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🤝 Contributing to CodePilot AI

Thank you for your interest in contributing! This project is open source and community-driven. Whether you're fixing a bug, adding a new problem, improving the UI, or enhancing the AI — every contribution matters. 🙌

🚀 Getting Started

  1. Fork the repository on GitHub
  2. Clone your fork locally: 
    git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/CodePilot-AI.git
cd CodePilot-AI
  3. Set up the development environment — follow the Quick Start guide
  4. Create a branch for your work: 
    git checkout -b feat/your-feature-name

🛠️ Development Setup

Prerequisites

  • 📦 Node.js 18+ and npm
  • 🐍 Python 3.10+
  • ⚡ A Judge0 instance (RapidAPI or self-hosted)
  • 🤖 An OpenAI API key (or any OpenAI-compatible provider)

Running Locally

# 🌐 Frontend
npm install
npm run dev

# 🐍 Backend (in a separate terminal)
cd server
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8000

The frontend runs at http://localhost:3000 and proxies API calls to the backend at http://localhost:8000.

💡 What You Can Contribute

🧩 New Problems

Add a JSON file to data/problems/. Each problem needs:

  • Unique ID matching the filename
  • Title, difficulty (Easy/Medium/Hard), and topic tags
  • Problem prompt with examples and constraints
  • Starter code for all 6 editor languages (Python, JS, TS, Java, C#, Go)
  • Visible and hidden test cases with per-language stdin support
  • AI notes (core idea, common bugs, expected complexity)

Use any existing problem file as a template.

📚 New Syntax Trainer Lessons

Add a JSON file to data/syntax/trainer/ following the naming convention {language}-{category}.json. Each lesson needs:

  • 3-5 sections with explanations, code examples, and exercises
  • Exercise validation rules (output matching and pattern checking)
  • Optional hints

See data/syntax/trainer/curriculum.json for the 13 category definitions.

🎨 UI Improvements

The frontend uses Next.js 14, React, Tailwind CSS, and Lucide icons. Key files:

  • app/page.tsx — Landing page
  • app/practice/page.tsx — Practice workspace
  • app/contact/page.tsx — Contact page
  • app/globals.css — Global styles and animations
  • components/ — All React components

⚙️ Backend Improvements

The backend uses Python FastAPI with Judge0 for code execution and OpenAI-compatible APIs for AI features. Key files:

  • server/main.py — API endpoints
  • server/services/judge0.py — Code execution
  • server/services/llm.py — AI/LLM integration
  • server/services/prompts.py — Prompt templates

🐛 Bug Fixes

Check the Issues tab for open bugs. When submitting a fix, reference the issue number in your PR.

📏 Code Style

  • 🔷 TypeScript — Use strict types. Avoid any. Follow existing patterns.
  • ⚛️ React — Functional components with hooks. No class components.
  • 🎨 Tailwind CSS — Use utility classes. Follow the existing dark theme (#0f1117 background, #161821 surface, border-gray-800 borders, brand-* for blue accents).
  • 🐍 Python — Follow PEP 8. Use type hints. Pydantic models for request/response schemas.
  • 📦 No unnecessary dependencies — Prefer built-in solutions. If you need a new package, explain why in the PR.

💬 Commit Messages

Use clear, concise commit messages that describe what changed and why:

feat: add binary tree zigzag traversal problem
fix: correct test case stdin for Java solutions
ui: improve code editor header with traffic light dots
docs: update README with new routing structure

📋 Pull Request Process

  1. 🎯 Keep PRs focused — One feature or fix per PR
  2. ✅ Test your changes — Make sure the app builds (npm run build) and runs without errors
  3. 📝 Update documentation — If your change affects the README or DOCUMENTATION.md, update them
  4. 💬 Write a clear PR description — Explain what you changed, why, and how to test it
  5. 🔗 Link related issues — Reference any GitHub issues your PR addresses

🗂️ Project Structure at a Glance

app/              → 🌐 Next.js pages and API routes
components/       → 🧱 React UI components
data/problems/    → 🧩 100 algorithm problem definitions (JSON)
data/syntax/      → 📚 Syntax trainer lessons and curriculum (JSON)
lib/              → 🔧 Shared TypeScript utilities and types
server/           → 🐍 Python FastAPI backend
public/           → 🖼️ Static assets

📬 Contact

🙏 Thank you for helping make CodePilot AI better for everyone!