Contributing to bashunit

June 13, 2026 · View on GitHub

Welcome! This guide will help you contribute to the bashunit testing framework.

Quick Start

  1. Fork and clone the repository
  2. Set up your development environment
  3. Find an issue to work on (good first issues)
  4. Make your changes following our guidelines
  5. Submit a Pull Request

Table of Contents

Code of Conduct

This project follows a Contributor Code of Conduct. By participating, you agree to abide by its terms.

License

Contributions are licensed under the MIT License.

Development Setup

Prerequisites

Setup

# Clone and setup
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/bashunit.git
cd bashunit
git remote add upstream https://github.com/TypedDevs/bashunit.git

# Install pre-commit hooks
make pre_commit/install

# Verify setup
make test && make sa && make lint

Documentation Setup (Optional)

Docs live in their own workspace under docs/ with an isolated package.json.

nvm use  # Uses .nvmrc version
cd docs
npm ci
npm run dev

Making Changes

Finding Issues

Branch Naming Convention

Create descriptive branch names:

# For new features
git checkout -b feat/add-new-assertion

# For bug fixes
git checkout -b fix/resolve-test-timeout

# For documentation
git checkout -b doc/improve-installation-guide

# For refactoring
git checkout -b ref/simplify-runner-logic

Commit Guidelines

Format

Use Conventional Commits:

<type>(<scope>): <description>

Types: feat, fix, docs, style, refactor, test, chore

Examples:

feat(assert): add assert_file_contains function
fix(runner): resolve test timeout in parallel execution
docs(readme): update installation instructions

Best Practices

  • Keep commits atomic (one logical change)
  • Reference issues with "Closes #123"
  • Set up git identity: 
    git config user.name "Your Name"
git config user.email "your.email@example.com"

🐛 Reporting Bugs

When reporting bugs, please include:

Bug Report Template

**Description**
A clear description of what the bug is.

**To Reproduce**
Steps to reproduce the behavior:
1. Run command '...'
2. With these test files '...'
3. See error

**Expected Behavior**
What you expected to happen.

**Actual Behavior**
What actually happened.

**Environment**
- OS: [e.g., macOS 12.0, Ubuntu 20.04]
- Bash version: [e.g., 5.1.8]
- bashunit version: [e.g., 0.24.0]

**Additional Context**
- Test files (if applicable)
- Error messages
- Screenshots (if helpful)

Please post code and output as text using proper markdown formatting. Screenshots are welcome for additional context.

Pull Request Process

Before Starting

  1. Search existing issues to avoid duplicates
  2. For significant changes, create an issue first to discuss your approach
  3. Keep PRs focused (one feature/fix per PR)

Creating a PR

# Update your fork
git checkout main
git pull upstream main
git push origin main

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

# Make changes, then test
make test && make sa && make lint

# Push and create PR
git push origin feature/your-feature-name

Then create the PR on GitHub, fill out the template, and link related issues.

What Happens Next?

  1. Automated checks - GitHub Actions will run tests and code quality checks
  2. Review process - Maintainers will review your code and provide feedback
  3. Address feedback - Make requested changes and push updates
  4. Approval and merge - Once approved, maintainers will merge your PR

Review Guidelines

  • Be patient - Reviews take time, especially for complex changes
  • Be responsive - Address feedback promptly
  • Be collaborative - Work with reviewers to improve the code
  • Learn from feedback - Use reviews as learning opportunities

Documentation

Documentation is built with VitePress and lives in docs/ as its own npm workspace.

nvm use
cd docs
npm ci
npm run dev    # Start dev server
npm run build  # Build and test

Guidelines: Keep it simple, include examples, test all code examples.

Configuration

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env with your settings.

Testing

make test  # Full test suite
./bashunit tests/**/*_test.sh  # Direct
make test/watch  # With file watching

Guidelines: Write tests first (TDD), test edge cases, use descriptive names, test on multiple environments.

Cross-Platform Testing

Supported: Linux (Ubuntu, Alpine), macOS, Windows (WSL/Git Bash)

# Docker testing
make docker/alpine
make docker/ubuntu

# NixOS
nix-shell --pure --run "./bashunit --simple --parallel"

Testing with Bash 3.0

bashunit supports Bash 3.0+. A dedicated Dockerfile is provided at local/Dockerfile.bash3 to compile Bash 3.0 from source for compatibility testing. This is the same setup used in CI.

# Build the Bash 3.0 image
docker build -t bashunit-bash3 -f local/Dockerfile.bash3 .

# Run all tests under Bash 3.0
docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/bashunit -w /bashunit bashunit-bash3 \
  /opt/bash-3.0/bin/bash ./bashunit tests/

# Run tests in parallel
docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/bashunit -w /bashunit bashunit-bash3 \
  /opt/bash-3.0/bin/bash ./bashunit --parallel tests/

# Open an interactive Bash 3.0 shell for debugging
docker run --rm -it -v "$(pwd)":/bashunit -w /bashunit bashunit-bash3 \
  /opt/bash-3.0/bin/bash

Writing Tests

  1. Create files ending with _test.sh
  2. Use descriptive function names: test_should_return_expected_value()
  3. Follow Arrange/Act/Assert pattern
  4. Use appropriate assertions: assert_equals, assert_contains, assert_matches, assert_exit_code
  5. Test success and failure cases
  6. Place in correct directory: tests/unit/, tests/functional/, tests/acceptance/

Coding Guidelines

Style

  • Follow Google Shell Style Guide
  • Use 2 spaces (no tabs)
  • Add proper error handling with set -euo pipefail
  • Use clear variable and function names
  • Comment complex logic sparingly

Required Tools

ShellCheck (install):

make sa  # Recommended
find . -name "*.sh" -not -path "./local/*" -exec shellcheck -xC {} \;  # Direct

EditorConfig Checker (install):

make lint  # Recommended
editorconfig-checker  # Direct

Pre-commit hooks (recommended):

make pre_commit/install

Checklist

  • make sa passes
  • make lint passes
  • make test passes
  • Functions documented
  • Error handling robust

Function Documentation

##
# Brief description
# Arguments: \$1 - first arg, \$2 - second arg (optional)
# Returns: 0 on success, 1 on failure
# Example: my_function "input" "optional"
##
function my_function() {
    local input="\$1"
    local optional="${2:-default}"
    # Implementation
}

Getting Help

Architecture Decisions

For significant changes (API changes, major features, breaking changes), create an ADR using these templates.

Releases

Maintainers handle releases following Semantic Versioning.

Ready to contribute?

  1. Fork the project
  2. Find an issue
  3. Set up your environment
  4. Create a pull request

Thank you for contributing to bashunit!