Contributing to MemU

December 29, 2025 · View on GitHub

Thank you for your interest in contributing to MemU! This document provides guidelines and information for contributors.

🌟 Ways to Contribute

We welcome all types of contributions:

🐛 Bug Reports - Help us identify and fix issues
💡 Feature Requests - Suggest new capabilities and improvements
📝 Documentation - Improve guides, examples, and API docs
🔧 Code Contributions - Add features, fix bugs, optimize performance
🧪 Testing - Write tests, improve coverage, test edge cases
🎨 UI/UX - Enhance user experience and interface design
🌐 Translations - Help make MemU accessible globally
📢 Community - Help others in discussions and support channels

🚀 Quick Start for Contributors

Prerequisites

Python 3.13+
Git
uv (Python package manager)
A code editor (VS Code recommended)

Development Setup

# 1. Fork the repository on GitHub
# 2. Clone your fork locally
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/MemU.git
cd MemU

# 3. Install uv if you haven't already
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# 4. Install development dependencies and pre-commit hooks
make install

# 5. Verify setup by running tests
make test

Available Commands

make install           # Create virtual environment and install dependencies with uv
make test              # Run tests with pytest and coverage
make check             # Run all checks (lock file, pre-commit, mypy, deptry)

🔧 Development Guidelines

Code Style

Follow PEP 8 Python style guidelines
Use Ruff for code formatting and linting (line length: 120)
Use type hints for all functions and methods
Write docstrings for public APIs

Code Quality Standards

Maintain test coverage > 80%
All code must pass linting (ruff, mypy)
Use meaningful variable and function names
Keep functions focused and small
Follow SOLID principles

Testing

# Run all tests with coverage
make test

# Run tests directly with pytest
uv run python -m pytest

# Run with coverage report
uv run python -m pytest --cov --cov-config=pyproject.toml --cov-report=html

# Run specific test file
uv run python -m pytest tests/rust_entry_test.py

# Run tests with specific marker
uv run python -m pytest -m "not slow"

📝 Submitting Changes

Before You Start

Search existing issues to avoid duplicates
Create an issue for new features or major changes
Discuss your approach in the issue before implementing

Creating Issues

When reporting bugs, please include:

Environment details (Python version, OS, MemU version)
Reproduction steps with minimal code example
Expected vs actual behavior
Error messages or stack traces

For feature requests, please describe:

The problem you're trying to solve
Proposed solution or approach
Alternative solutions you've considered
Use cases and examples

Pull Request Process

Create a feature branch

git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
# or for bug fixes
git checkout -b bugfix/fix-memory-leak

Make your changes
- Write clear, descriptive commit messages
- Keep commits focused and atomic
- Add tests for new functionality
- Update documentation as needed
Test your changes
```
make test
make lint
make coverage
```
Submit pull request
- Use descriptive title and description
- Reference related issues (e.g., "Fixes #123")
- Include testing instructions
- Add screenshots for UI changes

Commit Message Format

Use conventional commit format:

type(scope): description

Examples:
feat(memory): add semantic search functionality
fix(llm): resolve OpenAI timeout issues
docs(readme): update installation instructions
test(agent): add unit tests for memory retrieval
refactor(core): restructure memory storage logic

Types:

feat: New feature
fix: Bug fix
docs: Documentation changes
test: Adding or fixing tests
refactor: Code restructuring without feature changes
perf: Performance improvements
chore: Maintenance tasks

🎯 Current Priorities

We're currently focusing on:

Priority	Area	Description
🔥 High	Multi-modal Support	Images, audio, video memory processing
🔥 High	Performance	Memory retrieval optimization, caching
🔥 High	LLM Providers	Additional provider integrations
🟡 Medium	Enterprise Features	SSO, RBAC, audit logging
🟡 Medium	Mobile SDKs	React Native, Flutter support
🟢 Low	UI Improvements	Dashboard, memory visualization

🏷️ Issue Labels

Label	Description
`good first issue`	Perfect for newcomers
`help wanted`	Extra attention needed
`bug`	Something isn't working
`enhancement`	New feature request
`documentation`	Improvements to docs
`performance`	Performance optimization
`breaking change`	Requires version bump
`priority:high`	Urgent issues
`priority:medium`	Important issues
`priority:low`	Nice to have

📋 Code Review Process

For Contributors

Be open to feedback and constructive criticism
Respond promptly to review comments
Make requested changes in new commits (don't force push)
Ask questions if feedback is unclear

For Reviewers

Be constructive and respectful in feedback
Focus on code quality, maintainability, and project goals
Suggest improvements with explanations
Approve when ready, request changes when needed

🔒 Security

Reporting Security Issues:

DO NOT create public issues for security vulnerabilities
Email security issues privately to contact@nevamind.ai
Include detailed reproduction steps and impact assessment
We'll acknowledge receipt within 24 hours

📄 License and Attribution

By contributing to MemU, you agree that:

Your contributions will be licensed under the Apache License 2.0
You have the right to contribute the code/content
Your contribution doesn't violate any third-party rights

🌍 Community Guidelines

Be respectful and inclusive
Follow our Code of Conduct
Help others learn and grow
Share knowledge and best practices
Celebrate diverse perspectives and experiences

📞 Getting Help

Channel	Best For
💬 Discord	Real-time chat, quick questions
🗣️ GitHub Discussions	Feature discussions, Q&A
🐛 GitHub Issues	Bug reports, feature requests
📧 Email	Private inquiries

🎉 Recognition

Contributors are recognized in:

README.md contributors section
Release notes for significant contributions
Our Contributors page

Thank you for helping make MemU better! 🚀