Contribute to the Stack
Use this page when your first job is to change Helpifyr documentation, contracts, or another public surface in a way that stays owner-clear, reviewable, and verifiable.
When to use this page
- You need a contributor-first path instead of an operator or integrator path.
- You are changing docs, contracts, generated publication surfaces, or public-safe examples.
- You need to know which repo owns the change and how publication truth is verified afterward.
Prerequisites
- You know whether the change belongs to an owner repo,
jhf-docs, orjhf-web. - You are ready to keep issue trail, review, and verification evidence together.
Architecture / Flow
Step-by-step procedure
1. Identify the true owner lane
Typical split:
- source truth or product contract:
- owner repo such as
helpifyr-fabric
- owner repo such as
- reviewed public-docs materialization:
jhf-docs
- live public publication:
jhf-web
2. Decide whether this is source truth or a public-safe override
Use source-owner repos for:
- product contracts
- versioned product docs truth
- route or behavior claims that come from the product itself
Use the jhf-docs override lane for:
- public-safe longform guidance that the generated bundle does not yet provide
- curated hub and journey pages
- cross-area connective documentation with explicit owner handoffs
3. Keep the issue and review trail explicit
A good contribution should be traceable to:
- the reason for the change
- the owner repo or override lane
- the verification evidence
4. Verify locally before you claim anything about publication
For jhf-docs, the standard sequence is:
python scripts/materialize_public_docs_site.py
python scripts/materialize_public_docs_site.py --check
npm run build --prefix docs-site
5. Distinguish reviewed artifact truth from live-site truth
Local success means the reviewed artifact is internally consistent. It does not by itself prove that the live site is updated. That final claim requires publication and live readback.
Verification
This contributor path is being followed correctly when:
- the change is made in the correct owner lane
- the local verification sequence is green
- reviewed artifact and live publication are not conflated
Common failure modes
Editing the materialized output instead of the source or override lane
Problem:
- the visible change will be overwritten by the next materialization.
Better path:
- edit the true source owner or the explicit
docs/public-docs-overrides/**lane
Calling a green local build “published”
Problem:
- readers assume public truth changed when only local artifacts did.
Better path:
- require reviewed-artifact and live-site readback before making a publication claim