Contributing

OpenReels welcomes contributions. This guide covers how to get started, the development workflow, and what to expect from the review process.

Getting Started

1. Fork the repository on GitHub
2. Clone your fork:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/OpenReels.git
   cd OpenReels

3. Install dependencies:

   corepack enable pnpm
   pnpm install

4. Create a branch:

   git checkout -b feat/your-feature

Development Workflow

Run the test suite before making changes

pnpm test

This runs the full vitest suite. All tests should pass on a clean checkout with no API keys required.

Make your changes

• Follow the existing code patterns in the directory you are working in
• Add tests for new functionality (see Testing)
• Run type checking: pnpm typecheck
• Run the linter: pnpm lint

Run tests again

pnpm test

Ensure all existing tests still pass and your new tests work.

Commit and push

git add -A
git commit -m "feat: add new provider for X"
git push origin feat/your-feature

Use conventional commit prefixes: feat:, fix:, refactor:, test:, docs:, chore:.

Pull Request Process

1. Open a PR against the main branch
2. Fill in the PR template with a description of what changed and why
3. Ensure the CI checks pass (tests, linting, type checking)
4. A maintainer will review your PR

What makes a good PR

• Focused scope: one feature or fix per PR
• Tests included: new code should have tests
• No unrelated changes: keep the diff clean
• Clear description: explain what and why, not just what

Code Style

OpenReels uses Biome for linting and formatting. The configuration is in the project root.

# Check for issues
pnpm lint

# Auto-fix issues
pnpm lint:fix

# Format code
pnpm format

Biome handles both ESLint-style rules and Prettier-style formatting in a single tool.

Project Layout

See Architecture for a detailed breakdown of the codebase.

The key directories:

Areas for Contribution

Here are some areas where contributions are particularly welcome:

• New providers — add support for additional LLM, TTS, image, or video services (see Adding Providers)
• Caption styles — new visual styles for captions in src/remotion/captions/
• Archetypes — new visual style presets in src/config/archetypes/
• Bug fixes — check the issue tracker
• Documentation — improvements and corrections
• Tests — increase coverage for edge cases

Questions?

Open an issue on GitHub for questions, feature proposals, or bug reports.