Contributing to MediDiet AI 🤝

First off, thank you for considering contributing to MediDiet AI! It's people like you that make MediDiet AI such a great tool for helping people manage their nutrition and health.

Code of Conduct
What Should I Know Before I Get Started?
How Can I Contribute?
Development Setup
Development Workflow
Style Guidelines
Pull Request Process
Community

Code of Conduct

This project and everyone participating in it is governed by the Code of Conduct. By participating, you are expected to uphold this code. Please report unacceptable behavior to support@medidiet.app.

For the full Code of Conduct, please read CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.

What Should I Know Before I Get Started?

Project Overview

MediDiet AI is a React Native mobile application that provides AI-powered personalized nutrition management for individuals with medical conditions. The app uses Google's Gemini API to generate meal plans tailored to specific health needs.

Key Technologies:

React Native 0.79.3
Expo ~53.0.9
TypeScript 5.8.3
Google Gemini API
AsyncStorage for local data

Project Structure:

medidiet-app/
├── app/                    # Expo Router screens
├── components/             # Reusable UI components
├── contexts/              # React Context providers
├── hooks/                 # Custom React hooks
├── services/              # Business logic and API services
├── types/                 # TypeScript type definitions
├── utils/                 # Utility functions
└── constants/             # App-wide constants

Medical and Health Context

This app deals with sensitive health information and provides dietary guidance for medical conditions. When contributing:

Always prioritize user safety - Health-related features require extra scrutiny
Include medical disclaimers where appropriate
Validate health data inputs thoroughly
Respect privacy - All data is stored locally by design
Be evidence-based - Nutritional recommendations should align with established medical guidelines

How Can I Contribute?

Reporting Bugs

Before creating bug reports, please check existing issues to avoid duplicates. When you create a bug report, include as many details as possible:

Bug Report Template:

**Describe the bug**
A clear and concise description of what the bug is.

**To Reproduce**
Steps to reproduce the behavior:
1. Go to '...'
2. Click on '...'
3. Scroll down to '...'
4. See error

**Expected behavior**
A clear and concise description of what you expected to happen.

**Screenshots**
If applicable, add screenshots to help explain your problem.

**Device Information:**
 - Device: [e.g. iPhone 14, Samsung Galaxy S23]
 - OS: [e.g. iOS 17.0, Android 13]
 - App Version: [e.g. 1.0.0]
 - Expo Version: [e.g. ~53.0.9]

**Additional context**
Add any other context about the problem here.

Suggesting Enhancements

Enhancement suggestions are tracked as GitHub issues. When creating an enhancement suggestion, include:

Enhancement Suggestion Template:

**Is your feature request related to a problem?**
A clear and concise description of what the problem is.

**Describe the solution you'd like**
A clear and concise description of what you want to happen.

**Describe alternatives you've considered**
A clear and concise description of any alternative solutions or features you've considered.

**Medical/Health Considerations**
If this feature involves health data or medical advice, describe how it ensures user safety.

**Additional context**
Add any other context, mockups, or screenshots about the feature request here.

Contributing Code

We love code contributions! Here's how to get started:

Fork the repository and clone your fork
Create a feature branch from main
Make your changes following our style guidelines
Test your changes on both iOS and Android if possible
Commit with meaningful messages following our conventions
Push to your fork and create a Pull Request

Improving Documentation

Documentation improvements are always welcome! This includes:

README updates
Code comments for complex logic
API documentation
User guides and tutorials
Medical/nutritional reference information

Development Setup

Prerequisites

Node.js: v18 or higher
pnpm: v8 or higher (preferred) or npm/yarn
Expo CLI: Latest version
iOS Simulator (Mac only) or Android Studio (for emulator)
Git: For version control

Initial Setup

Clone your fork

git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/medidiet-app.git
cd medidiet-app

Install dependencies
```
pnpm install
# or
npm install
```
Set up environment variables

Create a .env file in the root directory:
```
EXPO_PUBLIC_GEMINI_API_KEY=your_gemini_api_key_here
```
Get a free API key from Google AI Studio
Start the development server
```
pnpm start
```
Run on your device
- iOS: Press i or run pnpm ios
- Android: Press a or run pnpm android

