Contributing to PropChain Frontend

Thank you for your interest in contributing to PropChain Frontend! This guide will help you get started with contributing to our decentralized real estate platform.

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Before you start contributing, make sure you have:

Node.js v18+ (LTS recommended)
npm, yarn, or pnpm package manager
Git version control
Web3 Wallet (MetaMask, Trust Wallet, etc.) for testing
GitHub account for collaboration

Development Setup

Fork the Repository

# Fork the repository on GitHub, then clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/PropChain-FrontEnd.git
cd PropChain-FrontEnd

Add Upstream Remote

git remote add upstream https://github.com/MettaChain/PropChain-FrontEnd.git

Install Dependencies

npm install
# or
yarn install
# or
pnpm install

Set Up Environment Variables

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your configuration

Key variables to configure:

Variable	Description	Example
`NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL`	Backend REST API base URL	`http://localhost:3001`
`NEXT_PUBLIC_WS_URL`	WebSocket server URL	`ws://localhost:3001`
`NEXT_PUBLIC_BLOCKCHAIN_NETWORK`	Target network name	`sepolia`
`NEXT_PUBLIC_RPC_URL`	Ethereum JSON-RPC endpoint	`https://sepolia.infura.io/v3/YOUR_KEY`
`NEXT_PUBLIC_CHAIN_ID`	EVM chain ID (decimal)	`11155111`
`NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_TESTNET`	Enable testnet features	`true`
`NEXT_PUBLIC_GOOGLE_ANALYTICS_ID`	GA4 measurement ID	`G-XXXXXXXXXX`
`NEXT_PUBLIC_SENTRY_DSN`	Sentry error tracking DSN	`https://...@sentry.io/...`

Never commit .env to version control. It is already listed in .gitignore.

Start Development Server
```
npm run dev
# or
yarn dev
# or
pnpm dev
```

📋 How to Contribute

Reporting Issues

Search Existing Issues: Check if the issue has already been reported
Use Templates: Use the appropriate issue template
Provide Details: Include steps to reproduce, expected vs actual behavior
Add Screenshots: Include screenshots for UI issues
Environment Info: Include OS, browser, and Node.js version

Submitting Pull Requests

Create a Branch

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
# or
git checkout -b fix/your-bug-fix

Make Your Changes
- Follow the code style guidelines
- Write clean, readable code
- Add tests for new functionality
- Update documentation if needed

Test Your Changes

# Run tests
npm test

# Run type checking
npm run type-check

# Run linting
npm run lint

# Build the project
npm run build

Commit Your Changes

git add .
git commit -m "feat: add your feature description"

Push to Your Fork

git push origin feature/your-feature-name

Create Pull Request
- Use descriptive title and description
- Link related issues
- Add screenshots for UI changes
- Request review from maintainers

🎯 Contribution Areas

We welcome contributions in the following areas:

🏠 Core Features

Property browsing and search functionality
Wallet connection and Web3 integration
Smart contract interactions
Portfolio management
Transaction history

🎨 UI/UX Improvements

Component library enhancements
Responsive design fixes
Accessibility improvements
Performance optimizations
Design system updates

🔧 Technical Improvements

Code refactoring and optimization
Testing coverage improvements
Documentation updates
Build process enhancements
Security improvements

📚 Documentation

API documentation
Component documentation
Tutorial creation
Translation contributions
README improvements

📝 Coding Standards

Code Style

We use the following tools to maintain code quality:

ESLint: JavaScript/TypeScript linting
Prettier: Code formatting
TypeScript: Type safety
Husky: Git hooks for pre-commit checks

Auto-format before committing:

npm run lint -- --fix   # auto-fix ESLint issues

Prettier config (.prettierrc or prettier.config.js):

Single quotes for strings
2-space indentation
Trailing commas in multi-line structures
100-character line length limit

TypeScript rules:

Prefer interface over type for object shapes
Always type function return values explicitly for exported functions
Avoid any — use unknown and narrow with type guards instead
Use const assertions (as const) for literal tuples and objects

React-specific rules:

One component per file
Prefer named exports over default exports for components
Use React.FC<Props> or explicit return type annotations
Extract complex logic into custom hooks rather than inline in components

Naming Conventions

Components: PascalCase (PropertyCard.tsx)
Files: kebab-case for utilities (property-utils.ts)
Variables: camelCase (propertyData)
Constants: UPPER_SNAKE_CASE (API_BASE_URL)
Types: PascalCase (PropertyType)

Component Guidelines

// Good component example
interface PropertyCardProps {
  property: Property;
  onPurchase?: (property: Property) => void;
}

export const PropertyCard: React.FC<PropertyCardProps> = ({
  property,
  onPurchase,
}) => {
  return (
    <div className="property-card">
      {/* Component content */}
    </div>
  );
};

export default PropertyCard;

Git Commit Messages

We follow Conventional Commits specification:

feat: New features
fix: Bug fixes
docs: Documentation changes
style: Code style changes (formatting, etc.)
refactor: Code refactoring
test: Adding or updating tests
chore: Build process or dependency changes

Examples:

feat: add property search functionality
fix: resolve wallet connection issue
docs: update API documentation
test: add unit tests for property service

🧪 Testing

Test Types

Unit Tests: Test individual functions and components
Integration Tests: Test component interactions
E2E Tests: Test user workflows
Visual Tests: Test UI consistency

Writing Tests

// Example unit test
import { render, screen } from '@testing-library/react';
import { PropertyCard } from './PropertyCard';

describe('PropertyCard', () => {
  const mockProperty = {
    id: '1',
    name: 'Test Property',
    price: '100000',
    // ... other properties
  };

  it('renders property information correctly', () => {
    render(<PropertyCard property={mockProperty} />);
    
    expect(screen.getByText('Test Property')).toBeInTheDocument();
    expect(screen.getByText('$100,000')).toBeInTheDocument();
  });
});

