Contributing

Learn how to contribute to js-beautify, from filing issues to submitting pull requests.

js-beautify is a community-driven project and contributors are always welcome. Whether you’re fixing a bug, improving documentation, or adding a new feature, your help makes the project better for everyone.

Before diving in, file an issue before filing a PR whenever possible. This gives maintainers a chance to discuss design details with you upfront and avoids wasted effort.

Development prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have the following installed:

• bash and make
• Node.js v16.x or greater (with npm)
• Python v3.7 or greater (with pip)

If you run into build problems, the maintainers are available on gitter.im to help.

How to contribute

1. Read CONTRIBUTING.md

   Read the CONTRIBUTING.md in the repository for the full guidelines before making any changes.

2. Find or open an issue

   Browse open issues on GitHub. Look for issues tagged “Good first issue” if you’re new to the project. If you’ve found a bug or want to propose a feature, open a new issue first.

3. Fork the repository

   Fork beautifier/js-beautify on GitHub and clone your fork locally.

   git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/js-beautify.git
   cd js-beautify
   
4. Make your change

   js-beautify has two mostly identical implementations — JavaScript and Python. The HTML beautifier is JavaScript-only.

   Any change to one implementation must also be made to the other. This is a hard requirement. Familiarize yourself with the folder structure before you start:

   Folder	Contents
   js/	JavaScript implementation
   python/	Python implementation
   web/	beautifier.io website
   test/	Shared test data and generators

   Add tests for your change in /test/data/*/test.js. Generated test files must be committed alongside your source changes.

5. Run tests

   Run the full test suite before committing. All generated test files must be checked in.

   JavaScript only:

   make js
   

   Python only:

   make py
   

   Both implementations (required before submitting a PR):

   make
   

   Run the CI check locally after committing:

   make ci
   

   You can also start a local dev server to manually test HTML/JS changes:

   make serve
   # Visit http://localhost:8080
   # For a debug (human-readable) build: http://localhost:8080/?debug
   
6. Submit a pull request

   Push your branch and open a pull request against main.

   • Run make ci locally after your commit and before opening the PR. You can open the PR even if it reports errors, but the PR won’t be merged until all checks pass.
   • Include a description of your change. Add examples of input and expected output when relevant.
   • Pull requests must pass CI checks on Linux and Windows across multiple versions of Node.js and Python before they are merged.

Reporting bugs

If you find a bug, open an issue and include:

• Your environment (OS, Node.js version, Python version)
• A clear description of the current behavior
• What you believe the correct behavior should be
• A minimal example that reproduces the problem

The more detail you provide, the more likely someone can make progress on it quickly.

Code of conduct

This project follows the standard open source code of conduct. Be respectful, constructive, and collaborative. See the repository’s code of conduct for details.

Useful links

GitHub Issues

Browse open bugs and feature requests, or file a new issue.

Good First Issues

Find beginner-friendly issues to get started with.

Pull Requests

View open pull requests or submit your own.

CONTRIBUTING.md

Full contributing guidelines in the repository.