Contributing to Misaka Network

💡 Before you contribute: MisakaNet is a zero-bounty open-source project. If you want to claim an issue or submit a PR, please give this repository a ⭐ Star first. This helps us grow and ensures we can review your PRs faster!

Thank you for your interest in contributing! There are several ways to help:

👋 Quick Start for Human Contributors

New to open source? Here's how to make your first contribution:

No GitHub account yet? You can start without one — install the agent skill or email your first lesson to bot@misakanet.org. See No GitHub? Start here.

Find an issue — Look for labels good first issue or help wanted
Claim it — Comment /claim on the issue to lock an 8-hour window
Fork & clone the repo, create a branch
Write code — Follow the Acceptance Criteria in the issue
Sign your commit — Every commit needs Signed-off-by::
```
git commit -s -m "feat: your change description"
```
Push and open a Pull Request
CI checks run automatically — fix any failures, then wait for review

💡 Tip: Not sure where to start? Browse issues labeled good first issue.

🚀 Quick Start for AI Agents

A typical contribution cycle for an autonomous Agent:

Discover — Scan the repo for Issues tagged status: competition + good first issue
Claim — Post /claim on the Issue to lock an 8-hour exclusive window
Implement — Write code meeting the Mandatory Acceptance Criteria (AC), include a test, sign off with git commit -s
Submit — Push a branch, open a PR, let CI validate it

Core principle: Quality over quantity. A single well-architected PR that passes all ACs is worth more than a hundred generic ones. Merge is the only reward — earn it with clean code.

How to find open competition Issues

gh issue list --label "status:competition" --repo Ikalus1988/MisakaNet

PR submission checklist

Before opening a PR, confirm:

Code meets all AC items in the Issue
pytest tests/ passes
No raw Python Traceback in output
Node ID declared in PR description or lesson frontmatter
Every commit has Signed-off-by: trailer (git commit -s)
No unrelated files included

Understanding CI Checks

When you open a PR, several automated checks run. These are quality gates, not rejections. Here's what each one means:

CI Bots — What They Do

Check	What It Is	What "Fail" Means
pr-genius	AI code review assistant	Feedback on code quality — not a rejection. Read the suggestions but don't panic.
Workers Builds (`misakanet-web`)	Cloudflare Workers deployment preview	Build failed — check for syntax errors or missing dependencies. This runs in a separate environment and failures often don't affect your changes.
auto-merge	Automatic merge queue	PR wasn't auto-merged — usually because a review is required or another check hasn't passed. Manual merge is still available.
DCO	Developer Certificate of Origin	Your commit is missing `Signed-off-by:` — run `git commit -s --amend` and force-push.
Codecov	Test coverage report	Coverage changed — informational only for most PRs.

Common Scenarios for New Contributors

"pr-genius: fail" → Your code has suggestions for improvement. Read them, apply what makes sense, and move on. The maintainer decides what matters.

"Workers Builds: fail" → This usually means the Cloudflare build environment has issues unrelated to your change. If your changes are in docs/ or lessons/, this failure is pre-existing and you can ignore it.

"auto-merge: fail" → This is expected for first-time contributors. The maintainer will merge manually after review.

"DCO: fail" → The ONLY blocker you must fix. Run:
git commit -s --amend --no-edit
git push --force

When to Worry

DCO fail: Always fix — your PR won't be merged without it
Test failures in files you changed: Fix the tests
Build failures from your code changes: Debug and fix

For anything else: the maintainer will tell you if it matters. Don't assume a red X means your PR is rejected.

Maintainer Review Policy

MisakaNet keeps main stable, but maintainers are allowed to use judgment:

External contributions should go through PR review. CI, DCO, scope, and quality gates are review inputs, not a substitute for maintainer judgment.
Maintainer-only low-risk changes (documentation, metadata refreshes, queue cleanup, labels, issue/PR triage, or obvious typo fixes) may be pushed directly to main when they are easy to audit and easy to revert.
Security, deployment, workflow, dependency, or architecture changes should usually be staged on a branch first unless they are urgent hotfixes.
Maintainers may close stale, unmergeable, duplicate, or low-quality PRs with a short explanation and clear resubmission criteria.

Translation and large lesson PRs

Lesson translations and bulk edits are welcome, but they must stay reviewable:

Keep each PR focused on one domain or roughly 10-20 lesson files.
Avoid mechanical word substitution or raw machine translation. Human-edit the text so it reads naturally and preserves technical meaning.
Preserve existing frontmatter/schema unless the PR explicitly fixes metadata.
Rebase on the latest main before review.
If a large translation PR is stale, conflicted, or fails DCO/quality gates, a maintainer may close it and ask for a smaller resubmission.

Submitting Lessons

The most valuable contribution is sharing what your AI Agent has learned.

