branch-deploy/CONTRIBUTING.md

# Contributing 💻

All contributions are welcome and greatly appreciated!

## Steps to Contribute 💡

> Check the `.node-version` file in the root of this repo so see what version of Node.js is required for local development - note, this can be different from the version of Node.js which runs the Action on GitHub runners. It is suggested to download [nodenv](https://github.com/nodenv/nodenv) which uses this file and manages your Node.js versions for you

1. Fork this repository
2. Commit your changes
3. Test your changes (learn how to test below)
4. Open a pull request back to this repository
    > Make sure to run `npm run all` as your final commit!
5. Notify the maintainers of this repository for peer review and approval
6. Merge!

The maintainers of this repository will create a new release with your changes so that everyone can use the new release and enjoy the awesome features of branch deployments

## Testing 🧪

This project requires **100%** test coverage

> The branch-deploy Action is used by enterprises, governments, and open source organizations - it is critical that we have 100% test coverage to ensure that we are not introducing any regressions. All changes will be throughly tested by maintainers of this repository before a new release is created.

### Running the test suite (required)

Simply run the following command to execute the entire test suite:

```bash
npm run test
```

> Note: this requires that you have already run `npm install`

### Testing directly with IssueOps

> See the testing FAQs below for more information on this process

You can test your changes by doing the following steps:

1. Commit your changes to the `main` branch on your fork
2. Open a new pull request
3. Run IssueOps commands on the pull request you just opened (`.deploy`, `.noop`, `.deploy main`, etc)
4. Ensure that all IssueOps commands work as expected on your testing PR

### Testing FAQs 🤔

Answers to questions you might have around testing

Q: Why do I have to commit my changes to `main`?

A: The `on: issue_comment` workflow only uses workflow files from the `main` branch by design - [learn more](https://github.com/github/branch-deploy#security-)

Q: How can I test my changes once my PR is merged and *before* a new release is created?

A: You should create a repo like [this one](https://github.com/GrantBirki/actions-sandbox) that uses `github/branch-deploy@main` as the Action version and test your changes there