Contributing

Thank you for your interest in contributing to the Blender Development for PyCharm plugin!

This guide focuses on the development workflow and setup for the Kotlin source code of the plugin.

Reporting Issues

If you find a bug or have a feature request, and don’t have any Kotlin and Intellij Platform development skills, please open an issue with:

  • A clear title and description.

  • Steps to reproduce the bug.

  • Your OS, PyCharm version, and Blender version.

  • Any relevant logs or screenshots.

Upon submission, your post will be reviewed and appropriate action will be taken.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Setup

  1. Fork the repository on GitHub.

  2. Clone your fork locally.

  3. Open the project in IntelliJ IDEA.

  4. Set up the SDK: Ensure you have JDK 21+ installed and configured.

Development Workflow

1. Create a Branch

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
# or
git checkout -b fix/your-bug-fix

2. Make Changes

Implement your changes in the src/main/kotlin directory. Follow the existing project structure and Coding Guidelines.

3. Test Your Changes

Run the plugin in a sandbox environment to verify your changes:

./gradlew runIde

If you’ve added new logic, please consider adding unit tests in src/test/kotlin. The project includes a suite of headless integration tests for validating core communication and reload cycles. Run all tests with:

./gradlew test

4. Build and Verify

To build the distribution plugin ZIP file:

./gradlew buildPlugin

The project uses GitHub Actions (.github/workflows/verify.yml) to automatically validate all Pull Requests. Ensure your changes pass all CI checks before submission.

5. Open a Pull Request

Submit a Pull Request on GitHub. Provide a clear description of the changes and any related issues.

Communication

For questions or discussions, feel free to use GitHub Discussions or open an issue.

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By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the project’s license.