Contributing¶

Community Implementation

A Rust implementation of OpenClaw by Neul Labs.

Thank you for your interest in contributing to openclaw-rs!

Ways to Contribute¶

Code Contributions¶

Bug fixes
New features
Performance improvements
Documentation

Non-Code Contributions¶

Bug reports
Feature requests
Documentation improvements
Testing and feedback

Getting Started¶

1. Fork and Clone¶

# Fork on GitHub, then:
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/openclaw-rs
cd openclaw-rs

2. Set Up Development Environment¶

See Development Setup for detailed instructions.

# Install dependencies
rustup update
cargo build

# Install UI dependencies
cd crates/openclaw-ui
npm install

3. Create a Branch¶

git checkout -b feature/my-feature
# or
git checkout -b fix/my-bugfix

Development Workflow¶

Running Tests¶

# All tests
cargo test

# Specific crate
cargo test -p openclaw-core

# With output
cargo test -- --nocapture

Running Lints¶

# Clippy
cargo clippy --all-targets

# Format check
cargo fmt --check

# All checks
cargo clippy && cargo fmt --check && cargo test

Building¶

# Debug build
cargo build

# Release build
cargo build --release

# With all features
cargo build --all-features

Code Standards¶

Rust Style¶

Follow Rust API Guidelines
Use rustfmt for formatting
Address all clippy warnings
Write documentation for public APIs

Example¶

/// Creates a new message with the given content.
///
/// # Arguments
///
/// * `role` - The role of the message sender
/// * `content` - The message content
///
/// # Examples
///
/// ```
/// use openclaw_core::types::{Message, Role};
///
/// let msg = Message::new(Role::User, "Hello!");
/// assert_eq!(msg.content.as_text(), Some("Hello!"));
/// ```
pub fn new(role: Role, content: impl Into<Content>) -> Self {
    Self {
        role,
        content: content.into(),
        metadata: None,
    }
}

Commit Messages¶

Use conventional commits:

type(scope): description

[optional body]

[optional footer]

Types: - feat: New feature - fix: Bug fix - docs: Documentation - style: Formatting - refactor: Code restructuring - test: Adding tests - chore: Maintenance

Examples:

feat(providers): add streaming support for OpenAI

fix(agents): handle empty response from provider

docs(readme): update installation instructions

Pull Request Process¶

1. Before Submitting¶

[ ] Tests pass (cargo test)
[ ] Lints pass (cargo clippy)
[ ] Formatted (cargo fmt)
[ ] Documentation updated
[ ] Commit messages follow convention

2. PR Description¶

Include: - What changed - Why it changed - How to test - Breaking changes (if any)

3. Review Process¶

Automated checks run
Maintainer review
Address feedback
Merge when approved

Issue Guidelines¶

Bug Reports¶

Include: - openclaw-rs version - Operating system - Steps to reproduce - Expected vs actual behavior - Error messages/logs

Feature Requests¶

Include: - Use case description - Proposed solution - Alternative solutions considered - OpenClaw compatibility notes

Code of Conduct¶

Be Respectful¶

Treat everyone with respect
Be constructive in feedback
Welcome newcomers

Be Collaborative¶

Help others learn
Share knowledge
Give credit

Be Professional¶

Focus on the work
Accept constructive criticism
Disagree respectfully

License¶

By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the MIT License.

Questions?¶

Open a GitHub Discussion
Check existing issues
Read the documentation

Next Steps¶

:material-hammer-wrench: Development Setup :material-map: Roadmap