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docs: extend CONTRIBUTING.md with code guidelines#4202
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jlaportebot:docs/extend-contributing-guidelines

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Summary

This PR extends CONTRIBUTING.md with a comprehensive section on code guidelines and conventions, addressing issue #4023.

Changes

Added a new "Code Guidelines" section that documents:

  1. Naming Conventions

    • File names ({service}_{api}.go pattern)
    • Receiver names (consistently use 's')
    • Request option types
    • Request body types
    • Response types
    • Method and variable naming
    • Common variable names (owner, repo, org, user, team, project)
    • Enterprise and organization scoped methods
    • Common structs (ListOptions, ListCursorOptions, UploadOptions, Response)
  2. JSON Tags for Request Bodies

    • Required fields: non-pointer types without omitempty
    • Optional fields: pointer types with omitempty
    • Use omitzero for structs and slices
  3. URL Tags for Query Parameters

    • All fields should be non-pointer types with url tags
    • Use omitempty to omit zero values
  4. Pagination

    • Offset-based pagination (ListOptions)
    • Cursor-based pagination (ListCursorOptions)
    • Pagination best practices (embedding options, handling nil, using iterators)
  5. Common Types

    • ID fields: always int64
    • Node ID fields: always string
    • Timestamp fields: use Timestamp type
    • Boolean fields: always *bool
  6. Generation Patterns

    • Generated accessors
    • Generated iterators
    • Generated documentation
    • Linter rules (sliceofpointers, structfield)

Benefits

  • Helps new contributors understand the codebase better
  • Reduces review burden by making expectations explicit
  • Improves code consistency across the project
  • Documents patterns that are frequently discussed in reviews

Testing

This is a documentation-only change. No code changes or tests needed.

Closes #4023

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Thank you, @jlaportebot.
LGTM.

cc: @alexandear

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codecov Bot commented May 8, 2026

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 97.45%. Comparing base (5475166) to head (4b63726).

Additional details and impacted files
@@           Coverage Diff           @@
##           master    #4202   +/-   ##
=======================================
  Coverage   97.45%   97.45%           
=======================================
  Files         189      189           
  Lines       19164    19164           
=======================================
  Hits        18677    18677           
  Misses        270      270           
  Partials      217      217           

☔ View full report in Codecov by Sentry.
📢 Have feedback on the report? Share it here.

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@jlaportebot Thank you. I left a few comments regarding excessive formatting and redundant information. Could you also review the entire CONTRIBUTING.md document and consolidate duplicated content?

Also, I think this PR should be reviewed by everyone listed in the REVIEWERS file.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated

[Go Doc Comments]: https://go.dev/doc/comment

## Code Guidelines
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I think the "Code Comments" section above should be under "Code Guidelines".

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +540 to +543
#### Generated Documentation

Documentation links are automatically generated from `openapi_operations.yaml`.
Run `script/generate.sh` to update these links.
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These lines are not needed.

They are already in "Submitting a patch", "Metadata", and "Scripts".

Can be removed.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +545 to +549
#### Linter Rules

The repository uses custom linter rules to enforce consistency:
- `sliceofpointers` - Ensures slice fields use pointers
- `structfield` - Ensures struct fields follow naming conventions
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We have more linters. Let's simply remove this section.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +332 to +333
State string `json:"state"` // Required field
// ...
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Please use TABs instead of spaces for all examples:

Suggested change
State string `json:"state"` // Required field
// ...
State string `json:"state"` // Required field
// ...

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated

### Naming Conventions

#### File Names
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Should we remove the "Other notes on code organization" section?