Running Tests and Checks

# Run linter
pnpm lint

# Type checking
npx tsc --noEmit

# Run on specific platforms
pnpm ios      # iOS simulator
pnpm android  # Android emulator

Development Workflow

Branch Naming Convention

Use descriptive branch names with one of these prefixes:

feature/ - New features (e.g., feature/meal-photo-recognition)
fix/ - Bug fixes (e.g., fix/calorie-calculation-diabetes)
docs/ - Documentation updates (e.g., docs/api-guide)
refactor/ - Code refactoring (e.g., refactor/health-context)
test/ - Adding tests (e.g., test/ai-service)
chore/ - Maintenance tasks (e.g., chore/update-dependencies)

Making Changes

Create a feature branch

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

Make focused commits
- Keep changes small and focused
- One logical change per commit
- Test frequently as you develop
Write tests (when applicable)
- Add tests for new features
- Ensure existing tests still pass
Update documentation
- Update README if needed
- Add JSDoc comments for complex functions
- Update type definitions
Test thoroughly
- Test on both iOS and Android
- Test with and without internet (for AI fallback)
- Test with different medical conditions
- Verify loading and error states

Style Guidelines

Git Commit Messages

Follow the Conventional Commits specification:

<type>(<scope>): <subject>

<body>

<footer>

Types:

feat: A new feature
fix: A bug fix
docs: Documentation only changes
style: Changes that don't affect code meaning (formatting, etc.)
refactor: Code change that neither fixes a bug nor adds a feature
test: Adding missing tests or correcting existing tests
chore: Changes to the build process or auxiliary tools

Examples:

feat(meal-plan): add weekly meal plan generation with AI
fix(diabetes): correct carb calculation for type 2 diabetes
docs(readme): update installation instructions
style(ui): improve meal card spacing and colors
refactor(ai-service): simplify error handling logic
test(health-context): add tests for BMI calculation
chore(deps): update expo to version 53.0.9

TypeScript Style Guide

General Rules:

✅ Always use TypeScript, never plain JavaScript
✅ Enable strict mode (already configured)
✅ Provide explicit types for function parameters and return values
✅ Use interface for object shapes, type for unions/intersections
❌ Never use any type - use proper types or unknown

Examples:

// ✅ Good - Explicit types
interface MealPlan {
  id: string;
  date: Date;
  meals: Meal[];
}

function calculateCalories(meals: Meal[]): number {
  return meals.reduce((total, meal) => total + meal.calories, 0);
}

// ❌ Bad - Missing types
function calculateCalories(meals) {
  return meals.reduce((total, meal) => total + meal.calories, 0);
}

// ❌ Bad - Using any
function processMeal(meal: any): void {
  // ...
}

React Native Best Practices

Component Structure:

import { View, Text, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';
import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

// 1. Interfaces/Types
interface MyComponentProps {
  title: string;
  onPress?: () => void;
}

// 2. Constants
const DEFAULT_PADDING = 16;

// 3. Main Component
export default function MyComponent({ title, onPress }: MyComponentProps) {
  const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(false);

  useEffect(() => {
    // Side effects
  }, []);

  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <Text style={styles.title}>{title}</Text>
    </View>
  );
}

// 4. Styles
const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    padding: DEFAULT_PADDING,
    backgroundColor: '#F5F7FA',
  },
  title: {
    fontSize: 20,
    fontWeight: 'bold',
  },
});

Key Practices:

✅ Use functional components with hooks
✅ Use StyleSheet.create() for styles
✅ Wrap screens with SafeAreaView
✅ Handle loading and error states
✅ Use existing UI components from components/ui/
❌ Avoid inline styles (except for dynamic values)
❌ Avoid class components
❌ Don't skip error handling

Design System:

// Use constants from constants/Colors.ts
import Colors from '@/constants/Colors';

// Headers: 28px, Bold
// Titles: 20px, Bold
// Body: 15px, Medium
// Small: 13px, Regular

// Colors:
// Primary: #0066CC
// Success: #4CAF50
// Warning: #FF9800
// Error: #FF6B6B
// Background: #F5F7FA

Medical Safety Guidelines

When working with health-related features:

Always validate health inputs

// ✅ Good
function validateWeight(weight: number): boolean {
  return weight > 0 && weight < 500; // Reasonable range
}

Include disclaimers

// ✅ Good
<MedicalDisclaimer text="This is for educational purposes only. Consult your healthcare provider." />

