Thank you for your interest in contributing to Sim Studio! Our goal is to provide developers with a powerful, user-friendly platform for building, testing, and optimizing agentic workflows. We welcome contributions in all forms—from bug fixes and design improvements to brand-new features.
Project Overview:
Sim Studio is a monorepo containing the main application (sim/
) and documentation (docs/
). The main application is built with Next.js (app router), ReactFlow, Zustand, Shadcn, and Tailwind CSS. Please ensure your contributions follow our best practices for clarity, maintainability, and consistency.
- How to Contribute
- Reporting Issues
- Pull Request Process
- Commit Message Guidelines
- Local Development Setup
- Adding New Blocks and Tools
- Local Storage Mode
- Standalone Build
- License
- Contributor License Agreement (CLA)
We strive to keep our workflow as simple as possible. To contribute:
-
Fork the Repository
Click the Fork button on GitHub to create your own copy of the project. -
Clone Your Fork
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/sim.git
-
Create a Feature Branch
Create a new branch with a descriptive name:git checkout -b feat/your-feature-name
Use a clear naming convention to indicate the type of work (e.g.,
feat/
,fix/
,docs/
). -
Make Your Changes
Ensure your changes are small, focused, and adhere to our coding guidelines. -
Commit Your Changes
Write clear, descriptive commit messages that follow the Conventional Commits specification. This allows us to maintain a coherent project history and generate changelogs automatically. For example:feat(api): add new endpoint for user authentication
fix(ui): resolve button alignment issue
docs: update contribution guidelines
-
Push Your Branch
git push origin feat/your-feature-name
-
Create a Pull Request
Open a pull request against themain
branch on GitHub. Please provide a clear description of the changes and reference any relevant issues (e.g.,fixes #123
).
If you discover a bug or have a feature request, please open an issue in our GitHub repository. When opening an issue, ensure you:
- Provide a clear, descriptive title.
- Include as many details as possible (steps to reproduce, screenshots, etc.).
- Tag Your Issue Appropriately:
Use the following labels to help us categorize your issue:- active: Actively working on it right now.
- bug: Something isn't working.
- design: Improvements & changes to design & UX.
- discussion: Initiate a discussion or propose an idea.
- documentation: Improvements or updates to documentation.
- feature: New feature or request.
Note: If you're uncertain which label to use, mention it in your issue description and we'll help categorize it.
Before creating a pull request:
-
Ensure Your Branch Is Up-to-Date:
Rebase your branch onto the latestmain
branch to prevent merge conflicts. -
Follow the Guidelines:
Make sure your changes are well-tested, follow our coding standards, and include relevant documentation if necessary. -
Reference Issues:
If your PR addresses an existing issue, includerefs #<issue-number>
orfixes #<issue-number>
in your PR description.
Our maintainers will review your pull request and provide feedback. We aim to make the review process as smooth and timely as possible.
We follow the Conventional Commits standard. Your commit messages should have the following format:
<type>[optional scope]: <description>
- Types may include:
feat
– a new featurefix
– a bug fixdocs
– documentation changesstyle
– code style changes (formatting, missing semicolons, etc.)refactor
– code changes that neither fix a bug nor add a featuretest
– adding or correcting testschore
– changes to tooling, build process, etc.high priority
– a high priority feature or fixhigh risk
– a high risk feature or fiximprovement
– an improvement to the codebase
Examples:
feat[auth]: add social login integration
fix[ui]: correct misaligned button on homepage
docs: update installation instructions
Using clear and consistent commit messages makes it easier for everyone to understand the project history and aids in automating changelog generation.
To set up your local development environment:
Docker provides a consistent development environment with all dependencies pre-configured.
