Contributing Overview

{% callout type="info" %} New versions of the VS Code extension and CLI are being developed in Kilo-Org/kilocode (extension at packages/kilo-vscode, CLI at packages/opencode). If you're looking to contribute to the extension or CLI, please head over to that repository. {% /callout %}

Kilo Code is an open-source project that welcomes contributions from developers of all skill levels. This guide will help you get started with contributing to Kilo Code, whether you're fixing bugs, adding features, improving documentation, or sharing custom modes.

Ways to Contribute

There are many ways to contribute to Kilo Code:

Code Contributions: Implement new features or fix bugs
Documentation: Improve existing docs or create new guides
Marketplace Contributions: Create and share custom modes, skills, and MCP servers via the Kilo Marketplace
Bug Reports: Report issues you encounter
Feature Requests: Suggest new features or improvements
Community Support: Help other users in the community

Setting Up the Development Environment

Setting Up the Development Environment is described in details on the Development Environment page.

Understanding the Architecture

Before diving into the code, we recommend reviewing the Architecture Overview to understand how the different components of Kilo Code fit together.

Development Workflow

Branching Strategy

Create a new branch for each feature or bugfix
Use descriptive branch names (e.g., feature/new-tool-support or fix/browser-action-bug)
For documentation only changes: Use the docs/ prefix (e.g., docs/improve-mcp-guide)

bash

git checkout -b your-branch-name

# For documentation changes:
git checkout -b docs/your-change-description

Coding Standards

Follow the existing code style and patterns
Use TypeScript for new code
Include appropriate tests for new features
Update documentation for any user-facing changes

Commit Guidelines

Write clear, concise commit messages
Reference issue numbers when applicable
Keep commits focused on a single change

Changesets

User-facing changes (features, fixes, breaking changes) require a changeset file so the update shows up in the next release notes. Run the interactive tool, or create the file by hand:

bash

bunx changeset add

Or create .changeset/<slug>.md manually:

---
"kilo-code": minor
---

Short description of the change for the changelog.

Guidelines:

Use patch for bug fixes, minor for new features, major for breaking changes.
Descriptions are read by end users in release notes — keep them concise and feature-oriented. Describe what changed from the user's perspective, not implementation details.
Write in imperative mood (e.g. "Support exporting conversations as markdown" rather than "Add a new export handler that serializes session messages to .md files").
Changesets are consumed at release time by the publish.yml workflow, which generates changelog entries for the GitHub release notes.

Skip the changeset only for internal refactors, CI tweaks, test-only changes, or docs that do not affect users.

Testing Your Changes

Run the test suite:
bash
```
npm test
```
Manually test your changes in the development extension

Creating a Pull Request

Push your changes to your fork:
bash
```
git push origin your-branch-name
```
Go to the Kilo Code repository
Click "New Pull Request" and select "compare across forks"
Select your fork and branch
Fill out the PR template with:
- A clear description of the changes
- Any related issues
- Testing steps
- Screenshots (if applicable)

Contributing to the Kilo Marketplace

The Kilo Marketplace is a community-driven repository of agent tooling that extends Kilo Code's capabilities. You can contribute:

Skills: Modular workflows and domain expertise that teach agents how to perform specific tasks
MCP Servers: Standardized integrations that connect agents to external tools and services
Modes: Custom agent personalities and behaviors with tailored tool access

To contribute:

Follow the documentation for Custom Modes, Skills, or MCP Servers to create your resource
Test your contribution thoroughly
Submit a pull request to the Kilo Marketplace repository

Engineering Specs

For larger features, we write engineering specs to align on requirements before implementation. Check out the Architecture section to see planned features and learn how to contribute specs.

Documentation Contributions

Documentation improvements are highly valued contributions:

Follow the documentation style guide:
- Use clear, concise language
- Include examples where appropriate
- Use absolute paths starting from /docs/ for internal links (except within the same directory)
- Don't include .md extensions in links
Test your documentation changes by running the docs site locally:
bash
```
cd packages/kilo-docs
pnpm install
pnpm dev
```
Submit a PR with your documentation changes

Community Guidelines

When participating in the Kilo Code community:

Be respectful and inclusive
Provide constructive feedback
Help newcomers get started
Follow the Code of Conduct

Getting Help

If you need help with your contribution:

Join our Discord community for real-time support
Ask questions on GitHub Discussions
Visit our Reddit community

Recognition

All contributors are valued members of the Kilo Code community. Contributors are recognized in:

Release notes
The project's README
The contributors list on GitHub

Thank you for contributing to Kilo Code and helping make AI-powered coding assistance better for everyone!