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Contributing to BatcherBird

Thank you for your interest in contributing to BatcherBird! This document provides guidelines for contributing to the project.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

  • macOS 10.15+ (Catalina or later)
  • Rust 1.77+ - Install via rustup
  • Node.js 20+ - Install via Homebrew or nvm
  • Tauri CLI - cargo install tauri-cli --version "^2.0"

For testing:

  • A MIDI device (synthesizer, keyboard, etc.)
  • An audio interface

Development Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ddri/batcherbird.git
cd batcherbird

# Install frontend dependencies
cd crates/batcherbird-gui
npm install

# Start development server
npm run dev

This starts both the Tauri backend and Vite frontend with hot reload.

Project Structure

batcherbird/
├── crates/
│   ├── batcherbird-core/     # Rust audio processing library
│   ├── batcherbird-cli/      # Command-line interface (minimal)
│   └── batcherbird-gui/      # Tauri desktop application
│       ├── src/              # React TypeScript frontend
│       └── src-tauri/        # Tauri Rust backend
├── docs/                     # Documentation and plans
└── .github/workflows/        # CI/CD configuration

How to Contribute

Reporting Bugs

Before opening a bug report:

  1. Check existing issues first
  2. Try the latest version

When reporting, include:

  • macOS version
  • Audio interface model
  • MIDI device model
  • Steps to reproduce
  • Expected vs actual behavior
  • Any error messages or console output

Suggesting Features

Open an issue with:

  • Clear description of the feature
  • Use case and why it would be valuable
  • Any implementation ideas (optional)

Pull Requests

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create a branch from main: 
    git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
  3. Make your changes
  4. Test your changes: 
    # Rust tests
cargo test --workspace

# TypeScript check
cd crates/batcherbird-gui && npx tsc --noEmit

# Build check
npm run build
  5. Commit with clear messages: 
    git commit -m "feat: add new feature description"
  6. Push and open a Pull Request

Commit Message Format

We use Conventional Commits:

  • feat: - New feature
  • fix: - Bug fix
  • docs: - Documentation only
  • refactor: - Code change that neither fixes a bug nor adds a feature
  • test: - Adding or updating tests
  • chore: - Maintenance tasks

Examples:

feat: add velocity curve presets for common synthesizers
fix: resolve MIDI note-off timing issue with DW6000
docs: update README with troubleshooting section

Code Style

Rust

  • Follow standard Rust conventions
  • Run cargo clippy before committing
  • Keep audio callback code minimal (no allocations)
  • Use eprintln! only for error logging in audio callbacks

TypeScript

  • Use TypeScript strict mode (no any types)
  • Prefer functional components with hooks
  • Keep components focused and small
  • Use the existing UI components from src/components/ui/

Areas We Need Help

High Priority

  • Hardware Testing - Test with different synthesizers and report compatibility
  • Bug Reports - Detailed reports with reproduction steps

Medium Priority

  • Linux Support - ALSA/JACK audio backend implementation
  • Windows Support - WASAPI audio backend implementation
  • Documentation - Tutorials, examples, setup guides

Lower Priority

  • UI/UX Improvements - Design enhancements
  • Localization - Translations for other languages

Questions?

  • Open a Discussion for questions
  • Open an Issue for bugs or feature requests

License

By contributing to BatcherBird, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the AGPL-3.0 License.

Thank you for helping make hardware sampling accessible to everyone!