Running Tests

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:watch

# Run tests with coverage
npm run test:coverage

# Run E2E tests
npm run test:e2e

Running Tests Locally

Before opening a PR, run the full test suite locally to catch issues early:

# 1. Unit and integration tests (Jest)
npm test

# 2. Type checking (no emitted output)
npm run type-check

# 3. Linting
npm run lint

# 4. End-to-end tests (Playwright) — requires a running dev server
npm run dev &          # start dev server in background
npm run test:e2e       # run Playwright tests
kill %1                # stop dev server

# 5. Build check — ensures the production bundle compiles cleanly
npm run build

Coverage requirements: PRs must not decrease overall coverage below the current threshold. Check the current threshold in jest.config.js under coverageThreshold.

Running a single test file:

npx jest src/hooks/useTransaction.test.ts

Debugging a failing test:

npx jest --verbose --no-coverage src/path/to/test.ts

🎨 Design System

Component Library

We use a consistent design system based on:

Tailwind CSS for styling
Headless UI for accessible components
Lucide React for icons
Custom design tokens for consistency

Design Guidelines

Follow the established color palette
Use consistent spacing and typography
Ensure accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA)
Test on multiple screen sizes
Use semantic HTML elements

🌐 Web3 Development

Wallet Integration

When working with Web3 features:

Test with multiple wallet providers
Handle connection errors gracefully
Provide clear user feedback
Support multiple networks
Implement proper error boundaries

Smart Contract Interaction

Use type-safe contract interfaces
Handle transaction states properly
Provide gas estimates
Implement transaction monitoring
Handle network switching

📦 Package Management

Adding Dependencies

Before adding new dependencies:

Check if existing dependencies can solve the problem
Prefer smaller, focused packages
Check for security vulnerabilities
Update documentation if needed

# Install production dependency
npm install package-name

# Install development dependency
npm install --save-dev package-name

# Install exact version
npm install package-name@1.2.3

🚀 Deployment

Pre-deployment Checklist

Build Process

# Build for production
npm run build

# Analyze bundle size
npm run analyze

# Start production server
npm start

🤝 Community Guidelines

Code of Conduct

We are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment. Please read our Code of Conduct and follow it in all interactions.

Getting Help

GitHub Issues: For bug reports and feature requests
Discussions: For general questions and ideas
Email: frontend@propchain.io for private matters

Recognition

Contributors are recognized in:

README.md contributors section
Release notes
Annual contributor highlights
Special contributor badges

📋 Review Process

Pull Request Review

All PRs go through the following review process:

Automated Checks: CI/CD pipeline validation
Code Review: Maintainer review for code quality
Design Review: UI/UX review for frontend changes
Testing Review: Test coverage and quality check
Documentation Review: Documentation updates

PR Review Checklist

When reviewing a PR, maintainers check:

Code follows the project's style guide and naming conventions
New logic is covered by unit or integration tests
No console.log or debug statements left in production code
Accessibility requirements are met (WCAG 2.1 AA)
No new any types introduced without justification
Breaking changes are documented and versioned appropriately
Environment variables are documented in .env.example
PR description links to the relevant issue(s)

Responding to Review Feedback

Address each comment with either a code change or a reply explaining why no change is needed
Mark resolved threads as resolved after addressing them
Request a re-review once all feedback has been addressed
Avoid force-pushing after a review has started — use new commits instead

Merge Requirements

All tests must pass
Code coverage must not decrease
No breaking changes without proper version bump
Documentation must be updated
At least one maintainer approval

🚀 Release Process

PropChain Frontend uses Release Please for automated releases based on Conventional Commits.

How Releases Work

Commits to main following the Conventional Commits spec are automatically parsed
Release Please opens a release PR that bumps the version and updates CHANGELOG.md
Merging the release PR triggers a GitHub Actions workflow that:
- Creates a Git tag (e.g. v1.2.0)
- Publishes a GitHub Release with auto-generated release notes
- Deploys to the production environment

Version Bumping Rules

Commit type	Version bump
`fix:`	Patch (`1.0.x`)
`feat:`	Minor (`1.x.0`)
`feat!:` or `BREAKING CHANGE:` footer	Major (`x.0.0`)

Hotfix Process

For urgent production fixes:

# 1. Branch from the latest release tag
git checkout -b hotfix/v1.2.1 v1.2.0

# 2. Apply the fix and commit with conventional format
git commit -m "fix: resolve critical wallet connection crash"

# 3. Open a PR targeting main (and cherry-pick to release branch if needed)

🎉 Recognition & Rewards

Contributor Benefits

GitHub Contributors recognition
Early access to new features
Special Discord role and channel access
PropChain merchandise for significant contributions
Speaking opportunities at community events

Contributor Tiers

Contributor: 1+ merged PRs
Active Contributor: 5+ merged PRs
Core Contributor: 20+ merged PRs
Maintainer: Trusted team member with merge access

📞 Contact

Get in Touch

GitHub Issues: Create an issue
GitHub Discussions: Start a discussion
Email: frontend@propchain.io
Discord: Join our community

Office Hours

Join our weekly contributor office hours:

When: Every Thursday, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM UTC
Where: Discord voice channel
What: Get help with contributions, ask questions, meet the team

🙏 Thank You

Thank you for contributing to PropChain Frontend! Your contributions help make decentralized real estate accessible to everyone.

Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a difference. We appreciate your time and effort in improving our platform.

Happy coding! 🚀

Made with ❤️ by the PropChain Team

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