# Contributing to Rabbit Relay 🐇⚡

First of all, thank you for taking the time to contribute!  
**Rabbit Relay** is an open-source project built with the goal of making RabbitMQ usage in Node.js **reliable, type-safe, and developer-friendly**.  
Contributions of all kinds are welcome 💙

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## Project Philosophy

Rabbit Relay is built around a few core principles:

- **Type safety first** (TypeScript-driven APIs)
- **Reliability over magic**
- **Explicit, predictable behavior**
- **Minimal runtime dependencies**
- **Production-ready by default**

Every contribution should aim to support these goals.

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## Ways to Contribute

You can contribute in many ways, including:

- Reporting bugs  
- Proposing or implementing new features  
- Adding tests or improving coverage  
- Improving documentation or examples  
- Refactoring or improving internal code quality  
- Suggesting design or API improvements  

If you’re unsure where to start, check existing issues or open a discussion.

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## 🐞 Reporting Bugs

Before opening a new issue:

1. Search existing issues to avoid duplicates  
2. Make sure you're using the latest version  
3. Provide as much detail as possible  

Please include:

- Rabbit Relay version  
- Node.js version  
- RabbitMQ version  
- Minimal reproducible example (if possible)  
- Expected behavior vs actual behavior  
- Error logs or stack traces  

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## ✨ Feature Requests

Feature requests are welcome!

Please describe:

- The problem you're trying to solve  
- Why existing solutions are insufficient  
- How the feature fits Rabbit Relay’s philosophy  
- Proposed API shape (TypeScript examples encouraged)  

Large changes should be discussed before implementation.

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## 🛠 Development Setup

### Prerequisites

- Node.js (LTS recommended)
- npm or pnpm
- A running RabbitMQ instance (Docker is fine)

### Install dependencies

```bash
npm install
```

### Build the package

```bash
npm run build
```

## Code Style & Conventions

- TypeScript only  
- Avoid `any` unless absolutely necessary  
- Prefer explicit types for public APIs  
- Avoid breaking changes unless discussed  
- Keep functions small and focused  

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## Pull Request Process

1. Fork the repository  
2. Create a feature branch  
3. Commit with clear messages  
4. Open a Pull Request  
5. Be ready to iterate based on feedback  

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## 🚦 Breaking Changes

Breaking changes require:

- Clear justification  
- Migration guidance  
- Explicit mention in PR title and description  

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## 🤝 Code of Conduct

Be respectful, inclusive, and constructive.  
Harassment or toxic behavior will not be tolerated.

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## 💙 Community & Vision

Rabbit Relay is part of **Bitspacer Labs**, focused on open-source tooling and developer communities.

Everyone is welcome to contribute.

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## ⭐ Support the Project

If you find Rabbit Relay useful:

- ⭐ Star the repository  
- 📣 Share it  
- 💬 Provide feedback  

Thank you for contributing