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Contributing to Acode

Thank you for your interest in contributing to Acode! This guide will help you get started with development.

Quick Start Options

Option 1: DevContainer (Recommended)

  1. Install the Dev Containers extension in VS Code or other editors that support DevContainers.

  2. Clone and open the repository:

    git clone https://github.com/Acode-Foundation/Acode.git
code Acode

  3. When VS Code prompts "Reopen in Container", click it

    • Or use Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P) → "Dev Containers: Reopen in Container"

  4. Wait for the container to build (~5-10 minutes first time, subsequent opens are instant)

  5. Once ready, build the APK:

    pnpm run build paid dev apk

    Use any package manager (pnpm, bun, npm, yarn, etc.)

Option 2: Docker CLI (For Any Editor)

If your editor doesn't support DevContainers, you can use Docker directly:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Acode-Foundation/Acode.git
cd Acode

# Build the Docker image from our Dockerfile
docker build -t acode-dev .devcontainer/

# Run the container with your code mounted
docker run -it --rm \
  -v "$(pwd):/workspaces/acode" \
  -w /workspaces/acode \
  acode-dev \
  bash

# Inside the container, run setup and build
# bun run setup && bun run build paid dev apk
pnpm run setup
pnpm run build paid dev apk # or pnpm run build p d

Keep container running for repeated use:

# Start container in background
docker run -d --name acode-dev \
  -v "$(pwd):/workspaces/acode" \
  -w /workspaces/acode \
  acode-dev \
  sleep infinity

# Execute commands in the running container
docker exec -it acode-dev bash -c "pnpm run setup"
docker exec -it acode-dev pnpm run build paid dev apk

# Stop and remove when done
docker stop acode-dev && docker rm acode-dev

🛠️ Manual Setup (Without Docker)

If you prefer not to use Docker at all:

Prerequisites

Requirement Version
Node.js 18+ (22 recommended)
pnpm or bun Latest
Java JDK 17+ (21 recommended)
Android SDK API 35
Gradle 8.x

Environment Setup

Add these to your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.config/fish/config.fish):

macOS:

export ANDROID_HOME="$HOME/Library/Android/sdk"
export PATH="$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools:$ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/latest/bin"

Linux:

export ANDROID_HOME="$HOME/Android/Sdk"
export PATH="$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools:$ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/latest/bin"

Some more environment variables, check cordova docs.

Build Steps

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Acode-Foundation/Acode.git
cd Acode

# Install dependencies and set up Cordova
pnpm run setup

# Build the APK
pnpm run build paid dev apk # or pnpm run build p d

The APK will be at: platforms/android/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

📝 Contribution Guidelines

Before Submitting a PR

  1. Fork the repository and create a branch from main
  2. Make changes - keep commits focused and atomic
  3. Check code quality: 
    pnpm run check
  4. Test on a device or emulator if possible

Pull Request Checklist

  • Clear description of changes
  • Reference to related issue (if applicable)
  • Screenshots/GIFs for UI changes
  • Passing CI checks

Code Style

We use Biome for linting and formatting:

  • Run pnpm run check before committing
  • Install the Biome VS Code extension for auto-formatting

Commit Messages

Use clear, descriptive messages:

feat: add dark mode toggle to settings
fix: resolve crash when opening large files
docs: update build instructions
refactor: simplify file loading logic

🌍 Adding Translations

  1. Create a JSON file in src/lang/ (e.g., fr-fr.json for French)
  2. Add it to src/lib/lang.js
  3. Use the translation utilities: 
    pnpm run lang add       # Add new string
pnpm run lang remove    # Remove string
pnpm run lang search    # Search strings
pnpm run lang update    # Update translations

ℹ️ Adding New Icons (to the existing font family)

Note

Acode uses SVG and converts them into a font family, to be used inside the editor and generally for plugin devs.

Plugin-specific icons SHOULD NOT be added into the editor. Only generally helpful icons SHOULD BE added

Many font editing software and web-based tools exist for this purpose. Some of them are listed below.

Name Platform
https://icomoon.io/ Free (Web-Based, PWA-supported, Offline-supported)
https://fontforge.org/ Open-Source (Linux, Mac, Windows)

Steps in Icomoon to add new Icons

  1. Download the code-editor-icon.icomoon.json file from https://github.com/Acode-Foundation/Acode/tree/main/utils
  2. Go to https://icomoon.io/ > Import
  3. Import the code-editor-icon.icomoon.json downloaded (in step 1)
  4. All icons will be displayed after importing.
  5. Import the SVG icon created/downloaded to be added to the Font Family.
  6. On the right side, press enable Show Characters & Show Names to view the Unicode character & Name for that icon.
  7. Provided the newly added SVG icon with a name (in the name box).
  8. Repeat Step 5 and Step 7 until all needed new icons are added.
  9. Press the export icon from the top left-hand side.
  10. Press the download button, and a zip file will be downloaded.
  11. Go to the Projects section of icomoon, uncollapse/expand the Project named code-editor-icon and press the save button (this downloads the project file named: code-editor-icon.icomoon.json)

Updating Project files for Icon Contribution

  1. Extract the downloaded zip file; navigate to the fonts folder inside it.
  2. Rename code-editor-icon.ttf to icons.ttf.
  3. Copy & paste the renamed icons.ttf into https://github.com/Acode-Foundation/Acode/tree/main/src/res/icons
  4. Copy and paste the code-editor-icon.icomoon.json file (downloaded in the adding icons steps) onto https://github.com/Acode-Foundation/Acode/tree/main/utils (yes, replace it with the newer one; we downloaded!)
  5. Commit the changes ON A NEW branch (by following: Commit Messages guide)

🔌 Plugin Development

To create plugins for Acode: