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developmentGetting Started

Last Updated: 3/8/2026

Development Guide

Getting Started with LinkAce Development

This guide will help you set up a local development environment for contributing to LinkAce.

Prerequisites

Required Software

  • Docker & Docker Compose: For containerized development
  • Git: Version control
  • Node.js: v16 or higher (for frontend assets)
  • Composer: PHP dependency manager (if developing without Docker)

Optional Tools

  • PHP 8.1+: For local development without Docker
  • MySQL 8.0+ or PostgreSQL 12+: Database (if not using Docker)
  • Redis: For caching and queues (optional)

Setting Up Development Environment

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/Kovah/LinkAce.git
cd LinkAce

2. Choose Your Development Method

Start the development environment:

docker-compose up -d

This will start:

  • Application container (PHP-FPM + Nginx)
  • MySQL database
  • Redis (optional)

Install dependencies:

# PHP dependencies
docker-compose exec app composer install
 
# JavaScript dependencies
npm install

Run migrations:

docker-compose exec app php artisan migrate

Compile frontend assets:

npm run dev

Access the application:

Option B: Local PHP Development

Install dependencies:

composer install
npm install

Configure environment:

cp .env.example .env
php artisan key:generate

Edit .env with your database credentials.

Run migrations:

php artisan migrate

Start development server:

php artisan serve

Compile assets:

npm run dev

Project Structure

LinkAce/
├── app/                    # Application code
│   ├── Console/           # CLI commands
│   ├── Http/              # Controllers, middleware
│   ├── Models/            # Eloquent models
│   ├── Repositories/      # Data access layer
│   └── Services/          # Business logic
├── config/                # Configuration files
├── database/              # Migrations and seeders
│   ├── migrations/
│   └── seeders/
├── lang/                  # Translations
├── public/                # Public assets
├── resources/             # Views and raw assets
│   ├── assets/           # JS, CSS source files
│   └── views/            # Blade templates
├── routes/                # Route definitions
│   ├── api.php           # API routes
│   └── web.php           # Web routes
├── storage/               # Logs, cache, uploads
└── tests/                 # Test suite
    ├── Feature/
    └── Unit/

Development Workflow

Making Changes

  1. Create a feature branch:

    git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

  2. Make your changes following the coding standards

  3. Test your changes:

    # Run PHP tests
php artisan test
 
# Run specific test
php artisan test --filter=TestName

  4. Check code style:

    # PHP CodeSniffer
./vendor/bin/phpcs
 
# Auto-fix issues
./vendor/bin/phpcbf

  5. Commit your changes:

    git add .
git commit -m "feat: add new feature"

Frontend Development

Watch for changes (auto-recompile):

npm run watch

Build for production:

npm run production

Linting:

npm run lint

Database Changes

Create a new migration:

php artisan make:migration create_something_table

Run migrations:

php artisan migrate

Rollback last migration:

php artisan migrate:rollback

Refresh database (drop all tables and re-migrate):

php artisan migrate:fresh

Seed database with test data:

php artisan db:seed

Working with Queues

Start queue worker:

php artisan queue:work

Process failed jobs:

php artisan queue:retry all

Testing

Running Tests

All tests:

php artisan test

With coverage:

php artisan test --coverage

Specific test file:

php artisan test tests/Feature/LinkTest.php

Writing Tests

Feature test example:

namespace Tests\Feature;
 
use Tests\TestCase;
use App\Models\User;
 
class LinkTest extends TestCase
{
    public function test_user_can_create_link()
    {
        $user = User::factory()->create();
        
        $response = $this->actingAs($user)->post('/links', [
            'url' => 'https://example.com',
            'title' => 'Test Link'
        ]);
        
        $response->assertStatus(201);
        $this->assertDatabaseHas('links', [
            'url' => 'https://example.com'
        ]);
    }
}

Debugging

Laravel Telescope

Telescope is available in development mode:

Debug Bar

The debug bar appears at the bottom of pages in development.

Logging

View logs:

tail -f storage/logs/laravel.log

Log levels:

  • Log::debug() - Detailed debug information
  • Log::info() - Interesting events
  • Log::warning() - Exceptional occurrences
  • Log::error() - Runtime errors

Coding Standards

PHP

  • Follow PSR-12 coding style
  • Use type hints and return types
  • Write descriptive variable and method names
  • Add PHPDoc blocks for classes and methods
  • Keep methods focused (single responsibility)

JavaScript

  • Use ES6+ syntax
  • Follow consistent formatting
  • Add comments for complex logic

Blade Templates

  • Use @ directives for control structures
  • Escape output with {{ }} by default
  • Use {!! !!} only for trusted HTML

Contributing

Before submitting a pull request:

  1. Read CONTRIBUTING.md 
  2. Ensure all tests pass
  3. Follow the code style guidelines
  4. Update documentation if needed
  5. Write clear commit messages

Commit Message Format

type(scope): subject

body (optional)

footer (optional)

Types:

  • feat: New feature
  • fix: Bug fix
  • docs: Documentation changes
  • style: Code style changes
  • refactor: Code refactoring
  • test: Adding tests
  • chore: Maintenance tasks

Translations

LinkAce uses Crowdin for translations:

Resources

Getting Help

If you need help:

  1. Check existing GitHub Discussions 
  2. Search closed issues 
  3. Ask in the community discussions
  4. For supporters: Get dedicated help via Open Collective , Patreon , or GitHub Sponsors 
Security