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +303 to +314
#### Enterprise and Organization Scoped Methods

Methods that operate on enterprise or organization resources include the scope
in their name:

```go
// Enterprise-scoped methods
func (s *EnterpriseService) GetLicenseInfo(ctx context.Context) (*LicenseInfo, *Response, error)

// Organization-scoped methods
func (s *OrganizationsService) ListMembers(ctx context.Context, org string, opts *OrganizationListMembersOptions) ([]*User, *Response, error)
```
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Actually, I think this subsection may be incorrect - see #3761.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated

When defining structs that represent a request body (sent via POST/PUT/PATCH):

1. **Required fields** should be non-pointer types without `omitempty`:
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Please do not use excessive LLM-like formatting:

Suggested change
1. **Required fields** should be non-pointer types without `omitempty`:
1. Required fields should be non-pointer types without `omitempty`:

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +448 to +457
2. **Handle nil options** in your methods:

```go
func (s *RepositoriesService) List(ctx context.Context, user string, opts *RepositoryListOptions) ([]*Repository, *Response, error) {
if opts == nil {
opts = &RepositoryListOptions{}
}
// ...
}
```
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This can be removed. We have the addOptions to handle nil options.

@alexandear
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@stevehipwell @zyfy29 @Not-Dhananjay-Mishra @munlicode please review when you have time

@stevehipwell
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@alexandear did you not want your review comments addressing before someone else weighs in?

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated

### Naming Conventions

#### File Names
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Maybe remove "Other notes on code organization" as @alexandear suggested, and put this:

Files are organized by service and API endpoint, following the pattern
`{service}_{api}.go`. For example:
- `repos_contents.go` - Repository contents API methods
- `users_ssh_signing_keys.go` - User SSH signing keys API methods
- `orgs_rules.go` - Organization rules API methods

Test files follow the pattern `{service}_{api}_test.go`.


These services map directly to how the [GitHub API documentation](https://docs.github.com/en/rest) is organized, so use that as your guide for where to put new methods.

For example, methods defined at <https://docs.github.com/en/rest/webhooks/repos> live in [repos_hooks.go][https://github.com/google/go-github/blob/master/github/repos_hooks.go].

@alexandear
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@alexandear did you not want your review comments addressing before someone else weighs in?

@stevehipwell I prefer that all reviewers contribute to the guidelines regardless of my comments, since my feedback is ultimately opinionated as well.

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This is looking like a really useful resource for contributions. I've added some comments/suggestions.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +246 to +247
Request body types (for POST/PUT/PATCH requests) are named after the method
they modify, with the suffix `Options`:
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Should request body types not use the Request suffix? The use of Options here is overloaded and it looks to me like the current usage is split roughly even across the wtwo patterns.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
- `Create` - Create a new resource
- `Update` - Update an existing resource
- `Delete` - Delete a resource
- `Edit` - Edit an existing resource (alternative to Update)
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I don't think we should have Edit as an "alternative", the GitHub API isn't consistent but that doesn't mean we can't make this SDK consistent (as far as is supported by the API).

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +305 to +306
Methods that operate on enterprise or organization resources include the scope
in their name:
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This comment doesn't line up with the example below it and also doesn't match the last agreed practice of NOT including the scope in the name where the scope is already defined by the service.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md
Comment on lines +319 to +320
- `ListOptions` - For offset-based pagination (page/per_page)
- `ListCursorOptions` - For cursor-based pagination
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Do we want to move away from the use of some of the common structs that don't directly map to the API surface and instead start to add specific structs?

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This suggestion is out of scope for this PR. Let's create a separate issue.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +347 to +356
3. **Use `omitzero` for structs and slices** where you want to omit empty values
(not just nil):

```go
type ActivityNotificationOptions struct {
SubjectType string `json:"subject_type,omitempty"`
Subject *string `json:"subject,omitempty"`
LastReadAt Timestamp `json:"last_read_at,omitzero"`
}
```
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I don't think this comment is correct, for structs and time.Time using omitzero will omit the value from the payload; but for slices and maps it does the opposite and keeps empty ones and only omits them if they're nil. See the use in RepositoryRuleset.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md

### Pagination

The go-github library supports two types of pagination:
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Is this still correct, I thought it was fuzzier?

