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Contributing

Contributions are welcome. This guide covers setting up the development environment, the build system, and how to submit changes.

Prerequisites​

Setup​

git clone https://github.com/tenacioustechie/vscode-serial-monitor-pro.git
cd vscode-serial-monitor-pro
npm install

Development Commands​

npm run build      # Production build (minified, no sourcemaps)
npm run watch      # Development watch mode (sourcemaps enabled)
npm run lint       # ESLint on TypeScript source
npm test           # Jest tests

Debug in VS Code: Press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host. This auto-runs npm: watch as a pre-launch task and opens a new VS Code window with the extension loaded.

Project Structure​

src/                    ← TypeScript extension host source
├── extension.ts        ← Entry point, command registration
├── serialPort/         ← Port listing and serial communication
├── monitor/            ← Live monitor webview panel
├── recording/          ← Audio + serial event recording stack
├── playback/           ← Session replay webview panel
└── storage/            ← Session persistence and tree provider
media/                  ← Webview JS/CSS (not bundled via esbuild)
docs-site/              ← This documentation site (Docusaurus)

Submitting Changes​

  1. Fork the repository and create a branch from main.
  2. Make your changes. Add tests for any new logic.
  3. Run npm run lint and npm test — both must pass.
  4. Open a pull request against main with a clear description.

Docs Changes​

The docs site source lives in docs-site/. To preview locally:

cd docs-site
npm install
npm start

This opens a local dev server at http://localhost:3000 with hot reload.