Contributing to CBOR Viewer

February 8, 2026 · View on GitHub

Thank you for your interest in contributing to CBOR Viewer! This document provides guidelines and instructions for contributing.

Code of Conduct

By participating in this project, you agree to maintain a respectful and inclusive environment for all contributors.

How to Contribute

Reporting Bugs

If you find a bug, please create an issue with:

  • A clear, descriptive title
  • Steps to reproduce the issue
  • Expected behavior
  • Actual behavior
  • VS Code version and extension version
  • Sample CBOR file (if applicable and not sensitive)

Suggesting Enhancements

Enhancement suggestions are welcome! Please create an issue with:

  • A clear, descriptive title
  • Detailed description of the proposed feature
  • Use cases and benefits
  • Any relevant examples or mockups

Pull Requests

  1. Fork the repository and create a new branch from main
  2. Make your changes:
    • Follow the existing code style
    • Add tests for new functionality
    • Update documentation as needed
  3. Test your changes: 
    npm run compile
npm run lint
npm test
  4. Commit your changes:
    • Use clear, descriptive commit messages
    • Reference any related issues
  5. Push to your fork and submit a pull request

Development Setup

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 18 or higher
  • npm 9 or higher
  • Visual Studio Code 1.93.0 or higher
  • Git

Getting Started

# Clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/vscode-cbor-viewer.git
cd vscode-cbor-viewer

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Run tests
npm test

# Watch mode for development
npm run watch

Testing the Extension

  1. Open the project in VS Code
  2. Press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host
  3. Open a .cbor, .cose, or .cbor-seq file to test the extension

Project Structure

vscode-cbor-viewer/
├── src/
│   ├── extension.ts           # Extension entry point
│   ├── cborEditorProvider.ts  # Custom editor implementation
│   ├── cborDecoder.ts         # CBOR decoding logic
│   ├── inMemoryFileSystem.ts  # In-memory FS (hex viewing without disk writes)
│   └── test/
│       ├── runTest.ts         # Test runner
│       └── suite/
│           ├── index.ts       # Test suite setup
│           └── *.test.ts      # Test files
├── test/
│   └── fixtures/              # Test CBOR files
├── package.json               # Extension manifest
├── tsconfig.json             # TypeScript configuration
└── eslint.config.mjs         # ESLint configuration

Coding Standards

TypeScript

  • Use TypeScript strict mode
  • Provide type annotations for public APIs
  • Avoid any types when possible
  • Use ES2022 features

Code Style

  • Follow the existing code style
  • Use 4 spaces for indentation
  • Use single quotes for strings
  • Run npm run lint before committing

Testing

  • Write tests for new features
  • Maintain or improve code coverage
  • Test edge cases and error conditions
  • Use descriptive test names

Documentation

  • Update README.md for user-facing changes
  • Add inline comments for complex logic
  • Update CHANGELOG.md with all changes
  • Document new APIs and functions

If you add a new setting, update package.json contributes.configuration and document it in README.md.

Security

Reporting Security Issues

If you discover a security vulnerability, please email the maintainers directly instead of creating a public issue. Include:

  • Description of the vulnerability
  • Steps to reproduce
  • Potential impact
  • Suggested fixes (if any)

Security Best Practices

  • Never commit sensitive data or credentials
  • Validate all inputs
  • Use Content Security Policy for webviews
  • Follow principle of least privilege
  • Keep dependencies up to date

Release Process

Publishing is automated via GitHub Actions.

  1. Update version in package.json (SemVer)
  2. Update CHANGELOG.md
  3. Run the GitHub Actions workflow Create Release (tag + GitHub Release)
    • It creates the vX.Y.Z tag and a GitHub Release for the current commit.
  4. Publish the GitHub Release
    • The Publish Extension workflow runs on release publish and will run npm run test:coverage, package a VSIX, and publish to the Marketplace.

Questions?

If you have questions about contributing, feel free to:

  • Open an issue for discussion
  • Check existing issues and pull requests
  • Review the project documentation

License

By contributing to CBOR Viewer, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

Thank you for contributing! 🎉