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Contributing to GitBot

First off — thanks for taking the time to contribute! GitBot is a self-hosted Discord bot, and community contributions help make it better for everyone running their own instance.

Table of Contents

Getting Started

  1. Fork the repository and clone your fork locally.
  2. Install dependencies: 
    npm install
  3. Copy the example config and fill in your values: 
    cp config.example.yml config.yml
  4. Run the bot locally to make sure everything works before making changes.

Development Workflow

  1. Branch off development — never work directly on main.

    git checkout development
git pull origin development
git checkout -b type/short-description

    Branch naming conventions:

    Prefix Use for
    feature/ New functionality
    fix/ Bug fixes
    docs/ Documentation changes
    refactor/ Code cleanup with no behavior change
    chore/ Dependency updates, config changes, etc.

  2. Make your changes, keeping commits focused and logical.

  3. Test your changes against a real Discord server + GitHub webhook setup if possible. At minimum, make sure the bot starts without errors.

  4. Push your branch and open a pull request against development.

Commit Messages

Follow the Conventional Commits format:

type(scope): short description

Optional longer explanation if needed.

Examples:

feat(events): add support for workflow_run events
fix(embed): truncate long commit messages to prevent Discord API errors
docs(readme): update self-hosting instructions

Pull Request Guidelines

  • Target development, not main.
  • Fill out the PR description — explain what changed and why.
  • Keep PRs focused. One feature or fix per PR is much easier to review.
  • If your PR fixes an open issue, reference it: Closes #42.
  • Don't bump the version yourself — that's handled during releases.

Code Style

  • Follow the existing code style in the files you're editing.
  • Use meaningful variable and function names.
  • Add comments for anything non-obvious, especially around webhook parsing or Discord API quirks.
  • Never commit secrets, tokens, or credentials — not even in example files. Use placeholder strings like YOUR_BOT_TOKEN_HERE.
  • Keep new event handlers consistent with how existing ones are structured.

Reporting Bugs

Open an issue and include:

  • A clear, descriptive title
  • Steps to reproduce the issue
  • What you expected to happen vs. what actually happened
  • Your Node.js version, OS, and any relevant config (redact tokens!)
  • Any error output from the console

Suggesting Features

Open an issue with the enhancement label. Describe:

  • The GitHub event or Discord behavior you want to improve
  • Why it would be useful for self-hosters
  • Any implementation ideas you have (optional, but appreciated)

Questions?

If you're unsure about something before opening a PR, feel free to open a discussion or draft PR and ask. We'd rather help you get it right than see a good contribution go to waste.