oh-my-posh/website/docs/contributing/started.mdx

---
id: started
title: Get Started
sidebar_label: Get Started
---

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## Get the source code

The source is hosted on [Github][omp]. When you want to contribute, create a [fork][gh-fork] so you can make changes in
your repository and create a pull request in the official Oh My Posh repository.

To clone your fork of Oh My Posh locally, open the terminal and replace `<user>` with your Github username.

```powershell
git clone git@github.com:<user>/oh-my-posh.git
```

## Install dependencies

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### go

The codebase is in [go][go], meaning we need a working go setup before we can do anything else.
Have a look at the [go guide][go-started] to get up and running with go in no time!

:::caution
Oh My Posh needs at least go 1.22
:::

### golangci-lint

To make sure we keep on writing quality code, [golang-ci lint][golang-ci-lint] is used to validate the changes.
Have a look at the [local installation guide][golang-ci-lint-local] to make sure you can validate this yourself as well.

### nodejs

The documentation is written in markdown and uses [Docusaurus][docusaurus] to generate the website. To validate your
changes, you'll need to have [nodejs] installed so you can run the website locally.

### Visual Studio Code

If you're not using Visual Studio Code yet, it's a great editor to work with go and the project has the configuration built-in.
You can download it [here][code].
</TabItem>
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The project has a [winget] [configuration][winget-configuration] file available to install the dependencies.
Navigate to the cloned repository and use winget to install the dependencies:

```powershell
winget configure configurations/configuration.dsc.yaml
```

Done! Restart the terminal and you're ready to continue below.

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## Configure Visual Studio Code

A default config (.vscode folder) for [Visual Studio Code][code] is available in the repo:

- `golangci-lint` is configured as the default linter.
- recommended extensions available for a smooth bootstrap.
- default run and debug configurations available.

Once the extensions are installed:

- debug can be started by hitting F5.
- all tests can be run using the Test explorer.

## Running tests

The go source code can be found in the `src/` directory, make sure to navigate to that one before continuing.

### Unit tests

```powershell
go test -v ./...
```

### golangci-lint

```powershell
golangci-lint run
```

## Building the app

The easiest way to validate your changes is to write tests. Unfortunately, as it's a visual tool, you'll want to validate
the changes by running the prompt in your shell as well.

If you already have Oh My Posh in your `PATH`, you'll need to either use that one as an output parameter, or make sure
that the `$GOPATH/bin/` folder precedes the Oh My Posh binary in your `PATH`.

```powershell
go build -o (Get-Command oh-my-posh.exe).Source
```

Alternatively:

```powershell
$env:PATH = "$env:GOPATH\bin;$env:PATH"
go build -o $GOPATH/bin/oh-my-posh
```

## Run the website locally

Open your terminal and navigate to the `website` folder in the repository. Install the dependencies and start the website:

```powershell
npm install
npm start
```

This will start a local server on `http://localhost:3000` where you can see your changes.

### Extra tips

#### Configure Delve in VS Code

[Delve][delve] config is restrictive by default(string limit especially). You can expand some limits in VS Code(`settings.json` or directly in `launch.json`):
```
"go.delveConfig": {

  "dlvLoadConfig": {
    "followPointers": true,
    "maxVariableRecurse": 3,
    "maxStringLen": 400,
    "maxArrayValues": 400,
    "maxStructFields": -1
  },
  "apiVersion": 2,
  "showGlobalVariables": false
}
```

## Up Next

With everything set up, you're ready to start making changes and create your first [PR][gh-pr]!

[go]: https://golang.org
[go-started]: https://golang.org/doc/install
[golang-ci-lint]: https://golangci-lint.run
[golang-ci-lint-local]: https://golangci-lint.run/welcome/install/#local-installation
[go-bindata]: https://github.com/kevinburke/go-bindata/
[go-global]: https://github.com/golang/go/issues/40276
[pr-go-mod]: https://github.com/JanDeDobbeleer/oh-my-posh/blob/main/.github/workflows/gomod.yml
[gh-pr]: https://github.com/JanDeDobbeleer/oh-my-posh/pulls
[omp]: https://github.com/JanDeDobbeleer/oh-my-posh
[gh-fork]: https://guides.github.com/activities/forking/
[code]: https://code.visualstudio.com
[delve]: https://github.com/go-delve/delve
[docusaurus]: https://docusaurus.io
[winget-configuration]: https://github.com/JanDeDobbeleer/oh-my-posh/blob/main/configurations/configuration.dsc.yaml
[winget]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/package-manager/winget/
[nodejs]: https://nodejs.org/en/download/