Contributing

Thank you for considering a contribution to NeuralPlus.

Open a discussion or issue before provider protocols, public API changes, new mandatory dependencies, or substantial architecture work. Narrow bug fixes and documentation corrections can go directly to a pull request.

Participation in the project is governed by the Code of Conduct.

Development

cmake --preset dev
cmake --build --preset dev
ctest --preset dev

The dev preset builds all examples as part of the normal build. To build only the examples, run cmake --build --preset dev-examples; the executables are written to build/dev/examples/.

Use the repository .clang-format configuration for C++ changes. Public headers must be self-contained and remain C++17-compatible.

Design expectations

Keep one orchestration path in AIClient; providers translate one round.
Prefer FunctionTool and FunctionTracer before adding subclasses.
Keep model names and capabilities in data, not new model-name classes.
Keep convenience model configurations small, sourced from official provider documentation, and overrideable as ordinary provider configs.
Use clear ownership and small runtime interfaces.
Use ordinary templates only where they provide direct type safety; avoid template-metaprogramming machinery.
Preserve session and tool concurrency invariants.
Never expose credentials or unredacted model/tool content in errors, traces, tests, or fixtures.
Add deterministic protocol tests using MockHttpTransport; default tests must not require API keys or live provider calls.
Runnable provider examples must instantiate the real client and production transport. Give each a --help path that exits before credential resolution so CI can smoke-test it safely.
Document public behavior and portability impact.

Pull requests

Include:

the problem and chosen approach;
tests, or why none apply;
documentation for public behavior;
migration guidance for breaking changes; and
any Linux, macOS, or Windows impact.

By contributing, you agree that your contribution is licensed under the repository's [Apache License 2.0](LICENSE). Accepted contributors are recognized in repository history, release notes, and CONTRIBUTORS.md.