Contributing to EquilateralAgents Open Core

October 4, 2025 · View on GitHub

First off, thank you for considering contributing to EquilateralAgents! It's people like you that make EquilateralAgents such a great tool. 🎉

Table of Contents

Code of Conduct

This project and everyone participating in it is governed by our Code of Conduct. By participating, you are expected to uphold this code.

Important: CLA Required

⚠️ All contributors MUST sign our Contributor License Agreement (CLA)

Before we can accept your contribution, you need to sign our CLA. This allows us to:

  • Include your contribution in both open source and commercial versions
  • Protect the project's dual licensing model
  • Ensure clear intellectual property rights

👉 Read and sign the CLA

First-time contributors should include "I have read and agree to the CLA" in their PR description.

What Can I Contribute?

We love contributions in these areas:

✅ Encouraged Contributions

  1. New Open Source Agents

    • Development tools agents
    • Testing utilities
    • Documentation generators
    • Linting/formatting agents

  2. Bug Fixes

    • Core orchestrator issues
    • Agent communication bugs
    • Error handling improvements

  3. Documentation

    • Tutorials and guides
    • API documentation
    • Example workflows
    • Translation to other languages

  4. Tests

    • Unit tests
    • Integration tests
    • Example test scenarios

  5. Developer Experience

    • CLI improvements
    • Better error messages
    • Debugging tools
    • Development utilities

🎯 High-Priority Areas

Check our GitHub Issues for:

  • Issues labeled good first issue
  • Issues labeled help wanted
  • Issues labeled community

What NOT to Contribute

Please DO NOT submit PRs for:

❌ Commercial Features

These are reserved for our commercial license:

  • Advanced execution patterns
  • Enterprise persistence solutions
  • Premium AI model integrations
  • Enterprise authentication (SSO, SAML)
  • Team collaboration features
  • Monitoring dashboards
  • Performance optimizations for scale

❌ Breaking Changes

  • Changes that break existing APIs
  • Major architectural changes without discussion
  • Removal of existing features

❌ Licensed Dependencies

  • Dependencies with incompatible licenses
  • Commercial or proprietary code
  • Code copied from other projects without permission

If unsure, ask first! Open an issue to discuss before implementing.

How to Contribute

1. Fork and Clone

# Fork on GitHub, then:
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/equilateral-open-core.git
cd equilateral-open-core
git remote add upstream https://github.com/equilateral/open-core.git

2. Create a Branch

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
# or
git checkout -b fix/issue-description

3. Make Your Changes

  • Write clean, readable code
  • Follow existing code style
  • Add tests for new features
  • Update documentation

4. Test Your Changes

npm test                    # Run tests
npm run demo               # Test with demo
npm run playground         # Test interactively

5. Commit Your Changes

git add .
git commit -m "feat: add new awesome feature

- Detailed description of what changed
- Why this change was needed
- Any breaking changes or notes

I have read and agree to the CLA"  # First time only

Follow Conventional Commits:

  • feat: New feature
  • fix: Bug fix
  • docs: Documentation only
  • test: Adding tests
  • chore: Maintenance

6. Push and Create PR

git push origin feature/your-feature-name

Then create a Pull Request on GitHub.

Pull Request Process

PR Requirements

Your PR must:

  1. ✅ Pass all tests
  2. ✅ Include tests for new features
  3. ✅ Update documentation if needed
  4. ✅ Follow code style guidelines
  5. ✅ Have a clear description
  6. ✅ Reference any related issues
  7. ✅ Include CLA agreement (first time)

PR Template

## Description
Brief description of changes

## Type of Change
- [ ] Bug fix
- [ ] New feature
- [ ] Documentation update
- [ ] Performance improvement

## Testing
- [ ] Tests pass locally
- [ ] Added new tests
- [ ] Manual testing completed

## Checklist
- [ ] I have read the CLA
- [ ] My code follows the style guidelines
- [ ] I have performed a self-review
- [ ] I have commented complex code
- [ ] I have updated documentation
- [ ] My changes generate no new warnings

## Related Issues
Fixes #123

Review Process

  1. Automated checks run immediately
  2. Community review within 48 hours
  3. Core team review within 1 week
  4. Merge after approval

Development Setup

Prerequisites

  • Node.js >= 16.0.0
  • npm >= 8.0.0
  • Git

Local Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run tests
npm test

# Run demo
npm run demo

# Run specific agent
npm run agents -- --agent code-analyzer

# Run in watch mode
npm run dev

Project Structure

equilateral-open-core/
├── equilateral-core/      # Core orchestrator
│   ├── AgentOrchestrator.js
│   └── BaseAgent.js
├── agent-packs/            # Bundled agents
│   ├── development/
│   ├── security/
│   └── infrastructure/
├── examples/               # Example usage
├── docs/                   # Documentation
└── tests/                  # Test suite

Code Style

  • Use 4 spaces for indentation
  • Use meaningful variable names
  • Add JSDoc comments for functions
  • Keep functions small and focused
  • Write tests for new features

Community

Get Help

Recognition

Contributors are recognized in:

  • CONTRIBUTORS.md - All contributors
  • Release notes - Per-release contributors
  • Website - Major contributors
  • Swag - Active contributors get EquilateralAgents swag!

Becoming a Core Contributor

Active contributors may be invited to become Core Contributors with:

  • Write access to the repository
  • Voice in project direction
  • Early access to commercial features
  • Recognition on website

Questions?

Not sure about something? That's fine! Feel free to:

  1. Open an issue for discussion
  2. Ask in Discord #general channel
  3. Email info@happyhippo.ai

We're here to help and excited to see what you build!

Thank you for contributing to EquilateralAgents! Together we're building the future of intelligent automation. 🚀