---
layout: developer-doc
title: Development & Contributing Guide
category: summary
tags: [summary, contributing]
---

# Development & Contributing Guide

Thank you for your interest in contributing to the Enso IDE! We believe that
only through community involvement can Enso be the best it can be! There are a
whole host of ways to contribute, and every single one is appreciated.

<br/>

## Reporting Issues

**If you are concerned that your bug publicly presents a security risk to the
users of Enso, please contact [security@enso.org](mailto:security@enso.org).**

While it's never great to find a bug, they are a reality of software and
software development! We can't fix or improve on the things that we don't know
about, so report as many bugs as you can! If you're not sure whether something
is a bug, file it anyway!

Even though GitHub search can sometimes be a bit hard to use, we'd appreciate if
you could
[search](https://github.com/enso-org/enso/search?q=&type=Issues&utf8=%E2%9C%93)
for your issue before filing a bug as it's possible that someone else has
already reported the issue. We know the search isn't the best, and it can be
hard to know what to search for, so we really don't mind if you _do_ submit a
duplicate!

Opening an issue is as easy as following
[this link](https://github.com/enso-org/ide/issues/new?template=bug-report.md)
and filling out the fields. The template is intended to collect all the
information we need to best diagnose the issue, so please take the time to fill
it out accurately.

The reproduction steps are particularly important, as the more easily we can
reproduce it, the faster we can fix the bug! It's also helpful to have the
version of the IDE, as that will let us know if the bug is Operating System or
Architecture specific.

<br/>

## Development Environment

The project builds on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Cross-platform targets work
well on all of these platforms, however, macOS package will miss the right
application icon if built on Linux or Windows due to non-trivial icon generation
on these platforms. To develop the source code you will need the following
setup:

- **The Rust Toolchain (nightly-2021-05-12)**

  This project uses several features available only in the nightly Rust
  toolchain. Please use the [the Rust toolchain installer](https://rustup.rs) to
  manage Rust toolchains. It will automatically download the toolchain needed to
  build the project.

  In addition, some custom CLI programs need to be installed manually:

  ```bash
  rustup toolchain install stable                 # Stable toolchain required for the following tools.
  cargo +stable install wasm-pack --version 0.9.1 # Install the wasm-pack toolkit.
  cargo +stable install cargo-watch               # To enable ./run watch utility
  ```

  Make sure that your `PATH` environment variable is set up correctly, so that
  the binaries installed by cargo
  ([typically to `$HOME/.cargo/bin`](https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/commands/cargo-install.html#description))
  can be run from the command line; verify this by running
  `wasm-pack --version`.

- **Node and Node Package Manager LTS**

  To build the web and desktop applications you will need
  [the latest LTS version of node and npm](https://nodejs.org/en/download). Even
  minor release changes are known to cause serious issues, thus **we provide
  support for the latest LTS version only. Please do not report build issues if
  you use other versions.** In case you run macOS or Linux the easiest way to
  set up the proper version is by installing the
  [Node Version Manager](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm) and running
  `nvm install --lts && nvm use --lts`.

- **(Optional) FlatBuffer compiler `flatc`**

  This dependency is needed only if you need to update files generated by the
  FlatBuffer from the Engine Services binary protocol description. Otherwise,
  relying on the generated files that are being stored in this repository is
  fine.

  `flatc` must be in the version _newer than 1.12_ due to
  [this bug](https://github.com/google/flatbuffers/issues/5055). As of writing
  this text there are no official releases with this issue fixed, however
  current binaries can be obtained from the project's CI
  [build artifacts](https://github.com/google/flatbuffers/actions?query=branch%3Amaster).
  `flatc` builds from 8 May 2020 onwards have been confirmed to work.

  After placing `flatc` in `PATH` you need to define the `ENSO_IDE_ENABLE_FLATC`
  environment variable to explicitly enable regeneration of the interface files.
  The `flatc` is run as part of `build.rs` script of the `enso-protocol package.

<br/>

## Working with sources

Please be sure to carefully read the
[Rust style guide 1](./contributing/style-guide.md) and the
[Rust style guide 2](https://enso.org/docs/developer/ide/contributing/style-guide.html)
before contributing to the codebase.

