Contributing to Draftly

August 18, 2026 · View on GitHub

Thank you for your interest in contributing to Draftly! We welcome contributions from the community and are excited to have you on board.

Table of Contents

Code of Conduct

By participating in this project, you agree to maintain a respectful and inclusive environment for everyone. Please be kind and constructive in all interactions.

Getting Started

  1. Fork the repository on GitHub.
  2. Clone your fork locally: 
    git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/draftly.git
cd draftly
  3. Add the upstream remote: 
    git remote add upstream https://github.com/NeuroNexul/draftly.git

Development Setup

Prerequisites

  • Node.js >= 20
  • Bun >= 1.3.5 (package manager)

Install Dependencies

bun install

Start Development Server

bun dev

This starts the development server with hot reloading for both the web app and the draftly package.

Build

bun run build

Lint & Format

# Lint all packages (read-only; fails on errors)
bun run lint

# Apply Biome's safe lint fixes across all packages
bun run lint:fix

# Format code with Biome
bun run format

# Lint + format the whole repo in one pass, from the root
bun run check          # report only
bun run check:fix      # write fixes

Project Structure

This is a monorepo managed with Turborepo.

draftly/
├── apps/
│   └── web/              # Next.js web application (playground)
├── packages/
│   └── draftly/          # Core library (published to npm)
│       ├── src/
│       │   ├── editor/   # CodeMirror editor integration
│       │   ├── plugins/  # Built-in plugins
│       │   └── preview/  # Static HTML renderer
│       └── package.json
├── package.json          # Root workspace config
├── turbo.json            # Turborepo config
└── README.md

Making Changes

Branch Naming

Use descriptive branch names:

  • feature/add-table-plugin – New features
  • fix/image-rendering-bug – Bug fixes
  • docs/update-readme – Documentation
  • refactor/plugin-architecture – Code refactoring

Commit Messages

Follow Conventional Commits:

feat: add table plugin support
fix: resolve image widget rendering issue
docs: update installation instructions
refactor: simplify plugin registration
chore: update dependencies

Changesets

We use Changesets for versioning. If your change affects the public API or fixes a bug, add a changeset:

bun run changeset

Follow the prompts to describe your changes. This creates a file in .changeset/ that will be used to generate the changelog.

Submitting a Pull Request

  1. Sync with upstream:

    git fetch upstream
git rebase upstream/main

  2. Push your branch:

    git push origin your-branch-name

  3. Open a Pull Request on GitHub against the main branch.

  4. Fill out the PR template with:

    • A clear description of the changes
    • Related issue numbers (if any)
    • Screenshots for UI changes

  5. Wait for review – maintainers will review your PR and may request changes.

Coding Guidelines

TypeScript

  • Use strict TypeScript – avoid any where possible.
  • Export types from index.ts files.
  • Use descriptive variable and function names.

Code Style

  • We use Biome for both linting and formatting – run bun run check:fix before committing.
  • Shared configuration lives in packages/biome-config; each workspace has a small biome.json that extends it. See that package's README for the layer breakdown.
  • Formatting matches the repository's previous Prettier settings: 2 spaces, double quotes, semicolons, printWidth/lineWidth 120, ES5 trailing commas, LF.

Plugins

When creating a new plugin:

  1. Create a new file in packages/draftly/src/plugins/.
  2. Extend the DraftlyPlugin base class.
  3. Export the plugin from packages/draftly/src/plugins/index.ts.
  4. Add the plugin to the createEssentialPlugins() factory if it should be included by default. If it pulls a heavy third-party dependency, give it its own entry point instead (see src/plugins/mermaid.ts) and add it to createAllPlugins() in src/plugins/all.ts.
  5. Update documentation if needed.

Testing

  • Test your changes in the playground app (apps/web).
  • Ensure the build passes: bun run build.
  • Ensure linting passes: bun run lint.

Reporting Issues

Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue with:

  • Bug reports: Steps to reproduce, expected behavior, actual behavior, screenshots if applicable.
  • Feature requests: Clear description of the feature and its use case.

Questions?

Feel free to open a Discussion or reach out to the maintainers.

Thank you for contributing! 🎉