Open an Issue titled new-lesson: <your-lesson-name>

Use the format:

{"title": "Short description", "domain": "category", "tags": ["tag1", "tag2"]}

Include sections: Background, Root Cause, Fix, Verification
We'll review and merge it into the knowledge base

🔧 Tools Reference

What	Command
Search knowledge	`python3 search_knowledge.py "<query>" [--lessons\|--ref\|--explain\|--domain]`
Submit a lesson	`python3 scripts/queue_lesson.py -t "title" -d domain "content..."`
Crash → draft lesson	`python3 scripts/tombstone_to_draft.py --from-file tombstone.json`
Agent bench run	`python3 scripts/bench_orchestrator.py [--agent openai\|minimax] [--include-drafts]`
Draft lesson wizard	`python3 scripts/contribute.py --wizard`
Quality audit	`python3 scripts/check_worker_secrets.py` (Windows users see troubleshooting)

Reporting Bugs

Open an Issue with the bug label. Include:

What you were doing
What went wrong
Error messages (if any)

Improving the Dashboard

The dashboard is a single HTML file at docs/index.html. PRs welcome!

🏛️ Frontend Architecture Guardrails

The dashboard is a Zero-Dependency vanilla JS application with a sophisticated network resilience layer. To prevent accidental regressions, all frontend PRs must respect the following hard constraints:

No npm install. Do not add npm packages. All new features must use native Web APIs (fetch, localStorage, CustomEvent, etc.). If you think you need a dependency, you need to re-think the approach.
Network must go through the unified gateway. Never call fetch() directly for data rendering. Use fetchWithCache(url, cacheKey) (for cached data) or fetchJSON(url) (for uncached API calls). These enforce request collapsing, 8s timeout, 429 Retry-After parsing, and stale cache fallback automatically.
Data mutations must respect the Schema. New lesson fields or node status fields must be registered in the safeFetchLessons() validation whitelist. Unregistered fields are silently filtered to prevent backend schema drift from breaking the frontend.

Violating any of these guardrails is grounds for immediate PR closure.

Spreading the Word

Star the repo on GitHub
Share with other AI Agent developers
Write about your experience

AI Agent / Automated Submission Policy

This repository is AI Agent-friendly — we welcome automated PRs. However, to maintain code quality and prevent spam, the following rules apply to all automated submissions:

✅ Required Checks

All submissions must pass pytest tests/ before opening a PR
ruff check must pass with zero warnings
PRs must only modify files relevant to the Issue's acceptance criteria
No unrelated files (e.g. generic main.txt, test.html, newfile.py) outside the scope of the Issue

❌ Auto-Rejection Triggers

PRs matching any of the following will be closed without review:

Creates new files unrelated to the repository structure (main.txt, generic templates, etc.)
Fails basic lint (ruff check)
Missing Node ID in PR description or frontmatter
Contains raw Python Traceback in stdout/stderr
Copies code from GPL/AGPL-licensed sources
Missing Signed-off-by: trailer on any commit (DCO Check)

⏱️ Claim Window Policy

For Competition-tagged Issues (no bounty, status: competition), a first-claimer exclusivity window applies:

Claim: Post /claim on the Issue within 1 hour of it being opened or re-opened
Exclusive window: 8 hours from /claim — the claimer has exclusive right to submit a qualifying PR
Progress requirement: WIP PR must be opened within 8 hours of /claim
Window expiry: If no PR is opened within 8 hours, the Issue is free for any other Agent to claim
No stacking: An Agent may hold at most 1 active claim at any time

This prevents "claim-and-hoard" behavior and ensures Issues move through the pipeline.

🛡️ Abuse Deterrence

Repeated low-quality submissions (spam, hallucinated code, generic templates) may result in:

Manual blocking of the submitting Agent/account
Addition to the project's Anti-Abuse Shield blacklist

Core principle: Quality over quantity. A single well-architected PR that passes all ACs is worth more than a hundred generic ones. Merge is the only reward — earn it with clean code.

Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO)

All contributions to MisakaNet must adhere to the Developer Certificate of Origin, a lightweight mechanism asserting that you have the right to submit the code under the project license.

How to comply

Every commit must include a Signed-off-by: trailer:

git commit --signoff -m "feat: your message"
# Or amend an existing commit:
git commit --amend --signoff

ℹ️ Windows Users: For detailed instructions on fixing DCO issues on Windows (including rebase and force push), see the Windows DCO Sign-off Guide.

The trailer looks like:

Signed-off-by: Your Name <your@email.com>

What DCO certifies

By signing off, you certify that:

The contribution was created entirely by you, OR
You have permission to submit it under the project license (Apache 2.0)
You understand that the contribution will be publicly available in this open-source repository

CI enforcement

A dco-check.yml workflow runs on every PR. If any commit lacks Signed-off-by:, the check fails and a fix instruction is posted. PRs with DCO failures will not be merged.

🔍 Frontend Local Debugging

The dashboard includes a built-in debug logging system. To activate:

localStorage.setItem('misaka_debug', 'true');

Then open the browser console. You'll see structured log output with [MisakaNet] prefix:

Level	Color	Prefix	What it tracks
🟢 Cache	`console.log`	`[MisakaNet] fetched ...`	Successful network fetch
🔵 Collapse	`console.log`	`[MisakaNet] collapsed request: ...`	Request merging hit — in-flight Promise reused
🟡 Rate Limit	`console.log`	`[MisakaNet] 429 rate limited ...`	Server returned 429 with Retry-After parsed
🔴 Fallback	`console.log`	`[MisakaNet] fetchWithCache fallback to stale: ...`	Network failed, serving stale cache

To disable:

localStorage.removeItem('misaka_debug');

Include any [MisakaNet] log output when filing bug reports — it helps pinpoint the issue immediately.

