Contributing

AvalonDock is an open source project and contributions are welcome! Here’s how to get started.

Ways to Contribute

  • ⭐ Star the repository to show your support
  • 🐛 Report bugs via GitHub Issues
  • 💡 Request features via GitHub Issues
  • 🔧 Submit pull requests with bug fixes or improvements
  • 📖 Improve documentation — this site is in the docs/ folder

Development Setup

Prerequisites

  • Windows (WPF is Windows-only)
  • .NET 9 and/or .NET 10 SDK
  • Visual Studio 2022 or later

Build & Test 

git clone https://github.com/Dirkster99/AvalonDock.git
cd AvalonDock

dotnet build source/AvalonDock.sln
dotnet test source/AvalonDock.sln -m:1

Tests must run single-threaded (-m:1) due to WPF STA requirements.

Pull Request Guidelines

  1. Fork from the master branch
  2. Keep changes focused — one feature or fix per PR
  3. Follow the existing code style (tabs for indentation, UTF-8, LF line endings)
  4. Add or update tests if applicable
  5. Ensure the build passes with zero warnings (all warnings are treated as errors)

Commit Message Format 

[Fix|Feature] #<IssueNumber> - [<Topic>] <Description>

Examples:

  • [Fix] #123 - [Serialization] Handle null ContentId during deserialization
  • [Feature] #456 - [Themes] Add Arc theme dark variant

Code Quality Standards

The project enforces strict quality standards:

  • StyleCop.Analyzers for code style consistency
  • Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.NetAnalyzers for .NET best practices
  • SonarAnalyzer.CSharp for security and reliability
  • All warnings treated as errors in CI

License

By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the MS-PL / Apache 2.0 license.