We do also use [`prettier`](https://prettier.io/) for the JavaScript and
Markdown files in our code base. If you have not installed it already you can do
so via `npm install prettier`. To use it manually via command line run
`prettier --write` to all JavaScript files in the project. Alternatively, there
are plugins for many IDEs available to do this for you.

### Development

As this is a multi-part project with many complex dependencies, it is equipped
with a build script which both validates your working environment and takes care
of providing the most suitable compilation flags for a particular development
stage. To run the build script simply run `node ./run` in the root of the
codebase. On macOS and Linux you can use a simpler form of `./run`, however,
this doc will use the former form in order to stay cross-platform compatible.
Run `node ./run help` to learn about available commands and options. All
arguments provided after the `--` symbol will be passed to sub-commands. For
example `node ./run build -- --dev` will pass the `--dev` flag to `cargo` (Rust
build tool). The most common options are presented below:

- **Interactive mode** Run `node ./run watch` to start a local web-server and a
  source-file watch utility which will build the project on every change. Open
  `http://localhost:8080` (the port may vary and will be reported in the
  terminal if `8080` was already in use) to run the application, or
  `http://localhost:8080/?entry` to open example demo scenes list. Please
  remember to disable the cache in your browser during the development! By
  default, the script disables heavyweight optimizations to provide interactive
  development experience. The scripts are thin wrappers for
  [wasm-pack](https://github.com/rustwasm/wasm-pack) and accept the same
  [command line arguments](https://rustwasm.github.io/wasm-pack/book/commands/build.html).

- **Production mode** In order to compile in a production mode (enable all
  optimizations, strip WASM debug symbols, minimize the output binaries, etc.),
  run `node ./run build`. To create platform-specific packages and installers
  use `node ./run dist` instead. The final executables will be located at
  `dist/client/$PLATFORM`.
- **Selective mode** In order to compile only part of the project, and thus
  drastically shorten the incremental compile time, you are advised to use the
  selective compilation mode by passing the `--crate` option to the `build` or
  `watch` command, e.g. `node ./watch --crate ensogl/example` to compile only
  the renderer-related example scenes. Please note, that in order to run a scene
  in a web-browser, the scene has to be compiled and has to expose a public
  function with a name starting with `entry_point_`. Thus, if you compile only
  selected crate, you will have access only to the example scenes that were
  defined or re-exported by that crate. In particular, the `ide` crate exposes
  the `entry_point_ide` function, so you have to compile it to test your code in
  the Enso IDE.

### Testing IDE with a specific version of a backend

Sometimes changes to the IDE must be tested against the unreleased Enso Engine
version. To perform this one should:

- commit code to [enso](https://github.com/enso-org/enso) repository and allow
  CI to successfully complete;
- enter the
  [`Engine CI` runs](https://github.com/enso-org/enso/actions/workflows/scala.yml)
  and select the run for the commit to be tested;
- download the Enso Engine artifact appropriate for your OS (e.g.
  `enso-engine-0.2.9-SNAPSHOT-windows-amd64.zip`);
- extract the archive into
  [`ENSO_DATA_DIRECTORY/dist`](https://dev.enso.org/docs/enso/distribution/distribution.html#installed-enso-distribution-layout).
  Rename the extracted folder by erasing initial `enso-`, e.g. change
  `enso-0.2.9-SNAPSHOT` to `0.2.9-SNAPSHOT`;
- open the `package.yaml` of the tested project (by default it is under
  `~/enso/projects/Unnamed/`) and change the `enso-version` value to the version
  of the downloaded package (e.g. `enso-version: 0.2.9-SNAPSHOT`);
- run the IDE opening the updated project. Project Manager should automatically
  spawn the Language Server from the extracted package.

### Using IDE as a library.

In case you want to use the IDE as a library, for example to embed it into
another website, you need to first build it using `node ./run {built,dist}` and
find the necessary artifacts located at `dist/content`. Especially, the
`dist/content/index.js` defines a function `window.enso.main(cfg)` which you can
use to run the IDE. Currently, the configuration argument can contain the
following options:

- `entry` - the entry point, one of predefined scenes. Set it to empty string to
  see the list of possible entry points.
- `project` - the project name to open after loading the IDE.