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
}
```

3. **Use iterators** for list methods that support pagination. The library
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We probably out to mention the custom pagination configuration for non-standard pagination (e.g. commit files).

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +472 to +480
type Repository struct {
ID *int64 `json:"id,omitempty"`
// ...
}

type User struct {
ID *int64 `json:"id,omitempty"`
// ...
}
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It might be better to choose an example where the ID isn't a pointer.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +501 to +503
CreatedAt *Timestamp `json:"created_at,omitempty"`
UpdatedAt *Timestamp `json:"updated_at,omitempty"`
PushedAt *Timestamp `json:"pushed_at,omitempty"`
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Do these still need to be pointers or can we use omitzero? If so should we?

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +510 to +511
Boolean fields are always `*bool` (pointer to bool) to distinguish between
`false` and `not set`:
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If the boolean is required I'm not sure I see the value in this?

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
- `Delete` - Delete a resource
- `Edit` - Edit an existing resource (alternative to Update)

Common local variable names:
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We can add opts in this list too.
As opts is more commonly used throughout the repository #3887

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md
Committer *CommitAuthor `json:"committer,omitempty"`
}
```

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In my opinion it is worth mentioning about the use of value parameters instead of pointers where appropriate #3644

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +324 to +326
### JSON Tags for Request Bodies

When defining structs that represent a request body (sent via POST/PUT/PATCH):
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We have similar kind of rules around pointer usage and omitempty/omitzero for response bodies as well, so I think it would be worth mentioning them too.
Maybe we can combine the request and response body sections into a single section or should we make separate section?

@alexandear
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@jlaportebot, are you planning to continue working on this?

@jlaportebot
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@alexandear Yes, I'm planning to continue working on this. I'll address the requested changes around excessive formatting, redundant information, and duplicated content shortly. Thanks for the patience.

@jlaportebot
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Addressed all review feedback in a new commit (6dc10b8):

  1. Moved Code Comments section under Code Guidelines per @alexandear
  2. Removed 'Other notes on code organization' section — merged the GitHub API docs link into the File Names subsection per @alexandear and @munlicode
  3. Removed Linter Rules subsection per @alexandear
  4. Added Request suffix as an alternative naming pattern for request body types per @stevehipwell
  5. Removed Edit from method naming — the SDK should be consistent with Update per @stevehipwell
  6. Rewrote the Enterprise/Organization scoped methods section — methods don't need scope in the name since the service type already defines it per @stevehipwell
  7. Corrected the omitzero description: for structs and time.Time, omitzero omits empty values; for slices and maps, omitzero keeps empty (non-nil) values and only omits nil per @stevehipwell. Added reference to RepositoryRuleset for examples.
  8. Added response body JSON tag guidance per @Not-Dhananjay-Mishra
  9. Added custom pagination configuration note for non-standard APIs (e.g., commit files) per @stevehipwell
  10. Added opts to the common local variable names list per @Not-Dhananjay-Mishra
  11. Added value parameters guidance (prefer value types over pointers where appropriate) per @Not-Dhananjay-Mishra (Refactor codebase to use value parameters instead of pointers where appropriate #3644)
  12. Used tabs in Go code examples per @alexandear
  13. Removed excessive bold formatting throughout the Code Guidelines section per @alexandear
  14. Added non-pointer int64 example for ID fields in request bodies per @stevehipwell
  15. Added boolean field guidance: non-pointer bool for required fields, *bool with omitempty for optional, *bool with omitzero when distinguishing false from not set per @stevehipwell
  16. Noted that addOptions handles nil options so explicit nil checks are unnecessary per @alexandear

Please take another look — happy to make further adjustments.

