FrameTrellis

Contributing to FrameTrellis

Thank you for helping! Bug reports, documentation, tests, translations and code are all welcome. By participating you agree to follow the Code of Conduct.

Reporting bugs and requesting features

  • Search existing issues first.
  • Use the issue templates. For bugs, include Help → About → Copy diagnostics, the steps to reproduce, and what you expected. Never attach private footage; describe the file instead (container, codecs, resolution — FrameTrellis' media tooltip shows these).
  • Security problems: do not open a public issue; see SECURITY.md.

Development setup

Follow docs/development/building.md. The quickest loop on Linux:

cmake --preset linux-debug
cmake --build --preset linux-debug
ctest --preset linux-debug

Making changes

  1. Fork the repository and create a branch from the default branch.
  2. Keep each pull request focused on one change. Large changes: open an issue first to discuss the design.
  3. Follow the existing structure (see docs/architecture/overview.md): domain logic in core/timeline/project/editing (no UI, no MLT), MLT code in engine/media/playback/rendering, QML and view models in ui.
  4. Add or update tests. Bug fixes should come with a test that fails without the fix. Do not commit media files; generate fixtures in tests (see tests/support/media_fixtures.h).
  5. Update documentation (user guide, roadmap, release notes in docs/releases/unreleased.md).
  6. Make sure these pass locally:
   git ls-files '*.cpp' '*.h' | xargs clang-format --dry-run --Werror
   ctest --preset linux-debug

Code style

  • C++20, formatted with the repository's .clang-format; clang-tidy must be clean.
  • Prefer value types and RAII; use std::unique_ptr for ownership and Qt parent ownership for QObjects. No raw new without an owner, no global mutable state.
  • Report failures with ft::Result/ft::Status and a user-facing message; never swallow errors.
  • Time on the timeline is integer frames (ft::FrameCount); use Rational/FrameRate for conversions, never floating point for clip positions.
  • Every edit to a project goes through an undoable command.
  • User-visible text is written in plain, friendly English and wrapped in qsTr() in QML.
  • New files start with // SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later and a copyright line.

Commit messages

Use Conventional Commits style with a clear scope:

feat(timeline): support ripple trimming
fix(export): report encoder initialisation failures
test(project): cover documents saved by a newer version
docs: explain proxy media

Write the body to explain why. Keep commits small and logical; each commit should build.

Licensing of contributions

FrameTrellis is GPL-3.0-or-later. By submitting a contribution you agree that it is licensed under the same terms. You keep your copyright; there is no CLA. Only submit work you have the right to contribute, and do not copy code, artwork or text from other projects unless their license is compatible and the origin is noted.

This page is generated from CONTRIBUTING.md in the repository. Found a mistake? Open an issue.