ink-dev

ink-dev

Overview

Use this skill to follow the standard contributor workflow for the ink 2D rendering library.

Related: Use ink-release for nightly/stable release policy, gates, and hotfix handling.

This repository uses a PR-first flow even for solo development: work on branch, open PR, merge to master.

When to Use

Use when:

• starting a feature, bugfix, or refactor in this repo
• preparing a pull request to master
• checking what local commands to run before push
• preparing code for release readiness checks

Do not use when you need language-level coding patterns unrelated to repository workflow.

Branch Strategy

• Treat master as protected; use PRs instead of direct pushes.
• Feature branch: feat/<short-description>
• Bugfix branch: fix/<short-description>
• Refactor branch: refactor/<short-description>
• Docs branch: docs/<short-description>
• Chore/CI branch: chore/<short-description>
• Do not commit feature work directly on master.

Development Cycle

1. Create branch from latest master:

   git switch master
   git pull
   git switch -c feat/<name>
   

2. Commit with conventional prefixes:

   • <type>: <concise description>
   • Types: feat, fix, refactor, test, docs, chore, ci

3. Update README.md when API/behavior/build/release workflow changed.

4. Run local validation before push:

   # Format check (matches CI)
   find include src -name '*.hpp' -o -name '*.cpp' | xargs clang-format --dry-run -Werror
   
   # Build + test
   cmake -B build -DINK_BUILD_TESTS=ON -DINK_ENABLE_GL=OFF
   cmake --build build -j$(nproc)
   ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failure
   

5. Push branch and open PR to master:

   git push -u origin feat/<name>
   gh pr create --base master --title "<type>: <description>" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
   ## Summary
   - <what changed and why>
   
   ## Test plan
   - [ ] Local `ctest` passes
   - [ ] Format check passes
   EOF
   )"
   

6. Wait for CI checks before merge.

7. Merge via GitHub (squash merge is the default convention).

Quick Reference

Area	Current convention
Target branch	master
CI trigger	PR to master, push to master
CI checks	Format, Build & Test (gcc/clang x Debug/Release), clang-tidy, Sanitizers
Nightly trigger	schedule/manual in nightly.yml on default branch
Stable release trigger	push tag v*
Release outputs	CPU tarball, GL tarball, source tarball, GitHub Release notes

Code Conventions

• C++17 with strict warnings (-Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic).
• Public headers live in include/ink/; implementation in src/.
• GPU renderer sources live in src/gpu/<api>/.
• New features include tests in tests/ (typically test_<component>.cpp).
• Tests use Google Test (TEST, EXPECT_EQ, and related assertions).
• When adding/removing a public header, keep include/ink/ink.hpp (umbrella header) in sync.
• When adding/removing source files, update CMakeLists.txt accordingly.

Common Mistakes

• Skipping local ctest and relying only on CI feedback.
• Skipping clang-format check locally — CI will reject unformatted code.
• Forgetting README updates when public behavior or usage changes.
• Using vague commit titles instead of typed prefixes.
• Adding a public header but forgetting to include it in ink.hpp or the CMake install list.
• Pushing release tags before the changelog PR is merged and release preflight passes.