Contributing

We welcome contributions to pacersdk!

This project is intended to make working with the PACER Case Locator API intuitive and accessible through Python. Whether you’re fixing bugs, adding features, or improving documentation, your help is appreciated.

Getting Started

  1. Fork the repository on GitHub.

  2. Clone your fork locally:

    git clone https://github.com/mcpcpc/pacersdk.git
cd pacersdk/

  3. Create a new virtual environment:

    python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

  4. Install the project in editable mode:

    pip install -e .

  5. Install development tools (optional):

    pip install -e .[dev]

Making Changes

  • Follow PEP8 guidelines for code style.

  • Use clear, concise commit messages.

  • Include Sphinx-style docstrings for public modules and functions.

  • Use black to automatically format code before committing:

    black .

Testing Your Changes

This project uses Python’s built-in unittest framework.

To run the test suite:

python -m unittest

Note

Please ensure the test suite is updated and all tests pass before submitting changes. This helps maintain reliability and consistency across the project.

Submitting Pull Requests

  1. Create a new branch for your feature or fix:

    git checkout -b feature/my-new-feature

  2. Make your changes and commit them.

  3. Push to your fork and submit a pull request through GitHub.

  4. Clearly describe the motivation for the change and what it does.

Code of Conduct

Please be respectful and considerate in all interactions and discussions. We follow the Contributor Covenant.

Thank You!

Thanks for helping make this project better!