Contributing to QuantumTerminal

Thank you for your interest in contributing to QuantumTerminal! This is a free, open-source project and we welcome contributions from developers of all experience levels.

Code of Conduct
How Can I Contribute?
Getting Started
Development Workflow
Commit Message Guidelines
Pull Request Process

Code of Conduct

Be respectful, constructive, and collaborative. We are here to build something useful together.

How Can I Contribute?

There are many ways to contribute, regardless of your skill level:

High Priority Areas

Area	Description	Skills Needed
MT5 Thread Safety	Fix concurrency issues in `backend/data_server.py`	Python, Threading
New Broker Providers	Add Interactive Brokers, Alpaca, or other providers	Python, REST/WebSocket APIs
Open-Source React UI	Rebuild the frontend as open-source JSX/React source	React, TypeScript
Backend Architecture	Refactor and improve the FastAPI backend structure	Python, FastAPI
Documentation	Improve setup guides, add inline comments, write wiki pages	Markdown, Python
Testing	Add unit and integration tests for backend modules	Python, pytest

Other Ways to Help

Report bugs by opening an Issue
Suggest new features or overlays
Review open Pull Requests
Improve the README or this CONTRIBUTING guide
Share the project with others who might be interested

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Python 3.10+
Node.js (optional, for Electron packaging)
Git
A broker account for live data (MT5, Rithmic, or Tradovate) — optional for backend-only work

Local Setup

# 1. Fork the repository on GitHub
# 2. Clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/QuantumTerminal.git
cd QuantumTerminal

# 3. Install Python dependencies
cd backend
pip install fastapi uvicorn websockets watchfiles yfinance MetaTrader5

# 4. Run the backend server
python launcher.py

# 5. Open the UI
# Navigate to http://127.0.0.1:8502 in your browser

Development Workflow

Fork the repository and create your branch from main
Name your branch descriptively: feature/add-ibkr-provider or fix/mt5-thread-safety
Make your changes with clear, focused commits
Test your changes before submitting
Open a Pull Request with a clear description of what you changed and why

Commit Message Guidelines

Use clear, descriptive commit messages:

feat: add Interactive Brokers provider
fix: resolve MT5 thread-safety issue in data_server.py
docs: update installation instructions
refactor: reorganize backend provider structure
test: add unit tests for websocket broadcaster

Prefixes: feat, fix, docs, refactor, test, chore

Pull Request Process

Ensure your PR description clearly explains what changed and why
Reference any related Issues using Closes #issue_number
Keep PRs focused — one feature or fix per PR is preferred
Be responsive to review feedback
PRs are merged by the maintainer after review

Questions?

Feel free to open an Issue with the question label if you need help getting started or have any questions about the codebase.

We appreciate every contribution, no matter how small.

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