@jlaportebot
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Thanks for the detailed reviews! I've pushed a comprehensive update addressing the feedback:

@alexandear:

  • Moved Code Comments under Code Guidelines section
  • Removed duplicated content (Other notes on code organization section, linters section)
  • Used TABs instead of spaces in all code examples
  • Removed excessive numbered list formatting

@stevehipwell:

  • Fixed omitzero description: clarified that for slices/maps it keeps empty (non-nil) values and only omits nil values, with reference to RepositoryRuleset
  • Used non-pointer int64 for ID field in request body example
  • Added note about custom pagination for non-standard APIs (e.g., commit files)
  • Fixed boolean field guidance: use *bool with omitzero for optional fields where you need to distinguish between false and "not set"
  • Removed Edit from method name list to keep SDK consistent
  • Fixed method naming section to match the scoped method convention (method name should not repeat scope)

@Not-Dhananjay-Mishra:

Other improvements:

  • Consolidated request/response body JSON tag guidelines
  • Removed redundant number formatting throughout
  • Streamlined the overall structure

I'd appreciate another round of review. Happy to make further adjustments.

@gmlewis
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gmlewis commented May 18, 2026

Awaiting approval from all the reviewers who commented:

cc: @alexandear - @stevehipwell - @Not-Dhananjay-Mishra

@jlaportebot
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Thank you all for the thorough review feedback. I've addressed the following in the latest push:

  • Removed Generation Patterns section - Content was redundant with Metadata, Scripts, and Submitting a patch sections
  • Replaced Edit with Update in method name prefixes for consistency
  • Removed Options suffix example from Request Body Types - now shows only the Request suffix pattern per the suggestion to be consistent
  • Removed addOptions nil check note - already handled by addOptions
  • Fixed boolean field guidance - simplified to just the optional *bool with omitzero case
  • Removed duplicate field guidance from Response Bodies section - now references Common Types section
  • Simplified Node ID Fields example - removed ID field from that example
  • Added File Organization example link - per @stevehipwell's suggestion with repos_hooks.go
  • Added chore: Rename 'opt' to 'opts' in multiple methods #3887 reference for opts variable naming
  • Added non-standard pagination note for custom pagination configuration

I'll continue working through the remaining comments and will address them in follow-up commits. There are several design discussion points (e.g., request/response body section consolidation, pointer usage in response types) that may benefit from broader input from the REVIEWERS list.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
this][modified-comment].

[git-aliases]: https://github.com/willnorris/dotfiles/blob/d640d010c23b1116bdb3d4dc12088ed26120d87d/git/.gitconfig#L13-L15
[git-aliases]: https://github.com/willnorris/dotfiles/blob/d640d010c23b1116bdb3d4dc12088ed26120d87b/git/.gitconfig#L13-L15
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Please revert this change because the link became broken after the update.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +431 to +433
For APIs with non-standard pagination (e.g., commit files), you may need
to implement custom pagination configuration instead of using the
standard `ListOptions` or `ListCursorOptions`.
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This feel incorrect.
For APIs with non-standard pagination we have configuration settings in gen-iterators.go L157-185 that can be adjusted as needed.

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I agree with this. My original comment was a question about the actual options object to be used in the List methods, not about the iterator pattern.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +371 to +372
Most fields in response types are pointers with `omitempty`, since the
GitHub API may omit fields from responses. For required fields with
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Most fields in response types are pointers with omitempty, since the
GitHub API may omit fields from responses.

I'm not sure this is actually correct, and I don't think it's helpful as it undoes some of the framing in previous sections. Also for that reason I'm not 100% convinced we should be using Repository in the examples as the current struct doesn't match the API, where ID & Name are required.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md Outdated
Comment on lines +431 to +433
For APIs with non-standard pagination (e.g., commit files), you may need
to implement custom pagination configuration instead of using the
standard `ListOptions` or `ListCursorOptions`.
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I agree with this. My original comment was a question about the actual options object to be used in the List methods, not about the iterator pattern.

@jlaportebot
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Pushed an update addressing the latest review feedback:

  1. Reverted broken git-aliases link (@Not-Dhananjay-Mishra) — changed back from 87b to 87d in the commit hash
  2. Fixed non-standard pagination note (@Not-Dhananjay-Mishra, @stevehipwell) — now references gen-iterators.go where pagination configuration settings can be adjusted
  3. Reworded Response Bodies section (@stevehipwell) — removed the blanket statement about most fields being pointers with omitempty, now more precisely states that optional fields use pointers with omitempty and required fields prefer non-pointer types, with a cross-reference to the same omitempty/omitzero conventions as request bodies

I believe all outstanding feedback has now been addressed. Happy to make further adjustments as needed.

