# Contributing Thank you for considering contributing to **nuntius** — a small, opinionated, modular contact form backend written in Go, with zero runtime dependencies and only the first-party `interpres` TOML module (no external third-party Go modules). ## Branches and releases - **`main`** holds released code only. It is never committed to directly. - **`development`** is the integration branch where work lands. Open pull requests against `development`. Releases follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org) and are cut by merging `development` into `main` and pushing a `vX.Y.Z` tag to `main`; CI does not perform the merge. See [Cutting a release](#cutting-a-release) for the full procedure. ## Development Setup ### Requirements - **Go 1.26+** (uses Go 1.22+ `http.ServeMux` method patterns and `log/slog`) - [`just`](https://github.com/casey/just) command runner (the `justfile` is the source of truth for build / test / run / install / uninstall) - Linux, macOS, or FreeBSD - A local SMTP account for end-to-end testing. Tests in `internal/storage` and `pkg/contactform` do not require SMTP. ### Quick Start ```bash git clone https://sourcedock.dev/petrbalvin/nuntius.git cd nuntius just install # go mod tidy + go mod download (no third-party modules — no-op for this project) just build # → ./bin/nuntius (with -ldflags="-s -w") just test # go test ./... just run # go run ./cmd/server, listens on :8080 ``` The first `just run` writes a template `config.toml` to `/etc/nuntius/config.toml`. To run without root, point `config.ConfigPath` at a writable location or copy the template from `internal/config/config.go` and edit it. ### Running Tests ```bash just test ``` The suite covers: - `pkg/contactform` — validators for all four form types (contact, feedback, newsletter, generic), whitespace trimming, and error message shape. - `internal/storage` — `Append` / `Count` / `List` semantics, file and directory auto-creation, missing-file tolerance, malformed-line resilience. ### Linting This project intentionally avoids third-party Go modules, so there is no `golangci-lint` step. CI enforces the two checks below — run them locally before opening a pull request: ```bash gofmt -l cmd internal pkg # must print nothing go vet ./... ``` ## Code Style - Follow [Effective Go](https://go.dev/doc/effective_go) and the [Go Code Review Comments](https://github.com/golang/go/wiki/CodeReviewComments). - Keep lines under 100 characters where practical. - Use `camelCase` for variables and functions, `PascalCase` for exported symbols. - Prefix every file with a one-line comment describing its purpose. - Use long flags / struct field names — no single-letter aliases. - Prefer the Go standard library over external dependencies. **This project allows only stdlib plus the first-party `interpres` TOML library** — no other external imports. If you need a feature that is not in stdlib or `interpres`, implement it on top of stdlib or open an issue first. - Error messages in English, lowercase, no trailing period, always wrapped with context (`fmt.Errorf("read %s: %w", path, err)`). - Do not log SMTP credentials or full request bodies. ### Formatting ```bash gofmt -w cmd internal pkg ``` There is no `make fmt` target because `gofmt` is the canonical formatter and is enforced by CI. ### Testing - Write tests alongside the code in `_test.go` files. - Use table-driven tests for multiple cases. - Include both happy path and error path tests. - Name tests following the Go convention: `TestFunctionName_Scenario`. - Use `t.TempDir()` for any test that touches the filesystem; never assume a clean working directory. - Network-dependent tests (if any are added in the future) must be guarded by a build tag or a `-short` check so the default `go test ./...` stays hermetic. ## Commit Conventions We follow [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/). | Type | Use | |------------|----------------------------------------------------| | `feat` | New feature | | `fix` | Bug fix | | `refactor` | Code restructuring without behavior change | | `docs` | Documentation changes | | `test` | Adding or updating tests | | `chore` | Maintenance, CI, tooling | | `perf` | Performance improvement | | `security` | Hardening without a user-visible fix | ``` feat: add generic form type with allow-list validation fix: trim leading/trailing whitespace on every validated field refactor: split handler.go into per-form files docs: add architecture overview diagram test: cover malformed-line resilience in newsletter store chore: add go 1.26 to go.mod ``` - English, lowercase subject, imperative mood (`add`, not `added`). - No trailing period, max 72 characters. - No version numbers in commit messages — versions belong to tags. ## Pull Request Flow 1. Create a feature branch from `development`. 