### Testing, Linting, and Validation

After changing the code it's always a good idea to lint and test the code. We
have prepared several scripts which maximally automate the process:

- **Size Validation** Use `node ./run check-size` to check if the size of the
  final binary did not grew too much in comparison to the previous release.
  Watching the resulting binary size is one of the most important responsibility
  of each contributor in order to keep the project small and suitable for
  web-based usage. In case the size will exceed the limits:

  - If the PR does not include any new libraries, you are allowed to increase
    the limit by 10KB. In case the limit will be exceeded by more than 10KB,
    check which part of the code contributet to it, and talk about it with the
    code owner.
  - If the PR does include new libraries, you are allowed to increase the limit
    by 10KB, but you should also consider if it is possible to get the same
    results without using a new library (even by implementing few lines of code
    from the library in sources of the project).
  - If the PR does include new libraries, and the limit is exceeded by more than
    10KB, check which part of the code contributed to it, and talk about it with
    the code owner.
  - If the PR does include new libraries, and the limit is exceeded by more than
    50KB, it would probably not be merged. Research possible alternatives before
    talking with code owner about this case.

- **Testing** For the test suite to run you need a current version of Chrome
  installed. Use `node ./run test` run both unit and web-based visual test.

  - _Note for Windows users_: there is a
    [known issue with wasm-pack](https://github.com/rustwasm/wasm-pack/issues/611)
    using the wrong version of the chrome driver. There is
    [a workaround](https://github.com/rustwasm/wasm-pack/issues/611#issuecomment-522093207)
    described in the issue: download compatible ChromeDriver from the
    [official source](https://chromedriver.chromium.org/downloads) and ensure it
    is in your `PATH`.

- **Linting** Please be sure to fix all errors reported by `node ./run lint`
  before creating a pull request to this repository.

### Development Branches

The following branches are used to develop the product:

- **wip/[initials]/[feature]**  
  Feature branches. These are temporary branches used by the team to develop a
  particular feature.
- **develop**  
  Contains the most recent changes to the product. After successful review, the
  feature branches are merged here. Each commit to this branch will result in a
  nightly build of the product accessible as CI artifacts.

- **unstable**  
  Contains only those commits which can be considered unstable product releases.
  Each commit to this branch will result in an unstable release of the product
  and will be published on GitHub as a pre-release. The build version and build
  description will be automatically fetched from the newest `CHANGELOG.md` entry
  and will fail if the version will not be of the form
  `[major].[minor].[patch]-[sfx]`, where `[sfx]` is one of `alpha.[n]`,
  `beta.[n]`, or `rc.[n]`, where `[n]` is an unstable build number.

- **stable** Contains only those commits which can be considered stable product
  releases. Each commit to this branch will result in a stable release of the
  product and will be published on GitHub as a release. The build version and
  build description will be automatically fetched from the newest `CHANGELOG.md`
  entry and will fail if the version will not be of the form
  `[major].[minor].[patch]`.

### Forcing CI builds

By default, CI would not build artifacts from `wip` and `develop` branches in
order to save time and resources. If you want the artifacts to be build for your
PR, simply add `[ci build]` anywhere in the PR description.

### Skipping CHANGELOG.md change assertions

By default, CI would fail if the `CHANGELOG.md` file does not need to be
updated. However, sometimes there are PRs that does not change anything
significant in the final product. You can then simply add
`[ci no changelog needed]` anywhere in your PR description to skip this
assertion.

### Publishing Results

All new changes should be proposed in the form of Pull Requests (PRs) to this
repository. Each PR should contain changes to documentation and `CHANGELOG.md`
if applicable.

## Changelog

Please remember to update the `CHANGELOG.md` on every new bug fix or feature
implementation. Please note that `CHANGELOG.md` is used to establish the current
product version (the `run` script extracts it from the newest changelog entry).
Thus, be sure to always increase the newest version in the changelog after a
release, otherwise CI will fail. Please use the `docs/CHANGELOG_TEMPLATE.md` as
the template to create new changelog entries. Please note, that there is a
special syntax for defining features of the upcoming release. The newest
changelog entry can have a title "Next Release". In such a case, the build
version will be `0.0.0` and CI would fail when trying to publish it as a
release.