Improve contributing guide (#3625)

* Improve contributing guide

* more improvements to contributing guide

.vscode/launch.template.jsonc

@@ -355,5 +355,20 @@
                 "PYTHONPATH": "."
             },
         },
+        {
+            "name": "Install Python Requirements",
+            "type": "node",
+            "request": "launch",
+            "runtimeExecutable": "bash",
+            "runtimeArgs": [
+                "-c",
+                "pip install -r backend/requirements/default.txt && pip install -r backend/requirements/dev.txt && pip install -r backend/requirements/ee.txt && pip install -r backend/requirements/model_server.txt"
+            ],
+            "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
+            "console": "integratedTerminal",
+            "presentation": {
+                 "group": "3"
+            }
+        },
     ]
 }

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ As an open source project in a rapidly changing space, we welcome all contributi
 
 The [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/onyx-dot-app/onyx/issues) page is a great place to start for contribution ideas.
 
+To ensure that your contribution is aligned with the project's direction, please reach out to Hagen (or any other maintainer) on the Onyx team
+via [Slack](https://join.slack.com/t/onyx-dot-app/shared_invite/zt-2twesxdr6-5iQitKZQpgq~hYIZ~dv3KA) /
+[Discord](https://discord.gg/TDJ59cGV2X) or [email](mailto:founders@onyx.app).
+
 Issues that have been explicitly approved by the maintainers (aligned with the direction of the project)
 will be marked with the `approved by maintainers` label.
 Issues marked `good first issue` are an especially great place to start.
@@ -23,8 +27,8 @@ If you have a new/different contribution in mind, we'd love to hear about it!
 Your input is vital to making sure that Onyx moves in the right direction.
 Before starting on implementation, please raise a GitHub issue.
 
-And always feel free to message us (Chris Weaver / Yuhong Sun) on
+Also, always feel free to message the founders (Chris Weaver / Yuhong Sun) on
-[Slack](https://join.slack.com/t/danswer/shared_invite/zt-1w76msxmd-HJHLe3KNFIAIzk_0dSOKaQ) /
+[Slack](https://join.slack.com/t/onyx-dot-app/shared_invite/zt-2twesxdr6-5iQitKZQpgq~hYIZ~dv3KA) /
 [Discord](https://discord.gg/TDJ59cGV2X) directly about anything at all.
 
 ### Contributing Code
@@ -42,7 +46,7 @@ Our goal is to make contributing as easy as possible. If you run into any issues
 That way we can help future contributors and users can avoid the same issue.
 
 We also have support channels and generally interesting discussions on our
-[Slack](https://join.slack.com/t/danswer/shared_invite/zt-1w76msxmd-HJHLe3KNFIAIzk_0dSOKaQ)
+[Slack](https://join.slack.com/t/onyx-dot-app/shared_invite/zt-2twesxdr6-5iQitKZQpgq~hYIZ~dv3KA)
 and
 [Discord](https://discord.gg/TDJ59cGV2X).
 
@@ -123,7 +127,47 @@ Once the above is done, navigate to `onyx/web` run:
 npm i
 ```
 
-#### Docker containers for external software
+## Formatting and Linting
+
+### Backend
+
+For the backend, you'll need to setup pre-commit hooks (black / reorder-python-imports).
+First, install pre-commit (if you don't have it already) following the instructions
+[here](https://pre-commit.com/#installation).
+
+With the virtual environment active, install the pre-commit library with:
+
+```bash
+pip install pre-commit
+```
+
+Then, from the `onyx/backend` directory, run:
+
+```bash
+pre-commit install
+```
+
+Additionally, we use `mypy` for static type checking.
+Onyx is fully type-annotated, and we want to keep it that way!
+To run the mypy checks manually, run `python -m mypy .` from the `onyx/backend` directory.
+
+### Web
+
+We use `prettier` for formatting. The desired version (2.8.8) will be installed via a `npm i` from the `onyx/web` directory.
+To run the formatter, use `npx prettier --write .` from the `onyx/web` directory.
+Please double check that prettier passes before creating a pull request.
+
+# Running the application for development
+
+## Developing using VSCode Debugger (recommended)
+
+We highly recommend using VSCode debugger for development.
+See [CONTRIBUTING_VSCODE.md](./CONTRIBUTING_VSCODE.md) for more details.
+
+Otherwise, you can follow the instructions below to run the application for development.
+
+## Manually running the application for development
+### Docker containers for external software
 
 You will need Docker installed to run these containers.
 
@@ -135,7 +179,7 @@ docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml -p onyx-stack up -d index relational_db
 
 (index refers to Vespa, relational_db refers to Postgres, and cache refers to Redis)
 
-#### Running Onyx locally
+### Running Onyx locally
 
 To start the frontend, navigate to `onyx/web` and run:
 
@@ -223,35 +267,6 @@ If you want to make changes to Onyx and run those changes in Docker, you can als
 docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml -p onyx-stack up -d --build
 ```
 
-### Formatting and Linting
-
-#### Backend
-
-For the backend, you'll need to setup pre-commit hooks (black / reorder-python-imports).
-First, install pre-commit (if you don't have it already) following the instructions
-[here](https://pre-commit.com/#installation).
-
-With the virtual environment active, install the pre-commit library with:
-
-```bash
-pip install pre-commit
-```
-
-Then, from the `onyx/backend` directory, run:
-
-```bash
-pre-commit install
-```
-
-Additionally, we use `mypy` for static type checking.
-Onyx is fully type-annotated, and we want to keep it that way!
-To run the mypy checks manually, run `python -m mypy .` from the `onyx/backend` directory.
-
-#### Web
-
-We use `prettier` for formatting. The desired version (2.8.8) will be installed via a `npm i` from the `onyx/web` directory.
-To run the formatter, use `npx prettier --write .` from the `onyx/web` directory.
-Please double check that prettier passes before creating a pull request.
 
 ### Release Process
 

CONTRIBUTING_VSCODE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# VSCode Debugging Setup
+
+This guide explains how to set up and use VSCode's debugging capabilities with this project.
+
+## Initial Setup
+
+1. **Environment Setup**:
+   - Copy `.vscode/.env.template` to `.vscode/.env`
+   - Fill in the necessary environment variables in `.vscode/.env`
+
+## Using the Debugger
+
+Before starting, make sure the Docker Daemon is running.
+
+1. Open the Debug view in VSCode (Cmd+Shift+D on macOS)
+2. From the dropdown at the top, select "Clear and Restart External Volumes and Containers" and press the green play button
+3. From the dropdown at the top, select "Run All Onyx Services" and press the green play button
+4. Now, you can navigate to onyx in your browser (default is http://localhost:3000) and start using the app
+5. You can set breakpoints by clicking to the left of line numbers to help debug while the app is running
+6. Use the debug toolbar to step through code, inspect variables, etc.
+
+## Features
+
+- Hot reload is enabled for the web server and API servers
+- Python debugging is configured with debugpy
+- Environment variables are loaded from `.vscode/.env`
+- Console output is organized in the integrated terminal with labeled tabs