2. Make your changes with clear commit messages following Conventional Commits. 3. Ensure `gofmt -l cmd internal pkg` prints nothing and `go vet ./...` passes. 4. Ensure `just test` passes (`go test ./...`). 5. Add or update tests for your changes — both `pkg/contactform` and `internal/storage` are the canonical places for new tests; integration coverage belongs in `examples/` or in a new top-level `*_test.go` under `cmd/`. 6. Update documentation if the public API, configuration schema, or behavior changes: - `README.md` for the high-level overview. - `docs/configuration.md` for any new / changed config keys. - `docs/api-reference.md` for any new / changed HTTP behaviour. - `docs/architecture.md` for any structural change. 7. Open a pull request against `development` describing the change, the test plan, and any migration notes. Releasing is a separate step handled by the maintainer — see [Cutting a release](#cutting-a-release). ## Project Structure ``` nuntius/ ├── cmd/ │ └── server/ # CLI entry point (main.go): load config, build handler, run HTTP server ├── internal/ │ ├── config/ # TOML config loading, env-var expansion, schema validation │ ├── email/ # SMTP message composition (multipart/alternative) and delivery │ ├── handler/ # HTTP routing: CORS, rate limit, honeypot, validate, send, persist │ └── storage/ # Append-only JSONL newsletter subscriber store ├── pkg/ │ └── contactform/ # Public, reusable: Request/Response/ErrorResponse types + Validate ├── examples/ │ └── minimal/ # Standalone usage of pkg/contactform (no HTTP server) ├── docs/ # Architecture, configuration, API, deployment, security, library usage ├── install.py # One-shot server installer (idempotent) ├── justfile # install, build, test, run, uninstall ├── go.mod # Go 1.26, no external dependencies └── LICENSE # MIT ``` ## Architecture Overview ```mermaid graph TD Browser[Browser / Frontend]:::accent6 Nginx[nginx reverse proxy]:::accent6 CLI[cmd/server/main.go]:::accent0 Config[internal/config/]:::accent7 Handler[internal/handler/]:::accent0 Validate[pkg/contactform/Validate]:::accent3 Email[internal/email/FormSender]:::accent1 Storage[internal/storage/NewsletterStore]:::accent1 SMTP[(SMTP server)]:::accent2 JSONL[(data_dir/newsletter-*.jsonl)]:::accent2 Browser -->|POST /api/nuntius/contact| Nginx Nginx -->|forward with X-Forwarded-For| CLI CLI --> Config CLI --> Handler Handler --> Validate Handler --> Email Handler --> Storage Email -->|SMTP PLAIN| SMTP Storage -->|append JSONL| JSONL Handler -->|200 ok / 4xx / 5xx| Nginx Nginx --> Browser classDef accent0 fill:#3B82F6,stroke:#2563EB,color:#fff classDef accent1 fill:#22C55E,stroke:#16A34A,color:#fff classDef accent2 fill:#F59E0B,stroke:#D97706,color:#000 classDef accent3 fill:#A855F7,stroke:#7C3AED,color:#fff classDef accent6 fill:#6366F1,stroke:#4F46E5,color:#fff classDef accent7 fill:#64748B,stroke:#475569,color:#fff ``` ### Key Design Decisions - **One process, many forms** — A single nuntius process serves every form defined in `config.toml`. Each form has its own per-IP rate limit, CORS allowlist, honeypot, and (for `newsletter`) subscriber store. - **Per-form SMTP credentials** — `email.FormSender` is bound to one form, so credentials never cross tenants inside the same process. - **In-memory rate limiting** — Token-bucket per IP, per form. No Redis. Resets on restart; that is an acceptable trade-off for a small backend. - **Honeypot is a positive control** — A bot that fills the hidden field gets a `200 ok` response. Humans are never blocked; bots are silently dropped without sending mail. - **Append-only JSONL for subscribers** — One JSON object per line under `data_dir/`. Malformed lines are skipped on read so a partial write can never brick the file. No rotation is performed automatically — add logrotate yourself. - **Env-var expansion before TOML parse** — `${NUNTIUS_SMTP_PASSWORD}` is substituted by `os.Expand` *before* the TOML is parsed by `interpres`, so the password never lands in the parsed struct as a literal — only its expanded value is held in memory. - **Unknown fields are rejected** — `interpres.DisallowUnknownFields` catches typos at startup rather than silently ignoring them. - **No global state outside the binary** — Everything that varies per form is owned by `ContactHandler` and the maps it builds in `New()`. There are no package-level singletons beyond the implicit `slog` default. ## Testing Strategy | Layer | Approach | Tools | |---|---|---| | Unit tests | Table-driven tests for validators and per-form rate limiters | `testing` stdlib | | Storage tests | `t.TempDir()`-scoped JSONL files, malformed-line fixtures | `testing` + `os` + `bufio` | | HTTP layer | Implicit: the per-form `makeHandler` closure is a plain function; tests should be added by calling it with