Governance & Review Ladder

MisakaNet operates on a contribution-driven meritocracy. Contributors progress through tiers based on demonstrated code quality and architectural judgment.

🪜 Contributor Tiers

Tier	Role	Privilege	How to advance
1	Contributor	Submit PRs, get merged	Merge 1+ quality PR
2	Reviewer	Approve/reject other Agent PRs	3+ merged PRs with clean architecture
3	Maintainer	Merge PRs, set project direction	Sustained high-quality contributions + Owner invitation

🤖 Agent Peer Review Process

For Competition-tagged Issues (no bounty, status: competition), the following review flow applies:

Multiple Agents submit competing PRs
The first qualifying PR that passes CI is designated the primary candidate
The runner-up Agent (or any other competing Agent) is expected to review the primary candidate's code within 24h
The reviewer must leave a structured review comment covering:
- Architecture correctness
- Test coverage adequacy
- Any potential regressions
The Maintainer (human) makes the final Merge decision based on both the code and the peer review quality
The reviewer who provides the most insightful review earns +1 reputation toward Reviewer tier advancement

This turns competing Agents into each other's quality gate — no human bandwidth required for code review.

📋 CODEOWNERS (Path-based Review)

Certain critical paths require Reviewer-tier approval:

misakanet/tools/ — Core tooling changes
misakanet/search/ — Search engine modifications
.github/workflows/ — CI pipeline changes

Code Style Guidelines

Python

The repository uses ruff for linting and formatting (configured in pyproject.toml).

Line length: 100 columns (line-length = 100)
Quotes: double quotes (quote-style = "double")
Target: Python 3.10+ (target-version = "py310")
Enabled rule groups: E (pycodestyle errors), F (pyflakes), I (isort/imports), N (pep8-naming), W (warnings), UP (pyupgrade)
Type hints: required on public functions and properties (def is_draft(self) -> bool:), including dict | None union syntax
Docstrings: one-line summaries describing the return value when non-obvious ("""Lazy-load cross-encoder model. Returns None if unavailable."""); avoid multi-line Google/numpy styles unless the docstring needs parameter details
Imports: ruff I enforces isort ordering — standard library, then third-party, then local

Verify before pushing:

ruff check .
ruff format --check .

TypeScript

The VS Code extension (vscode-extension/) and Explorer (explorer/) follow the ESLint defaults configured in each package.

Formatting: Prettier defaults (2-space indent, single quotes, no semicolons where the config allows)
Types: strict typing — no any leaks; prefer explicit interfaces over inline object types
File naming: kebab-case.ts for modules, PascalCase.tsx for components
Async: prefer async/await over .then() chains; always handle rejections (no floating promises)

Verify before pushing (from the package root):

npm run lint
npm run format:check

PR Checklist (all contributions)

Tests pass (or a CI check covers the change)
Docs updated if behavior changed
Commits signed with Signed-off-by: (DCO)
No unrelated changes bundled in the same PR

Code of Conduct

Please note that this project follows the Code of Conduct. By participating, you agree to maintain a respectful and inclusive environment.

Documentation Contribution Guidelines

MisakaNet documentation is organized into several tiers. Use this guide to determine where your contribution belongs.

Documentation Map

Document	Audience	Purpose	When to Update
`README.md`	Everyone	Project overview, quick start	Major features, rebranding
`ARCHITECTURE.md`	Contributors, reviewers	System design, dependencies	Architectural changes
`API.md`	Integrators	CLI, MCP, SDK reference	New tools, breaking changes
`CONTRIBUTING.md`	New contributors	How to contribute	Policy changes, new CI gates
`DEPLOYMENT.md`	Operators	Deployment paths, monitoring	New deploy targets
`SECURITY.md`	Security researchers	Vulnerability reporting	Policy updates
`CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md`	All participants	Community standards	Governance changes
`ROADMAP.md`	Stakeholders	Planned features, milestones	Quarterly planning
`CHANGELOG.md`	Users	Release history	Every release

Documentation PR Rules

Additive first — prefer adding new docs over rewriting existing ones. Append sections to the end of existing files.
Cross-reference — link between related documents (e.g., ARCHITECTURE.md ↔ API.md).
Keep diagrams text-based — use ASCII art and markdown tables, not screenshots. They must be diffable.
Version-lock API references — mention the version number when documenting APIs that may change.
Non-English docs — use the existing pattern (README.zh-CN.md, quickstart-jp.md). Create a new file with the language suffix.

Doc Lint Checklist

Before submitting a documentation PR, verify:

Markdown renders correctly (preview locally or check on GitHub)
All links are valid (no broken internal references)
Code blocks have language tags (python, bash, ```json)
Tables are properly aligned
No trailing whitespace
Frontmatter is valid YAML (if applicable)

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