-
Clone the Repository:
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/sim.git cd sim
-
Start the Docker Environment:
docker compose up -d
Or use the convenience script which handles environment setup and migrations:
chmod +x scripts/start_simstudio_docker.sh ./scripts/start_simstudio_docker.sh
This will:
- Start a PostgreSQL database container
- Build and run the Next.js application with hot-reloading
- Set up all necessary environment variables
- Apply database migrations automatically
-
View Logs:
docker compose logs -f simstudio
-
Make Your Changes:
- Edit files in your local directory
- Changes will be automatically reflected thanks to hot-reloading
Dev Containers provide a consistent and easy-to-use development environment:
-
Prerequisites:
- Visual Studio Code
- Docker Desktop
- Remote - Containers extension for VS Code
-
Setup Steps:
- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/sim.git cd sim
- Open the project in VS Code
- When prompted, click "Reopen in Container" (or press F1 and select "Remote-Containers: Reopen in Container")
- Wait for the container to build and initialize
- The development environment will be set up in the
sim/
directory
- Clone the repository:
-
Start Developing:
- All dependencies and configurations are automatically set up
- Use the provided aliases (like
sim-start
) to run common commands - Your changes will be automatically hot-reloaded
-
GitHub Codespaces:
- This setup also works with GitHub Codespaces if you prefer development in the browser
- Just click "Code" → "Codespaces" → "Create codespace on main"
If you prefer not to use Docker or Dev Containers:
-
Clone the Repository:
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/sim.git cd sim/sim
-
Install Dependencies:
- Using NPM:
npm install
- Using NPM:
-
Set Up Environment:
- Copy
.env.example
to.env
- Configure database connection and other required authentication variables
- Copy
-
Set Up Database:
- You need a PostgreSQL instance running
- Run migrations:
npm run db:push
-
Run the Development Server:
- With NPM:
npm run dev
- With NPM:
-
Make Your Changes and Test Locally.
When working on email templates, you can preview them using a local email preview server:
-
Run the Email Preview Server:
npm run email:dev
-
Access the Preview:
- Open
http://localhost:3000
in your browser - You'll see a list of all email templates
- Click on any template to view and test it with various parameters
- Open
-
Templates Location:
- Email templates are located in
sim/app/emails/
- After making changes to templates, they will automatically update in the preview
- Email templates are located in
Sim Studio is built in a modular fashion where blocks and tools extend the platform's functionality. To maintain consistency and quality, please follow the guidelines below when adding a new block or tool.
- Blocks: Create your new block file under the
/sim/blocks/blocks
directory. The name of the file should match the provider name (e.g.,pinecone.ts
). - Tools: Create a new directory under
/sim/tools
with the same name as the provider (e.g.,/sim/tools/pinecone
).
In addition, you will need to update the registries:
- Block Registry: Update the blocks index (
/sim/blocks/index.ts
) to include your new block. - Tool Registry: Update the tools registry (
/sim/tools/index.ts
) to add your new tool.
-
Create a New File:
Create a file for your block named after the provider (e.g.,pinecone.ts
) in the/sim/blocks/blocks
directory. -
Create a New Icon: Create a new icon for your block in the
/sim/components/icons.tsx
file. The icon should follow the same naming convention as the block (e.g.,PineconeIcon
). -
Define the Block Configuration:
Your block should export a constant of typeBlockConfig
. For example:import { PineconeIcon } from '@/components/icons' import { PineconeResponse } from '@/tools/pinecone/types' import { BlockConfig } from '../types' export const PineconeBlock: BlockConfig<PineconeResponse> = { type: 'pinecone', name: 'Pinecone', description: 'Use Pinecone vector database', longDescription: 'A more detailed description of what this block does and how to use it.', category: 'tools', bgColor: '#123456', icon: PineconeIcon, // If this block requires OAuth authentication provider: 'pinecone', // Define subBlocks for the UI configuration subBlocks: [ // Block configuration options ], }
-
Register Your Block:
Import and add your block to the blocks registry (/sim/blocks/index.ts
) in the appropriate index file so it appears in the workflow builder.import { PineconeBlock } from './blocks/pinecone' export const blocks = [ // ... existing blocks PineconeBlock, ] export const blocksByType: Record<string, BlockConfig> = { // ... existing blocks by type pinecone: PineconeBlock, }
-
Test Your Block:
Ensure that the block displays correctly in the UI and that its functionality works as expected.
