Contributing

QoreDB is open source and contributions are welcome. The repo is at github.com/QoreDB/QoreDB, and PRs land regularly from outside the core team.

Prerequisites

You need a working development environment with:

• Rust: latest stable toolchain (install via rustup).
• Node.js 18+ with pnpm (the project uses pnpm, not npm or yarn).
• Docker: used by the test suite to spin up local instances of PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, and the rest. Tests can be selectively run without Docker if you only touch unrelated code.
• The Tauri system dependencies for your platform (typically a few GTK and WebKit packages on Linux, no extra setup on macOS/Windows).

Local setup

git clone https://github.com/QoreDB/QoreDB.git
cd QoreDB
pnpm install
pnpm tauri dev      # development mode with hot reload

The first build takes a few minutes (Rust compiles a lot of crates). Subsequent runs are fast.

To start the dev databases for testing:

docker-compose up -d

Running tests

cargo test          # Rust backend tests
pnpm test           # Frontend tests
pnpm lint           # Linting
pnpm format:check   # Formatting check (use format:write to fix)

Run all four before opening a PR.

Pull request process

1. Fork the repo on GitHub.
2. Create a feature branch off main (e.g. feat/postgres-array-support).
3. Make your changes with focused commits. Conventional commit prefixes (feat:, fix:, refactor:, etc.) are appreciated but not required.
4. Add or update tests for behavior changes.
5. Run lint and tests locally.
6. Open the PR with a clear description: what changed, why, and how to verify.

Smaller PRs land faster than monolithic ones. If you're not sure about scope, open a draft PR or a discussion issue first.

SPDX license headers

Every source file (*.ts, *.tsx, *.rs) must start with an SPDX header declaring its license:

// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0

Or, for the small set of files in the Premium tier:

// SPDX-License-Identifier: BUSL-1.1

The Premium tier is documented in detail on the License page. Most contributions are to Core (Apache-2.0); if you're adding a file, default to Apache unless you have a reason otherwise.

Code style

• Rust: cargo fmt for formatting, cargo clippy for lints. Both must pass cleanly.
• TypeScript / React: Biome handles formatting and linting (pnpm format:write, pnpm lint:fix).
• No new comments unless they explain why, not what. The code itself should explain what; comments are for non-obvious context.

Documentation

If your change adds a feature or modifies existing behavior:

• Update the relevant page in doc/ inside the QoreDB repo (developer-facing docs).
• Update the user docs at github.com/QoreDB/QoreDB-showcase if user-facing behavior changes (the docs you're reading right now).
• Update README.md if the new feature is significant enough to surface there.

Where to ask

• Bug reports and feature requests: GitHub Issues.
• Discussion: Discord for design conversations and quick questions.
• Direct contact: see the maintainer info in the repo README for email.

Code of conduct

The project ships with a CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md. The short version: be respectful, assume good faith, focus on the work, and the rest follows. Conduct issues are handled by the maintainer.

Where to go next

• License for what's Core vs Premium and the SPDX convention
• Roadmap to find a feature to pick up
• Open Core model for the licensing rationale