Contributing to PVDeg

March 6, 2026 · View on GitHub

Thank you for your interest in contributing to PVDeg! We welcome contributions from the community.

📖 For comprehensive contributing guidelines, see the Contributing Guide in our documentation.

This document provides a quick reference for getting started.

Quick Start for Developers

# 1. Fork and clone
git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/PVDegradationTools.git
cd PVDegradationTools

# 2. Create environment (choose venv or conda)
python -m venv pvdeg-dev
source pvdeg-dev/bin/activate  # Windows: pvdeg-dev\Scripts\activate

# 3. Install in editable mode with all dependencies
pip install -e .[all]

# 4. Install pre-commit hooks
pre-commit install

# 5. (Optional, required for HPC) Register Jupyter kernel
python -m ipykernel install --user --name=pvdeg-dev

👉 See detailed installation instructions, environment options, and troubleshooting in the documentation.

Pre-commit Hooks

Pre-commit hooks automatically run code quality checks (black, flake8, jupytext, etc.) before each commit.

Manual runs:

pre-commit run --all-files              # All hooks on all files
pre-commit run --files path/to/file.py  # Specific files

👉 See Pre-commit Hooks documentation for details on what each hook does and jupytext synchronization.

Validating Notebook Outputs

When contributing notebook changes, validate outputs cleanly to avoid environment-specific formatting issues:

Single notebook:

jupyter nbconvert --to notebook --execute --inplace "tutorials/01_basics/01_basics_humidity_design.ipynb"

All notebooks in a category:

jupyter nbconvert --to notebook --execute --inplace "tutorials/01_basics/*.ipynb"

Ways to Contribute

Code Contributions

  • Follow PEP 8 style (88 character line length)
  • Include tests for new functionality
  • Add/update docstrings (numpydoc format)
  • Update documentation as needed

👉 See Code Contributions for detailed guidelines, examples, and testing instructions.

Database Contributions

PVDeg maintains community-driven open datasets for PV degradation modeling. We welcome contributions of validated material properties and degradation parameters!

Databases in pvdeg/data/:

  • DegradationDatabase.json: Kinetic parameters, activation energies
  • H2Opermeation.json: Water vapor permeation for encapsulants/backsheets
  • O2permeation.json: Oxygen permeation properties
  • AApermeation.json: Acetic acid permeation data
  • albedo.json: UV-albedo for different surface types

Quick guidelines:

  • Use peer-reviewed sources
  • Follow existing JSON structure
  • Include proper citations (DOI preferred)
  • Specify units and measurement conditions
  • Validate JSON syntax before submitting

👉 See Database Contributions for detailed guidelines, data quality requirements, and JSON examples.

Submitting Changes

# 1. Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/my-feature

# 2. Make changes and commit (pre-commit runs automatically)
git add .
git commit -m "Description of changes"

# 3. Push and open Pull Request
git push origin feature/my-feature

Pull Request Checklist:

  • Tests pass (pytest)
  • Pre-commit hooks pass
  • Documentation updated
  • Changelog entry added (if user-facing change)

👉 See Submitting Changes for the complete checklist and review process.

Additional Resources

Contributor License Agreement

First-time contributors must sign the Contributor License Agreement. When you submit your first pull request, a bot will comment with instructions.