---
title: "Contribute to Caracal"
url: "https://docs.caracal.run/v1.0/contributing/"
markdown_url: "https://docs.caracal.run/markdown/v1.0/contributing.md"
description: "Contributor guide for local setup, project standards, workflow, validation, governance, and releases."
page_type: "landing"
concepts: []
requires: []
---

# Contribute to Caracal

Canonical URL: https://docs.caracal.run/v1.0/contributing/
Markdown URL: https://docs.caracal.run/markdown/v1.0/contributing.md
Description: Contributor guide for local setup, project standards, workflow, validation, governance, and releases.
Page type: landing
Concepts: none
Requires: none

---

Caracal welcomes bug reports, documentation fixes, tests, SDK improvements, and platform features. This section is the contributor journey from a fresh clone to a merged pull request; the canonical policy lives in [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/Garudex-Labs/caracal/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md).

## Repository Map

The workspace is multi-language: TypeScript applications, Go services, multi-language SDK packages, Docker/Helm infrastructure, and Astro documentation.

| Directory   | What lives there                                                                                                  |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `apps/`     | TypeScript applications: the Admin API, Coordinator, runtime CLI, web console, and console auth backend.           |
| `services/` | Go data-plane services: STS, Gateway, and Audit.                                                                   |
| `packages/` | SDKs and shared libraries in TypeScript, Python, and Go: core, engine, SDK, identity, OAuth, verify, and adapters. |
| `infra/`    | Docker, Helm, Postgres, Redis, and OpenTofu deployment assets.                                                     |
| `docs/`     | This documentation site.                                                                                            |
| `tests/`    | Cross-language test suites and shared fixtures.                                                                     |
| `scripts/`  | Repository automation for setup, style, tests, and releases.                                                        |

Each service, app, and package directory self-documents its rules in an `instructions.md` file.

## Contributor Path

Follow the path in order; each page ends where the next begins.

| Need                                            | Page                                             |
| ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| Prepare your machine                            | [Set Up Locally](/v1.0/contributing/setup/)           |
| Learn project boundaries and naming conventions | [Follow Project Standards](/v1.0/contributing/style/) |
| Work on an issue or pull request                | [Make a Change](/v1.0/contributing/workflow/)         |
| Run the right checks                            | [Validate Changes](/v1.0/contributing/testing/)       |

## Maintainer Path

| Need                                               | Page                                               |
| -------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Understand review, ownership, and security process | [Understand Governance](/v1.0/contributing/governance/) |
| Prepare, publish, or recover a release             | [Release Caracal](/v1.0/contributing/release/)          |

## Before You Start

* File bugs, documentation gaps, and feature requests through the [issue templates](https://github.com/Garudex-Labs/caracal/issues/new/choose). A small focused fix can go straight to a pull request; medium and larger changes start with an issue or proposal before code, as sized in [Contribution Scale](/v1.0/contributing/governance/#contribution-scale).
* Report suspected vulnerabilities through [Report a Vulnerability](/v1.0/security/disclosure/), never in public issues.
* Interactions follow the repository [Code of Conduct](https://github.com/Garudex-Labs/caracal/blob/main/.github/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md).
* Toolchain versions are pinned in [Set Up Locally](/v1.0/contributing/setup/#prerequisites); no prior knowledge of the repository is assumed beyond those tools.

## Next Step

Start with [Set Up Locally](/v1.0/contributing/setup/) before making source changes.