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CONTRIBUTING.md

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Contributing to Loop

Welcome to Loop. If you're here, you may be interested in contributing to this awesome project. Well, let's get to it!

If at any time you need help, contact us on Discord or create an issue on GitHub.

Areas of focus

You can improve Loop by doing some of the following:

  1. Add your language to Loop, or if you see someone make a grammatical error or mistake, help fix it!
  2. Have an idea that you can proactively add, or see an area where some code can be changed? Submit an issue and explain what you wish to do, and if it's greenlit, push your changes into a PR!
  3. Got an icon? We LOVE icons, especially good ones! Make a great icon the team likes, and it may be included for everyone to use.
  4. Got a bug to report? Head over to the issues tab; here, you'll be walked through what you need!

AI usage policy

Loop has a strict policy regarding AI-assisted contributions.
Before contributing, please read and follow our AI Usage Policy if you plan to use AI in your contribution :)

Contributing new code

Opening an issue

First, the maintainers need to understand the scope of what you’re changing, adding, or improving. This helps avoid conflicts where your work might overlap with ongoing changes and ensures a smoother collaboration process!

  1. Create an issue and clearly articulate your issue, change, or improvement you want to make.
  2. Wait for a response from a maintainer; if it's accepted, you're off to the races!

Now, you need to make these changes. HOW?

Well, it's very easy: fork the repo, push your changes to the fork, and submit a PR!

Forking

Forking creates a personal copy of the Loop repository under your GitHub account. This allows you to make changes without affecting the original project. To fork, go to the Loop repository page on GitHub and click the "Fork" button at the top right of your screen. Once forked, you'll see:

Loop
forked from MrKai77/Loop

Cloning your fork

Now, you've forked our repo. What next? Don't stress. First, go to where you want to code and execute some quick command lines! Here's how to do it!

cd downloads # Or the directory where you wish to clone Loop
git clone https://github.com/{your-name}/Loop.git
# Remember to replace {your-name} with your actual GitHub username!
# For example: https://github.com/MrKai77/Loop.git
cd Loop
open Loop.xcodeproj

Once you've got your fork, it'll auto-open in Xcode!

What code? Xcode.

Now, let's tackle Xcode. If you followed the method above, you should be automatically opened into Xcode. Once in Xcode, you'll need to change the cert!

Before you begin

Skip this section if you already have an Apple Developer account.

Before You Begin
  1. Enroll your account in the Developer Program at developer.apple.com. A free account works just fine; you don't need a paid one.
  2. Install Xcode.
  3. Add your Developer account to Xcode. To do this, click Xcode → Preferences in the menu bar, and in the window that opens, click Accounts. You can add your account there.
  4. After adding your account, it will appear in the list of Apple IDs on the left side of the screen. Select your account.
  5. At the bottom of the screen, click Manage Certificates....
  6. On the bottom left, click the + icon and select Apple Development.
  7. When a new item labeled Apple Development Certificates appears in the list, press Done to close the account manager.

Signing Loop

  1. Wait until all dependencies are resolved. This should take a couple of minutes at most.
  2. In the file browser on the left, click Loop at the very top. It's the icon with the App Store logo.
  3. In the pane that opens on the right, click Signing & Capabilities at the top.
  4. Under Signing, change the Team dropdown to your ID.
  5. Under Signing → macOS, change the Signing Certificate to Development.

Building

Now that you've signed Loop with your developer account, it's time to build! First, validate if the current build works ⌘ + R (this command will run Loop). If the build was successful, you should see an alert that Loop requires Accessibility permissions; if you change any code related to Loop's movement or core code, you will need to enable this. For cases of simple code changes, this is not needed.

Formatting

IMPORTANT: You MUST have SwiftFormat installed. This is used to ensure consistent formatting across the codebase. When you submit your PR, a check will run to validate your formatting. If the format is incorrect, your request will be rejected. To format your code locally before submitting a PR, simply run::

swiftformat .

Now, some important notes. All of the code you write MUST include comprehensive comments. Proper documentation helps other contributors understand your code and makes maintenance easier. An example of this would be:

/// Determines if two colors are similar based on a threshold.
/// - Parameters:
///   - color: The color to compare with the receiver.
///   - threshold: The maximum allowed difference between color components.
/// - Returns: A Boolean value indicating whether the two colors are similar.
func isSimilar(to color: NSColor, threshold: CGFloat = 0.1) -> Bool {
    // Convert both colors to the RGB color space for comparison.
    guard let color1 = usingColorSpace(.deviceRGB),
          let color2 = color.usingColorSpace(.deviceRGB)
    else {
        return false
    }

    // Compare the red, green, and blue components of both colors.
    return abs(color1.redComponent - color2.redComponent) < threshold &&
        abs(color1.greenComponent - color2.greenComponent) < threshold &&
        abs(color1.blueComponent - color2.blueComponent) < threshold
}

Code lines such as the following will not be accepted

// Compares to another and returns a boolean
func isSimilar(to color: NSColor, threshold: CGFloat = 0.1) -> Bool { ... }

Low-effort contributions

While we appreciate all interest in improving Loop, low-effort pull requests may be closed.

Examples of low-effort contributions include:

  • Fixing a single typo or grammatical error.
  • Rewording an existing localisation string.
  • Changing or adding one-line comments without meaningful impact.
  • Minor one-liners that do not meaningfully affect logic, behavior, or maintainability.

In these cases, the issue you opened here will usually suffice. Maintainers will bundle these small improvements with larger changes themselves. Submitting them as standalone PRs can increase the risk of merge conflicts and create extra work for the team.

How to open a PR?

You have a few ways of pushing your changes from Xcode into GitHub. You should see an 'integrate' option at the top of the code editor. You can push via that, via CLI, or even open VSCode and push through that.

Recommended:

# Add your changes to git staging
git add .

# Commit your changes with a meaningful message
git commit -m "Your detailed commit message"
# If you're committing, you must use the following emojis at the start:
# 🐞 Bug fixes must include a bug emoji.
# ✨ Added features must include a star emoji.
# 🌐 Localisation must include a globe emoji.
# An example of this would be:
# git commit -m "✨ Add wallpaper theming"

# Push your changes to your fork
git push origin develop

# Then, go to GitHub, navigate to your fork, and you'll see a button to 'Create pull request'.
# Click it, fill in the details, and submit your PR.
# IF your PR needs changes, you MUST push it as a draft PR.

Icons

Before we get started

We love icons, just look at how many we already have! We love talented designers, and we love people who express their creativity for Loop. But as Loop grows and the app quality improves, some previous icons may be removed, making room for new icons. Do not feel disheartened, as you've shaped Loop!

How do I submit my icon?

To submit an icon, simply go to the "Issues" tab here on GitHub, and press the "New issue" button. Then press the "Suggest new icon" button, where you will be guided through the process of proposing your icon to the project! If it gets rejected, then you may get some feedback in the areas we wish to focus on. If your icon has been dismissed, remember, this isn't your only chance. Come back more invigorated and show us your best! You don't need to be a professional designer, you just need to capture the feel of Loop in your design.

Localisation

We wish to localise (localize?) Loop in every language possible!

For quick, and easy localisation, we use Crowdin.

Get started

  1. Go to the Loop Crowdin page.
  2. Click the Join the team button.
  3. Login or signup with your GitHub account.
  4. Add a message to the top of the page, and click Request Access.
  5. Wait for the account to be approved.
  6. Start translating!

If your language isn’t listed on Crowdin, don’t panic! Just contact us directly or via Discord and we’ll help you get started!