# Development

This is the contributor entry point for Promptkit, a reusable Go library. All
contributors must read the
[architecture policy](policy/architecture.md) before making changes. Agents must
also follow the [agent policy](policy/agents.md) before recommendations or work.

## Initial Orientation

Before starting work:

1. inspect the working tree and preserve unrelated changes;
2. read the policy, contract, and internal documents listed for the task;
3. inspect the relevant implementation and tests before deciding how to change
   them; and
4. keep documentation limited to implemented behavior unless an accepted
   decision or temporary roadmap explicitly owns future work.

Start with:

- the [architecture policy](policy/architecture.md) for library boundaries,
  dependency direction, invariants, and non-goals;
- the [internal component overview](internal/overview.md) for the current
  package and component inventory;
- the [documentation policy](policy/documentation.md) before changing
  documentation;
- the [testing policy](policy/testing.md) before adding, rewriting, or deleting
  tests; and
- the [release policy](policy/release.md) and [release procedure](release.md)
  for version and publication work.

## Task-Specific Reading Guide

| Task | Read before changing |
| --- | --- |
| Root public API | The [architecture policy](policy/architecture.md), [consumer guide](consumers/pkg-promptkit.md), [testing policy](policy/testing.md), and existing GoDoc. |
| Prompt, profile, or schema formats | The [framework format reference](formats.md), owning parser or validator package, and [documentation policy](policy/documentation.md). |
| Source loading or validation | The [framework format reference](formats.md), [internal source document](internal/sources.md), and owning package tests. |
| Maintained external catalogs or built-ins | The [internal source document](internal/sources.md), [framework format reference](formats.md), [testing policy](policy/testing.md), both catalog module repositories, each catalog's release procedure, and the selected module versions in `go.mod`. |
| Model-client behavior | The [OpenAI-compatible integration contract](integrations/openai-compatible-chat.md), [internal model-client document](internal/llm.md), and owning package tests. |
| Internal package implementation | The [architecture policy](policy/architecture.md), [internal component overview](internal/overview.md), and focused internal document listed for that package. |
| Tests or test fixtures | The [testing policy](policy/testing.md), owning package, and focused internal document listed by the component overview. |
| Maintained example | The [preparation](../examples/go-library/prepare/main.go), [execution](../examples/go-library/run/main.go), and [observation](../examples/go-library/observe/main.go) examples, [consumer guide](consumers/pkg-promptkit.md), [framework format reference](formats.md), and [documentation policy](policy/documentation.md). |
| Documentation | The [documentation policy](policy/documentation.md) and canonical owner of every affected contract. |
| Licensing, dependencies/catalog updates, copied material, or attribution | The [OSS policy](policy/oss.md), [project grant](../COPYRIGHT), [license texts](../LICENSE), and [attribution entries](oss/attribution.md); inspect the selected upstream source's notices. |
| Release preparation or publication, including release notes | The [release policy](policy/release.md), [release procedure](release.md), and [OSS discoverability rules](policy/oss.md#discoverability). |

For cross-cutting changes, follow every applicable row. Do not create
placeholder documents for packages, APIs, or integrations that do not yet
exist.

## Maintainer Validation

For ordinary work, select validation proportionate to the change. Do not repeat
successful checks for unchanged content merely to create a commit. The full
release-candidate checks have one executable entry point from the repository root:

```sh
./scripts/release-check.sh
```

The [script](../scripts/release-check.sh) owns the executable checks:
race-enabled tests, vet, the three offline consumer examples with semantic output
assertions, tracked Go formatting, local Markdown links, module/workspace
hygiene, whitespace, and the credential-pattern scan. It does not publish,
change files, validate release-note structure, or retire roadmaps. It requires Go,
Git, a POSIX shell, and Python 3. Tests and examples require no provider
credentials or live inference calls.

The script can run on intended uncommitted changes during development.
Formatting and documentation checks use tracked files; stage intended new
files before final validation so those checks include them. The release
procedure separately enforces a clean, committed candidate.

### Change Review

Inspect `git status --short --untracked-files=all` and the complete diff before
accepting a change. Reject unintended files, credentials, private data,
generated binaries, test output, downloaded assets, and template residue.
The automated credential scan does not replace review of the actual change.

For releases, follow the [release procedure](release.md). Its publication
command runs the full local checks once on the final committed candidate and
automates release-note structure and Git checks. Do not repeat ordinary change
review as a release sign-off. Roadmap retirement remains preparation housekeeping.

Follow the [agent commit policy](policy/agents.md#git-commit-policy) for local
commits. Ordinary commits may leave unrelated work in the workspace; preserve
and report it. A clean worktree and index are required for release candidates,
as enforced by the publication command, not for every ordinary commit.