an `httptest.NewRecorder` if/when the surface grows | `net/http/httptest` | | Race detection | `go test -race` is encouraged locally for changes touching `handler.go` and `storage` | `go test -race` | ## CI This project uses **Gitea Actions** for continuous integration. The two workflow files live under `.gitea/workflows/` and are the source of truth for what runs on every push and on every tagged release. ### Test workflow — `.gitea/workflows/test.yml` Triggered on every push to `development` and on every pull request targeting `development`. `main` is excluded on purpose — it only ever receives release tags, and the release workflow builds the binaries itself. Three jobs run in sequence, all on the `fedora` runner: | Job | What it does | Why it exists | |---|---|---| | `vet` | `gofmt -l cmd internal pkg` (must print nothing) and `go vet ./...` | Catches formatting drift and static-analysis issues before tests run. | | `test` | `go test -race -count=1 ./...` plus `go build ./examples/...` | Race detector catches issues in the per-form rate limiter, the storage mutex, and the SMTP send path. `-count=1` disables the result cache. The example build is a smoke test for the public library. | | `build` | `just build`, `just test`, and `./bin/nuntius --version` smoke test | Confirms the `justfile` build recipe works end-to-end and that `--version` still prints the expected output. | Run the same checks locally before opening a pull request: ```bash gofmt -l cmd internal pkg # must print nothing go vet ./... just test just build ./bin/nuntius --version # sanity-check the new flag ``` ### Release workflow — `.gitea/workflows/release.yml` Triggered by pushing a tag that matches `v*.*.*` (e.g. `v1.0.0`, `v1.2.3`) onto `main`. The merge from `development` into `main` is the maintainer's responsibility and happens before the tag is pushed — this workflow does not merge anything. Two jobs: 1. **`build`** — Runs on a `fedora` runner in a 7-way matrix: `linux/amd64`, `linux/arm64`, `linux/riscv64`, `linux/loong64`, `freebsd/amd64`, `freebsd/arm64`, `freebsd/riscv64`. The default `actions/checkout@v4` checks out the tagged commit (the trigger was a tag push), which is exactly the commit on `main` we want to ship. The version is baked in via `-ldflags`: ```bash -X sourcedock.dev/petrbalvin/nuntius/internal/version.Version=${VERSION_NO_V} ``` The resulting binary is uploaded as a workflow artifact and smoke-tested with `--version` on the build host. 2. **`release`** — Runs on a `fedora` runner (no Go toolchain needed). Downloads all artifacts, extracts the matching section from `CHANGELOG.md` for the tagged version, creates a release via the Gitea REST API, and uploads each binary as a release asset. The release is **non-draft, non-prerelease**; if the CHANGELOG section is missing, the job fails fast so a release cannot ship without notes. ### Cutting a release 1. Bump `Version` in `internal/version/version.go`. 2. Add a new `## [X.Y.Z] — YYYY-MM-DD` section at the top of `CHANGELOG.md`. 3. Make sure CI is green on `development` (pushes and PRs against `development` are what the test workflow runs on). 4. Merge `development` into `main` (e.g. open a PR on Gitea, or `git checkout main && git merge --no-ff development && git push origin main`). This is the **only** step where `main` is updated outside of a tag push. 5. Tag the `main` tip and push the tag: ```bash git tag -a vX.Y.Z -m "nuntius vX.Y.Z" git push origin main git push origin vX.Y.Z ``` 6. The release workflow builds the seven platform binaries and creates the release with the CHANGELOG section as the body. No CI step performs the merge — that already happened in step 4. If the release job fails, the tag can be deleted and re-pushed; the workflow re-runs on the new tag push. Do not re-tag an already-released commit — the Gitea API rejects duplicate release tag names. ## Adding a New Form Type The four current types (`contact`, `feedback`, `newsletter`, `generic`) live in `internal/config.ValidFormTypes`. To add one: 1. Add the new type to `ValidFormTypes` in `internal/config/config.go`. 2. Add a `validateXxx` function in `pkg/contactform/validate.go` and dispatch it from `Validate`. 3. Add an `emailTemplateXxx` and a `compose()` branch in `internal/email/sender.go`. 4. Add tests in `pkg/contactform/validate_test.go`. 5. Update `docs/configuration.md` (form type table) and `docs/api-reference.md` if the public surface changes. ## Report a Bug Open an issue at with: - nuntius version (`./bin/nuntius --version`). - Operating system and architecture. - The exact `curl` / frontend snippet that reproduces it. - Expected vs actual behaviour, and the relevant slice of `journalctl -u nuntius`. For **security issues**, please email **opensource@petrbalvin.org** rather than opening a public issue.