Handle medical conditions carefully

// ✅ Good - Condition-specific validation
if (userProfile.medicalConditions.includes('diabetes')) {
  // Apply diabetes-specific dietary restrictions
}

Respect data privacy
- All health data stored locally
- Never log sensitive information
- Use secure storage for authentication tokens

Pull Request Process

Before Submitting

Code follows the style guidelines
TypeScript types are properly defined
Code has been tested on iOS and/or Android
Linter passes (pnpm lint)
Type check passes (pnpm typecheck)
Commit messages follow conventions
Documentation updated (if needed)
Medical disclaimers included (if applicable)

Submitting a Pull Request

Push your branch to your fork

git push origin feature/your-feature-name

Create a Pull Request on GitHub
- Use a clear, descriptive title
- Reference related issues (e.g., "Fixes #123")
- Describe your changes in detail
- Include screenshots for UI changes
- List any breaking changes
Pull Request Template:

## Description
Brief description of the changes made.

## Type of Change
- [ ] Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
- [ ] New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
- [ ] Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to not work as expected)
- [ ] Documentation update

## Related Issues
Fixes #(issue number)

## Testing
Describe the tests you ran:
- [ ] Tested on iOS
- [ ] Tested on Android
- [ ] Tested with medical condition: [specify]
- [ ] Tested offline fallback
- [ ] Linter passed (`pnpm lint`)
- [ ] Type checking passed (`pnpm typecheck`)

## Screenshots (if applicable)
[Add screenshots here]

## Checklist
- [ ] My code follows the style guidelines
- [ ] I have performed a self-review
- [ ] I have commented complex code
- [ ] I have updated documentation
- [ ] My changes generate no new warnings
- [ ] I have tested on real devices
- [ ] Medical disclaimers included (if applicable)

Review Process

Automated checks will run (linting, type checking)
Maintainers will review your code
Address feedback by pushing new commits
Approval - Once approved, your PR will be merged

Review Timeline:

Small fixes: Usually within 1-3 days
New features: May take 3-7 days
Large refactors: Could take 1-2 weeks

Community

Getting Help

GitHub Discussions: Ask questions and discuss ideas
GitHub Issues: Report bugs and request features
Email: support@medidiet.app
Documentation: Check the README and code comments

Recognition

Contributors will be recognized in:

GitHub contributors list
Release notes for significant contributions
Special mentions for exceptional contributions

Stay Updated

Watch the repository for notifications
Star the project to show support
Share the project with others who might benefit

Additional Resources

Questions?

If you have questions that aren't covered in this guide:

Check the README
Search existing GitHub Issues
Create a new issue with the question label

Thank You! 🙏

Your contributions help make MediDiet AI better for everyone managing their health through nutrition. Every contribution, no matter how small, is valued and appreciated!

Happy Contributing! 🎉

Navigation Menu

Contributing to MediDiet AI 🤝

Table of Contents

Code of Conduct

What Should I Know Before I Get Started?

Project Overview

Medical and Health Context

How Can I Contribute?

Reporting Bugs

Suggesting Enhancements

Contributing Code

Improving Documentation

Development Setup

Prerequisites

Initial Setup

Running Tests and Checks

Development Workflow

Branch Naming Convention

Making Changes

Style Guidelines

Git Commit Messages

TypeScript Style Guide

React Native Best Practices

Medical Safety Guidelines

Pull Request Process

Before Submitting

Submitting a Pull Request

Review Process

Community

Getting Help

Recognition

Stay Updated

Additional Resources

Questions?

Thank You! 🙏

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CONTRIBUTING.md

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CONTRIBUTING.md

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Contributing to MediDiet AI 🤝

Table of Contents

Code of Conduct

What Should I Know Before I Get Started?

Project Overview

Medical and Health Context

How Can I Contribute?

Reporting Bugs

Suggesting Enhancements

Contributing Code

Improving Documentation

Development Setup

Prerequisites

Initial Setup

Running Tests and Checks

Development Workflow

Branch Naming Convention

Making Changes

Style Guidelines

Git Commit Messages

TypeScript Style Guide

React Native Best Practices

Medical Safety Guidelines

Pull Request Process

Before Submitting

Submitting a Pull Request

Review Process

Community

Getting Help

Recognition

Stay Updated

Additional Resources

Questions?

Thank You! 🙏