose setup
  • Kubernetes manifests
  • CLI tool

Questions?​

Open an issue or start a discussion on GitHub. I'm usually pretty responsive.

Code of conduct​

Please treat everyone with respect. We're building something useful together.