Development Guide

Technical guidelines for contributing to Arrow's GitHub repositories.

First Steps

1. Create a GitHub account
2. Create a Discord account
3. Sign the CLA
4. Join the Arrow Discord
5. Set up commit signing (see Sign Your Commits)

Git Workflow

Working on a Task

1. Fork or clone the target repository

   • If you're not a member of an Arrow GitHub team, work from a fork
   • How to fork a repository

2. Create a branch with a descriptive name

   • Use the format: username/short-description
   • Example: thomasg/fix-landing-gear-docs

3. Make your changes

   • Follow our Code Style Guides
   • Keep commits focused and well-described

4. Sign and push your commits

   • All commits must be signed (see Sign Your Commits)
   • git commit -S -m "fix: correct motor arm dimensions"

Pull Requests

1. Target the correct branch

   • Most repos: target develop
   • Website repo: target staging

2. Confirm the cla-signed label appears

   • If you haven't signed the CLA, the bot will block your PR

3. Confirm CI checks pass

   • Checks vary by repository

4. Get approvals

   • Approvals generally come from Arrow team members
   • Number of required approvals varies by repo

5. Merge!

PR Best Practices:

• Keep PRs small and focused — easier to review
• Write clear descriptions of what changed and why
• One PR per issue/task
• If commit history is messy, use "Squash and Merge"

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Sign Your Commits

We require signed commits for security and accountability.

Setup:

1. Generate a GPG key
2. Tell Git about your key
3. Add the key to GitHub
4. Enable signing by default: git config --global commit.gpgsign true

Sign individual commits with -S: git commit -S -m "your message"

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Commit Messages

We use conventional commits for automated releases and changelogs.

<type>[(scope)]: <description>

[optional body]

[optional footer]

Types:

Type	Description	Release
fix	Bug fix	Patch
feat	New feature	Minor
docs	Documentation only	Patch
refactor	Code restructuring	Patch
test	Adding/updating tests	Patch
build	Build system changes	Patch
ci	CI configuration	Patch
perf	Performance improvement	Patch
style	Code formatting	Patch

Breaking changes: Add ! after the type (e.g., feat!: redesign API) for a Major release.

Guidelines:

• Title: max 50 characters, start lowercase, no period
• Body: max 72 characters per line
• Keep it concise and descriptive

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VS Code Extensions

Recommended extensions for Arrow development:

General

ext install bierner.github-markdown-preview
ext install docsmsft.docs-yaml
ext install stkb.rewrap
ext install eamodio.gitlens
ext install ms-vscode-remote.vscode-remote-extensionpack
ext install tamasfe.even-better-toml
ext install EditorConfig.EditorConfig

• GitHub Markdown Preview — Mermaid diagrams and emoji in preview
• docs-yaml — YAML intellisense and validation
• Rewrap — Wrap comments to 80 characters
• GitLens — Git blame and history on hover
• Remote Development — SSH development
• Even Better TOML — Rust config file support
• EditorConfig — Consistent editor settings

Web Projects

ext install esbenp.prettier-vscode
ext install johnsoncodehk.volar

• Prettier — Auto-formatting
• Volar — Vue.js support

Terraform

ext install 4ops.terraform

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Build Automation

Arrow repos use Makefiles with containerized tooling via arrow-sanitychecks.

make help      # See all targets
make test      # Run all tests/lints
make all       # Test, build, and release

You don't need to install linting tools locally — everything runs in Docker.

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Repository Management

Repositories are managed through Terraform. For repo changes, contact @owlot.

Admin Access

Elevated platform access is limited. Ping @thomasg or @owlot with what you need.