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CONTRIBUTIONS.md

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Contributing to Simple VS Manager

Thanks for wanting to help out with Simple VS Manager!

This is a small project, meant to stay friendly and simple for most users.
You don’t need to be a Git expert to contribute. I'm not!

Branches – workflow

  • main

    • The “stable” branch.
    • This is what users should build from.
    • All pull requests go into main.

  • devchaos

    • This is where I'll work from, along with our future robot overlords. Currently using Codex, Copilot and GPT 5.1 Thinking.
    • History here may be messy and rewritten.
    • Please don’t base your work on devchaos. Always start from main.

When pull requests are merged into main, I'll probably squash them into a single clean commit. At least the devchaos.

How to contribute

1. Get the code

  • If you don’t have write access:
    • Fork the repo on GitHub.
    • Clone your fork to your computer.
  • If you do have access:
    • Clone the main repo if you haven’t already.

Make sure you’re up to date:

git checkout main
git pull

2. Create a branch

Create a new branch from main for your change:

git checkout -b feature/my-change

Name it something short that describes what you’re doing, like:

  • feature/preset-filters
  • bugfix/crash-empty-modlist

3. Make your changes

  • Change the code.
  • Make as many local commits as you like. Use agents, it's fun!
  • Make sure the project builds (for example in Visual Studio 2022/2026).
  • Try the basic things you touched to see that they still work.

4. Push and open a pull request

Push your branch:

git push -u origin feature/my-change

Then on GitHub:

  1. Open a Pull Request from your branch into main.
  2. Write a short description on what it is and/or why it's needed.

I’ll review it, maybe ask some questions, and then merge it

Style and features

  • The main goal is: simple for the average user.

  • It’s fine to add advanced or complex features as long as:

    • They’re clearly marked as advanced, and/or
    • They’re hidden behind a toggle, setting, or advanced section.

  • Try to keep:

    • Names clear and understandable.
    • Error messages helpful.
    • UI options not overwhelming by default.

Bugs and ideas

If you have found a bug or have an idea:

  • Open a GitHub issue.

  • Include:

    • What you expected to happen
    • What actually happened
    • Steps to reproduce, if possible

License

By contributing, you agree that your code is released under the same license as the rest of the project (see LICENSE in the repo).

Thanks again for helping Simple VS Manager improve! Even small things like wording, layout tweaks, or minor bug fixes are welcome.