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Contributing

If you encounter issues with Nitro, want to fix a bug, or reproduce a bug in the example app, you'd need to clone the repo and get it running first.

The nitro repo is a Bun monorepo, and is set up like this:

  • example/: A react-native app that uses react-native-nitro-modules and react-native-nitro-image.
  • packages/
    • /nitrogen/: The Node app that generates Nitro bindings. On npm, it is called nitro-codegen.
    • /react-native-nitro-modules/: The core Nitro Modules library which contains mostly C++ code.
    • /react-native-nitro-image/: An example Nitro Module library that contains a lot of test code.
    • /template/: A template for a Nitro Module library.

Run Nitro Example​

1. Set up your development environment​

You need:

2. Clone the repo​

Clone mrousavy/nitro using git, and navigate into the nitro folder using Terminal.

3. Install dependencies​

Using Bun, install all required dependencies:

bun install
bun run build

3.1. (Optional) Install iOS dependencies​

If you want to work on the iOS codebase, you also need to install the Pods:

cd example
bundle install
bun pods

4. Run the app​

After installing all dependencies, you can run the React Native app in example/:

  1. Open example/ios/NitroExample.xcworkspace in Xcode
  2. Select your target (iPhone Simulator)
  3. Click Run

Reproduce something in the Nitro Example app​

With most issue reports, it is required to reproduce the issue in the Nitro example app (example/). Whether it's a build error, a nitrogen error, or a runtime error, there needs to be a way to reproduce it here. Usually, you can reproduce issues like this:

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Change the code to reproduce the issue
  3. Create a PR to the nitro repository which demonstrates the issue

Reproduce a build error​

If you encounter a build error, compare your setup to the setup in example/. For example, if you have a different setting in your Podfile, try changing it here in Nitro example/ as well to see if it builds here. Submit a PR with the change required to make it fail, and see if the CI fails to build.

Reproduce a nitrogen bug​

The Nitro example/ app uses a Nitro Module (packages/react-native-nitro-image/) which acts as an example contains a lot of test code, like src/specs/TestObject.nitro.ts (link). If you change something in TestObject.nitro.ts, make sure to run nitrogen:

bun image specs

Reproduce a runtime error​

Submit a PR to the nitro repository that demonstrates this runtime error or crash in the Nitro example/ app.

Run Nitro Docs​

The Nitro docs (nitro.margelo.com) are built with Docusaurus.

To run the Nitro docs, follow these steps:

1. Install dependencies​

Navigate into the docs/ folder, and install all dependencies:

cd docs
bun install

2. Run docs (dev)​

Then, just run the docs development server using the docusaurus command:

bun start

Linting​

We value code quality and consistent styling.

For JS/TS, we use ESLint and Prettier:

bun lint

For C++, we use clang-format:

bun lint-cpp

Make sure to lint your files everytime before creating a PR. This is also enforced in the CI, but linting beforehand also applies auto-fixes.