Contributing to the Nexus

Every PR: net ≤ 10 added lines. Not a guideline — a hard limit. Add 40, remove 30. Can't remove? You're homebrewing. Import instead.

Why

Import over invent. Plug in the research. No builder trap. Removal is a first-class contribution. Baseline: 4,462 lines (2026-03-25). Goes down.

PR Checklist

Net diff ≤ 10 (+12 -8 = net +4 ✅ / +200 -0 = net +200 ❌)
Manual test plan — specific steps, not "it works"
Automated test output — paste it, or write a test (counts toward your 10)

Applies to every contributor: human, Timmy, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Kimi, Grok. Exception: initial dependency config files (requirements.txt, package.json). No other exceptions. Too big? Break it up.

Reviewer Policy

Every PR must have a reviewer assigned before merge. See docs/pr-reviewer-policy.md.

Contribution Guidelines

Branch Protection Policy

All repositories follow these mandatory rules for the main branch:

Required for All Merges

Pull Request must exist for all changes
At least 1 approval from reviewer
CI checks must pass (where available)
No force pushes allowed
No direct pushes to main
No branch deletion

Review Requirements by Repository

hermes-agent:
  required_owners:
    - perplexity
    - Timmy

the-nexus:
  required_owners:
    - perplexity

timmy-home:
  required_owners:
    - perplexity

timmy-config:
  required_owners:
    - perplexity

CI Status

- hermes-agent: ✅ Active
- the-nexus: ⚠️ CI runner disabled (see #915)
- timmy-home: - (No CI)
- timmy-config: - (Limited CI)

Workflow

Create feature branch
Open PR against main
Get 1+ approvals
Ensure CI passes
Merge via UI

Enforcement

These rules are enforced by Gitea branch protection settings. Direct pushes to main will be blocked.

Abandoned PRs

PRs not updated in >7 days will be labeled "stale" and may be closed after 30 days of inactivity.

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