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Contributing to ToolHive

First off, thank you for taking the time to contribute to ToolHive! 👍 🎉 ToolHive is released under the Apache 2.0 license. If you would like to contribute something or want to hack on the code, this document should help you get started. You can find some hints for starting development in ToolHive's README.

Table of contents

Code of conduct

This project adheres to the Contributor Covenant code of conduct. By participating, you are expected to uphold this code. Please report unacceptable behavior to code-of-conduct@stacklok.dev.

Reporting security vulnerabilities

If you think you have found a security vulnerability in ToolHive please DO NOT disclose it publicly until we've had a chance to fix it. Please don't report security vulnerabilities using GitHub issues; instead, please follow this process

How to contribute

Using GitHub Issues

We use GitHub issues to track bugs and enhancements. If you have a general usage question, please ask in ToolHive's discussion forum.

If you are reporting a bug, please help to speed up problem diagnosis by providing as much information as possible. Ideally, that would include a small sample project that reproduces the problem.

Not sure how to start contributing?

PRs to resolve existing issues are greatly appreciated, and issues labeled as "good first issue" are a great place to start!

Claiming an issue

If you'd like to work on an existing issue:

  1. Leave a comment saying "I'd like to work on this"
  2. Wait for a team member to assign you before starting work

This helps us avoid situations where multiple people work on the same thing. If you create an issue with the intent to implement it yourself, mention that in the description so we know you're planning to submit a PR.

What to expect

Reviews of external contributions are on a best effort basis. ToolHive moves fast, so priorities can shift. We may occasionally need to pick up urgent issues ourselves, but we'll always coordinate with active contributors first.

Pull request process

  • -All commits must include a Signed-off-by trailer at the end of each commit message to indicate that the contributor agrees to the Developer Certificate of Origin. For additional details, check out the DCO instructions.
  • Create an issue outlining the fix or feature.
  • Fork the ToolHive repository to your own GitHub account and clone it locally.
  • Hack on your changes.
  • Correctly format your commit messages, see Commit message guidelines below.
  • Open a PR by ensuring the title and its description reflect the content of the PR.
  • Ensure that CI passes, if it fails, fix the failures.
  • Every pull request requires a review from the core ToolHive team before merging.
  • Once approved, all of your commits will be squashed into a single commit with your PR title.

Testing requirements

  • Add end-to-end tests for new features covering both API and CLI flows.
  • Write unit tests for new code alongside the source files.

Code quality expectations

Pull request authors are responsible for:

  • Keeping PRs small and focused. PRs exceeding 1000 lines may be blocked and require splitting into multiple PRs or logical commits before review. If a large PR is unavoidable, include an explanation in the PR description justifying the size and describing how the changes are organized for review.
  • Reviewing all submitted code, regardless of whether it's AI-generated or hand-written.
  • Manually testing changes to verify new or existing features work correctly.
  • Ensuring coding style guidelines are followed.
  • Respecting architecture boundaries and design patterns.

Contributing to docs

The ToolHive user documentation website is maintained in the docs-website repository. If you want to contribute to the documentation, please open a PR in that repo.

Please review the README and STYLE-GUIDE in the docs-website repository for more information on how to contribute to the documentation.

Contributing to design proposals

Design proposals for ToolHive have been moved to a dedicated repository:

github.com/stacklok/toolhive-rfcs

This RFC repository serves the entire ToolHive ecosystem, including the CLI, Studio, Registry, and Cloud UI.

How to submit an RFC

  1. Start a thread on Discord to gather initial feedback (optional but recommended)
  2. Fork the toolhive-rfcs repository
  3. Copy rfcs/0000-template.md to rfcs/THV-XXXX-descriptive-name.md (use the next available PR number)
  4. Fill in the RFC template with your proposal
  5. Submit a pull request

For detailed guidelines on writing and submitting RFCs, see the CONTRIBUTING.md in the toolhive-rfcs repository.

Commit message guidelines

We follow the commit formatting recommendations found on Chris Beams' How to Write a Git Commit Message article:

  1. Separate subject from body with a blank line
  2. Limit the subject line to 50 characters
  3. Capitalize the subject line
  4. Do not end the subject line with a period
  5. Use the imperative mood in the subject line
  6. Use the body to explain what and why vs. how

API Stability

The v1beta1 operator API is stable. CRD schemas and Go types under cmd/thv-operator/api/v1beta1/ carry a compatibility commitment to users running the published operator chart. Contributors must not:

  • Remove or rename any field, type, or CRD kind in v1beta1.
  • Change a field's Go type, JSON tag, or OpenAPI schema type.
  • Add new required fields to existing types.
  • Narrow validation rules (smaller maxLength, stricter pattern, fewer enum values).
  • Rename a finalizer or change a CRD shortName.
  • Flip a CRD's spec.scope between Namespaced and Cluster.
  • Un-serve a currently-served version without a deprecation-cycle release.

New fields must be optional. New behaviour must be opt-in via new fields. The CRD Schema Compatibility CI check enforces the CRD side of this contract against the last published release tag on every PR that touches cmd/thv-operator/api/** or deploy/charts/operator-crds/files/crds/**.

The api-break-allowed escape hatch

If you have a genuine reason to break the API — the main expected use case is graduation to v1beta2 — apply the api-break-allowed label to the PR. This skips the compatibility check.

Before applying the label:

  1. Coordinate with maintainers first. Open a Discord thread or an issue describing what you are breaking and why.
  2. Describe the break in the PR description. Spell out which API elements are changing, what clusters need to do to migrate, and whether downstream consumers (CLI, chart users, operator integrations) need coordinated releases.
  3. Do not use the label to silence a false positive. If the check fires on a change you believe is non-breaking, file a bug against the workflow — silencing it hides real breaks on subsequent PRs.