CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributing

Getting started

1. Fork/clone the repository.
2. py -3.12 -m venv .venv && .\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
3. pip install -e ../secintel-core && pip install -e ".[dev]"
4. pytest — all tests must pass before submitting changes.

Code standards

• Type hints and docstrings on all public functions.
• No bare except: — catch specific exceptions.
• Every finding uses the secintel evidence taxonomy correctly.
• Never hard-code detection results, scores, or CVE references.
• Sample data must be labeled is_sample_data: true.

Adding detection heuristics

1. Document the heuristic in docs/methodology.md (hypothesis, signals, failure modes).
2. Add positive, negative, and edge-case tests under tests/.
3. Record false-positive/negative behavior in docs/limitations.md.
4. Update docs/benchmarks.md with measured numbers.

Pull request checklist

• Tests pass (pytest)
• Lint clean (ruff check)
• Types check (mypy src)
• docs/methodology.md updated if analysis logic changed
• docs/limitations.md updated if behavior changed
• No fabricated results in fixtures or demos