# Contributing to noctty

Thanks for working on noctty.

This repository is a public, Windows-only project. Issues and pull
requests are welcome, but contributions need to be small in scope, well
reasoned, and validated against the Windows runtime shipped here.

Upstream-derived changes must follow the [upstream merge policy](docs/upstream-merge-policy.md).

For usage questions, design discussion, or anything that isn't a
reproducible bug, use
[Discussions](https://github.com/amanthanvi/noctty/discussions).
GitHub Issues on this repo are reserved for reproducible bugs so real
bugs don't get buried.

## Contribution rules

1. Understand the change end to end before calling it done.
2. Prefer Windows-native behavior when it conflicts with upstream
   cross-platform behavior.
3. Keep the scope tight: one logical change per PR, with validation
   results in the description. Call out risks or follow-up work if a
   change is intentionally partial.
4. Preserve `libghostty-vt`; it remains a supported deliverable in this
   repo.
5. Keep docs, packaging, and user-visible strings aligned with the
   shipped `noctty` product identity.

## Before you open a PR

- Read [HACKING.md](HACKING.md) for build, test, validation, and runtime
  commands, and use the narrowest command that covers your change.
- For UI or interaction changes, read [PRODUCT.md](PRODUCT.md) and
  [DESIGN.md](DESIGN.md) first. They define the product direction and
  the visual/interaction contract your change will be reviewed against.
- Read any applicable `AGENTS.md` files before editing.
- If you use AI assistance, you are responsible for understanding and
  reviewing the final change. See [AI_POLICY.md](AI_POLICY.md).
- If the change touches input, rendering, window chrome, or process
  startup, do the manual Windows checks in
  [HACKING.md](HACKING.md#manual-validation) as well.
- If it touches packaging or update behavior, follow the release runbook
  in [PACKAGING.md](PACKAGING.md#release-runbook) instead; the manual
  checks above don't cover that path.

## Scope guard

This fork does not preserve upstream macOS or GTK app surfaces. Do not
reintroduce:

- macOS application packaging or Xcode workflows
- GTK, Wayland, or X11 app-runtime logic
- Linux desktop packaging such as Flatpak or Snap