Contributing

Read the sections below if you would like to contribute to the development of the INTERSECT Python SDK package.

Installing for package development

Follow the steps discussed in this section to install the intersect-sdk package in a Python development environment. First, install Python and UV on your local machine. See the Installation and usage page for more details. Next, clone the sdk repository as follows:

git clone https://github.com/INTERSECT-SDK/python-sdk/

Create a Python virtual environment in the root level of the repository and activate the environment.

# Create a virtual environment and activate it
cd python-sdk
uv venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

Use UV to install the intersect-sdk package and its dependencies into the virtual environment.

# Install the intersect-sdk package into the virtual environment using UV
uv sync --all-extras --all-groups

Check the installation by running one of the examples, such as the Hello world example. Use the command shown below to deactivate the virtual environment:

deactivate

UV

The UV packaging and dependency management tool is used to install the intersect-sdk package in editable (developer) mode. It is also used to run linter checks, formatter checks, and unit tests. Download and install UV using the instructions on the UV website.

Documentation

Documentation for the INTERSECT Python SDK is generated with Sphinx from the docs directory.

Testing

The pytest framework is used to run tests.

Style guide

Adhere to the pep8 style guide for writing Python code.

Linting

Use the ruff-lint linter tool when writing Python code. Instructions for setting up flake8 with Visual Studio Code are available here. Instructions for setting up flake8 with Sublime Text are available here for the LSP-ruff package.

When overriding a rule in code, or overriding a rule in pyproject.toml, always provide a short comment with the # noqa rule justifying why the rule override is necessary.

Formatting

Use the ruff-format formatter for Python code. Instructions for using this formatter with Visual Studio Code are available here. Instructions for using the formatter with Sublime Text are available here for the LSP-ruff package.

Docstrings

Docstrings for Python classes, functions, and modules should adhere to the Google style. The docstrings are processed by the napoleon extension for the Sphinx generated documentation.

We require docstrings for all public classes, functions, and modules.

Changelog

We follow the Common Changelog format. When changing/adding/removing functionality, or for bugfixes, please add an appropriate entry in the Change Group (Changed/Added/Removed/Fixed) . See sections 2.2 and 2.4 for details.