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Contributing to RustGIS

Contributions are welcome. This page covers what to work on and how to propose it. For build, test, docs and release mechanics see docs/contributing.md; for code conventions see AGENTS.md.

Most roadmap items have no issue

ROADMAP.md lists where RustGIS is heading. Only a few of its items link to an issue; most features have no issue yet. Don't wait for one to appear before starting. If something on the roadmap (or not on it) interests you, propose it and open a pull request.

How to contribute a feature

  1. Check for an existing issue. Search the issues and the roadmap. If there is an issue, comment on it to say you're taking it.

  2. Write a short proposal if there is no issue. It covers:

    • the problem or workflow it serves;
    • what you plan to build: the commands it adds, where it sits in the ribbon (following the ribbon guidelines), which formats or tools are involved;
    • which crates it touches and whether it adds a dependency;
    • how you will test it.

    Put it in an issue with the feature request form, or in the description of a draft pull request. For changes that need coordination (see below) use an issue and wait for a maintainer's reply; otherwise either works.

  3. Open a pull request. Draft pull requests are welcome early, to get feedback on the approach before the work is finished. Link the issue (Closes #123) and fill in the pull request template. If the change shows on screen, add screenshots to the description (before and after for a change to existing UI, after only for new UI); see attachments. Before it is ready for review, it must meet the rules and quality gates in AGENTS.md.

Pick freely or coordinate first

  • Pick freely: roadmap items marked (open) are self-contained. Open a pull request directly, with the proposal in its description; an issue is optional.
  • Coordinate first: open a proposal issue and wait for a maintainer's reply before writing much code if your change
    • changes the data model (Feature, Coord, Renderer);
    • adds a dependency or a crate;
    • changes the .rgis project format, or an existing command's id or parameters (the CLI, Python, MCP and saved scripts call commands by id);
    • changes the plugin interface;
    • falls under Exploratory in the roadmap.

Roadmap themes are not releases or an order; an item moves to Done when it lands. A pull request that lands a roadmap item, or an item of GEOLIBRE_PARITY.md, updates that file in the same change.

AI-assisted contributions

Code written with AI tools is welcome, from anyone, whatever their programming experience (#203). A contribution is judged by its quality, not by who or what wrote it.

Whoever opens a pull request is responsible for it, however it was written:

  • you have read the change and can explain what it does and why;
  • you ran the checks in AGENTS.md and looked at what the change does (the screenshot, the output file, the numbers) rather than trusting a tool's summary of it;
  • the pull request description and replies to review comments say what is true of the change, whether or not a tool drafted them.

Where code comes from

RustGIS is licensed under Apache-2.0, so everything in it must be your own work or come from a source whose licence allows that.

  • Don't copy code from GPL, LGPL, AGPL or other copyleft projects (such as GRASS, QGIS or GEOS), and don't ask an AI tool to translate it into Rust: a translation is still a copy.
  • Implementing an algorithm from a paper, a standard or a specification is fine. Cite it in a code comment or the pull request.
  • If you followed another project's code while writing yours, name it in the pull request so a reviewer can check.
  • Running another program only to produce expected test results is fine, as the analysis reference corpus does with GEOS and PROJ.

Report security problems privately, as SECURITY.md describes, not in an issue or pull request.