Contributing

This handbook is open source and built to grow. Whether you're fixing a typo, adding a new guide section, or documenting a real-world deployment — your contribution is welcome.

How to contribute

Browser edits on GitHub

Open the page you want to improve in the published handbook.
Click the Edit this page button.
GitHub will open the source file in your browser.
Make your change and commit it through the GitHub web editor.
GitHub will guide you to open a Pull Request.

This is the easiest path if you do not use Git locally. Direct edits to main are blocked, so contributions go through Pull Requests.

Local Git workflow

Fork the repository on GitHub
Create a branch for your changes
Edit or add files in the docs/ folder (all content is Markdown)
Submit a Pull Request with a clear description of what you changed and why

What you can contribute

Corrections — fix typos, broken links, outdated information
Improvements — clarify explanations, add diagrams, expand incomplete sections
New guide sections — add step-by-step instructions for a technology (Chapter 3)
Real use cases — document a community network deployment (Chapter 4)
Translations — help make this handbook accessible in other languages

Writing style

Be practical — show how, not just why
Be direct — use simple language, short sentences
Be honest — share what didn't work, not just what did
Use admonitions for tips (!!! tip), warnings (!!! warning), and notes (!!! info)
Link to the Guide from the Imaginary Use Case, and vice versa

Local development

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_ORG/Community-Network-Handbook.git
cd Community-Network-Handbook

# Create a virtual environment and install dependencies
python -m venv .venv
.venv/Scripts/activate  # Windows
# source .venv/bin/activate  # Linux/macOS
pip install -r docs/requirements.txt

# Serve locally
zensical serve

Then open http://127.0.0.1:8000 in your browser.

Questions?

Open an issue on GitHub — we're happy to help.