-
Create a New Directory:
Create a directory under/sim/tools
with the same name as the provider (e.g.,/sim/tools/pinecone
). -
Create Tool Files:
Create separate files for each tool functionality with descriptive names (e.g.,fetch.ts
,generate_embeddings.ts
,search_text.ts
) in your tool directory. -
Create a Types File:
Create atypes.ts
file in your tool directory to define and export all types related to your tools. -
Create an Index File:
Create anindex.ts
file in your tool directory that imports and exports all tools:import { fetchTool } from './fetch' import { generateEmbeddingsTool } from './generate_embeddings' import { searchTextTool } from './search_text' export { fetchTool, generateEmbeddingsTool, searchTextTool }
-
Define the Tool Configuration:
Your tool should export a constant with a naming convention of{toolName}Tool
. The tool ID should follow the format{provider}_{tool_name}
. For example:import { ToolConfig, ToolResponse } from '../types' import { PineconeParams, PineconeResponse } from './types' export const fetchTool: ToolConfig<PineconeParams, PineconeResponse> = { id: 'pinecone_fetch', // Follow the {provider}_{tool_name} format name: 'Pinecone Fetch', description: 'Fetch vectors from Pinecone database', version: '1.0.0', // OAuth configuration (if applicable) provider: 'pinecone', // ID of the OAuth provider params: { // Tool parameters }, request: { // Request configuration }, transformResponse: async (response: Response) => { // Transform response }, transformError: (error) => { // Handle errors }, }
-
Register Your Tool:
Update the tools registry in/sim/tools/index.ts
to include your new tool:import { fetchTool, generateEmbeddingsTool, searchTextTool } from './pinecone' // ... other imports export const tools: Record<string, ToolConfig> = { // ... existing tools pinecone_fetch: fetchTool, pinecone_generate_embeddings: generateEmbeddingsTool, pinecone_search_text: searchTextTool, }
-
Test Your Tool:
Ensure that your tool functions correctly by making test requests and verifying the responses.
Maintaining consistent naming across the codebase is critical for auto-generation of tools and documentation. Follow these naming guidelines:
- Block Files: Name should match the provider (e.g.,
pinecone.ts
) - Block Export: Should be named
{Provider}Block
(e.g.,PineconeBlock
) - Icons: Should be named
{Provider}Icon
(e.g.,PineconeIcon
) - Tool Directories: Should match the provider name (e.g.,
/tools/pinecone/
) - Tool Files: Should be named after their function (e.g.,
fetch.ts
,search_text.ts
) - Tool Exports: Should be named
{toolName}Tool
(e.g.,fetchTool
) - Tool IDs: Should follow the format
{provider}_{tool_name}
(e.g.,pinecone_fetch
)
- Code Style: Follow the project's ESLint and Prettier configurations. Use meaningful variable names and small, focused functions.
- Documentation: Clearly document the purpose, inputs, outputs, and any special behavior for your block/tool.
- Error Handling: Implement robust error handling and provide user-friendly error messages.
- Testing: Add unit or integration tests to verify your changes when possible.
- Commit Changes: Update all related components and registries, and describe your changes in your pull request.
Happy coding!
This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the Apache License 2.0 as well.
By contributing to this repository, you agree that your contributions are provided under the terms of the Apache License Version 2.0, as included in the LICENSE file of this repository.
In addition, by submitting your contributions, you grant Sim Studio, Inc. ("The Licensor") a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable right and license to:
- Use, copy, modify, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, and prepare derivative works of your contributions.
- Incorporate your contributions into other works or products.
- Re-license your contributions under a different license at any time in the future, at the Licensor's sole discretion.
You represent and warrant that you have the legal authority to grant these rights and that your contributions are original or you have sufficient rights to submit them under these terms.
If you do not agree with these terms, you must not contribute your work to this repository.
Thank you for taking the time to contribute to Sim Studio. We truly appreciate your efforts and look forward to collaborating with you!