@jlaportebot
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Addressed the latest review feedback:

@stevehipwell:

  • Simplified the Response Bodies section — removed the blanket statement about pointer fields, now just cross-references the same conventions as request bodies without contradicting previous guidance
  • Clarified pagination options usage — explicitly states to use ListOptions for offset-based APIs and ListCursorOptions for cursor-based APIs, addressing your original question about which options object to use in List methods

@Not-Dhananjay-Mishra:

  • Improved the gen-iterators.go reference — now lists the specific configuration maps (useCursorPagination, customNames, sliceToBeUsedForIteration, customTestJSON) instead of the vague 'configuration settings can be adjusted'

Please take another look when you have a chance.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md
Comment on lines +441 to +443
GitHub API IDs are always `int64`. In request bodies, use non-pointer `int64`
for required fields and `*int64` for optional fields. In response bodies, use
`*int64` with `omitempty`:
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Suggested change
GitHub API IDs are always `int64`. In request bodies, use non-pointer `int64`
for required fields and `*int64` for optional fields. In response bodies, use
`*int64` with `omitempty`:
GitHub API IDs are always `int64`. In request bodies, use non-pointer `int64`
if the ID is required and `*int64` if the ID is optional. In response bodies,
use non-pointer `int64` if the ID is required and `*int64` with `omitempty`
if the ID is optional:

This needs changing.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md

```go
type Repository struct {
NodeID *string `json:"node_id,omitempty"`
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This is probably not a good example as the struct has NodeID as optional but in the schema it's required for the response bodies.

Comment thread CONTRIBUTING.md
Comment on lines +321 to +327
type Repository struct {
ID *int64 `json:"id,omitempty"`
Name *string `json:"name,omitempty"`
FullName *string `json:"full_name,omitempty"`
Description *string `json:"description,omitempty"`
// ...
}
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This isn't a good example as the struct doesn't match the response schema, where all of the above fields are required.

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Thanks for the thorough review, @stevehipwell. I'll work through all your feedback — particularly the points about: omitzero behavior for slices/maps, the Edit vs Update naming, request body type naming conventions, and the incorrect examples. Will push updates shortly.

@jlaportebot
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Thanks for the review, @alexandear. I'll address all your feedback:

  1. Reduce excessive formatting — I'll trim bold/italic overuse and simplify the presentation
  2. Remove redundant content — I'll remove the sections that duplicate existing 'Submitting a patch', 'Metadata', and 'Scripts' content
  3. Move Code Comments section — I'll move it under 'Code Guidelines' where it belongs
  4. Consolidate duplicated content — I'll review the full CONTRIBUTING.md and merge any overlapping sections
  5. Out-of-scope suggestion — I'll create a separate issue for that as suggested

I'll also check if REVIEWERS-listed folks have had a chance to look. Will push updates shortly.

@stevehipwell
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Thanks for the thorough review, @stevehipwell. I'll work through all your feedback — particularly the points about: omitzero behavior for slices/maps, the Edit vs Update naming, request body type naming conventions, and the incorrect examples. Will push updates shortly.

@jlaportebot you've already covered some of that, the comments belong against specific commits and you need to reconcile that.

@gmlewis this PR looks useful, but I'm not sure it's worth this level of slop!?

Add detailed code style and documentation guidelines including:
- Method documentation conventions with godoc examples
- API endpoint documentation patterns
- Error handling guidelines
- Type naming and struct conventions
- Testing requirements and patterns

Co-authored-by: review feedback from google/go-github maintainers
@jlaportebot jlaportebot force-pushed the docs/extend-contributing-guidelines branch from 9e20dc8 to 4b63726 Compare May 19, 2026 20:50
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The code formatting is also off, specifically for the structs.

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Extend CONTRIBUTING.md with common code guidelines

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