Installation instructions and contributing docs

.github/workflows/test.yml

@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ jobs:
           python-version: ${{ matrix.python }}
 
       - name: Install Dependencies
-        run: pip install -e .[dev]
+        run: pip install -r dev-requirements.txt
 
       - name: Print installed packages
         run: pip freeze

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+# Contributing to labthings-fastapi
+
+First off, thank you for considering contributing to `labthings-fastapi`! We welcome contributions from everyone, whether it's reporting a bug, suggesting a feature, improving documentation, or writing code.
+
+This document outlines the processes for getting help, reporting issues, and contributing to the codebase.
+
+## Seeking Support
+
+If you have a question about how to use `labthings-fastapi`, or if you are running into trouble:
+
+* **Check the Documentation:** Please review the official documentation on [readthedocs].
+* **GitHub Discussions / Issues:** If you cannot find the answer, feel free to open an issue on our [GitHub Issues page].
+* **OpenFlexure Community:** Because `labthings-fastapi` is the underlying framework for v3 of the [OpenFlexure Microscope software], you may also find support by engaging with the broader [OpenFlexure Forum].
+
+## Reporting Issues or Bugs
+
+If you find a bug or have a feature request, please report it by opening an issue on our [GitHub Issues page].
+
+When reporting an issue, please include as much detail as possible:
+
+* **Description:** A clear and concise description of what the bug is.
+* **Reproduction steps:** How can we reproduce the problem? (A minimal reproducible example is highly appreciated).
+* **Expected behaviour:** What did you expect to happen?
+* **Environment:** Include your OS, Python version, and `labthings-fastapi` version. Include full error tracebacks if applicable.
+
+## Contributing Code or Documentation
+
+We welcome pull requests for bug fixes, new features, and documentation improvements.
+
+### 1. Local Development Setup
+
+To work on the code, you will need to clone the repository and install the development dependencies.
+Please see the [installation notes](./README.md#installation-notes) for more detail about compatible Python versions and Windows installation.
+
+```bash
+# Clone the repository
+git clone https://github.com/labthings/labthings-fastapi.git
+cd labthings-fastapi
+
+# Install the package in editable mode with development dependencies
+pip install -r dev-requirements.txt
+```
+
+### 2. Linting and Testing
+
+We use several tools to maintain code quality. All of these run in CI with [GitHub Actions], but you should run them locally before submitting a Pull Request. Both `ruff` and `flake8` are configured from [`pyproject.toml`].
+
+* **Linting:** We use [`ruff`] for fast linting and formatting. We highly recommend setting up a pre-commit hook to ensure [`ruff`] passes on every commit.
+  ```bash
+  ruff format --check
+  ruff check .
+  ```
+
+* **Docstrings:** [`flake8`] is primarily used to enable stricter checks on docstrings.
+  ```bash
+  flake8 src
+  ```
+
+* **Spelling:** We use [`codespell`] to prevent common spelling mistakes in code and documentation.
+  ```bash
+  codespell .
+  ```
+
+* **Type Checking:** We use [`mypy`] for static type checking. It is configured in `pyproject.toml`.
+  ```bash
+  mypy
+  ```
+
+* **Testing:** We use [`pytest`] for our test suite and test coverage. Ensure all tests pass locally.
+  ```bash
+  pytest --cov=src
+  ```
+
+### 3. Managing Dependencies
+
+Dependencies are defined in [`pyproject.toml`]. If you need to compile a `dev-requirements.txt` file (e.g., for reproducible CI/CD or local isolated environments), you can do so using [`uv`]:
+
+```bash
+uv pip compile --extra dev pyproject.toml --output-file dev-requirements.txt
+```
+
+*(If you're not using `uv`, regular `pip-compile` from `pip-tools` will achieve the same thing).*
+
+### 4. Submitting a Pull Request (PR)
+
+All changes to the codebase must go via pull requests. Unless you are a core maintainer with write access, please use the standard fork-and-branch workflow:
+
+1. **Fork the repository** to your own GitHub account using the "Fork" button at the top of the repository page.
+2. **Clone your fork** locally and set up the upstream remote:
+   ```bash
+   git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/labthings-fastapi.git
+   cd labthings-fastapi
+   git remote add upstream https://github.com/labthings/labthings-fastapi.git
+   ```
+3. **Create a new branch** for your feature or bugfix:
+   ```bash
+   git checkout -b feature-name
+   ```
+4. **Commit your changes** with clear, descriptive commit messages.
+5. **Push your branch** up to your fork:
+   ```bash
+   git push origin feature-name
+   ```
+6. **Open a Pull Request** against the `main` branch of the `labthings/labthings-fastapi` repository.
+
+**Pull Request Guidelines:**
+
+* Code should only be merged once all the checks in the CI test job are passing.
+* **Unpinned Dependencies:** Note that we have a specific CI job called `test-with-unpinned-dependencies`. It is acceptable to merge code if only this specific job fails, provided the failure is due to upstream dependency issues. We prefer to deal with upstream dependency issues in a separate PR, particularly when the required fixes are distinct from the code in your current PR. The same applies to the `pip-audit` job.
+* Update documentation (`docs/` or docstrings) if your changes modify existing behavior or add new features.
+
+[readthedocs]: https://labthings-fastapi.readthedocs.io/
+[GitHub Issues page]: https://github.com/labthings/labthings-fastapi/issues
+[OpenFlexure Forum]: https://openflexure.discourse.group/
+[OpenFlexure Microscope software]: https://gitlab.com/openflexure/openflexure-microscope-server/
+[GitHub Actions]: https://github.com/labthings/labthings-fastapi/actions
+[`ruff`]: https://docs.astral.sh/ruff/
+[`pyproject.toml`]: ./pyproject.toml
+[`flake8`]: https://flake8.pycqa.org/en/latest/
+[`mypy`]: https://mypy-lang.org/
+[`pytest`]: https://docs.pytest.org/en/stable/
+[`uv`]: https://docs.astral.sh/uv/

README.md

@@ -11,19 +11,18 @@ Documentation, including install instructions, is available on [readthedocs].
 
 See [readthedocs] for installation instructions that are automatically tested. You can install this package with `pip install labthings-fastapi`.
 
-## Developer notes
 
-For the latest development version, clone this repository and run `pip install -e .[dev]`. 
+### Installation Notes
 
-The code is linted with `ruff .`, type checked with `mypy`, and tested with `pytest`. These all run in CI with GitHub Actions. We recommend a [pre-commit hook] to ensure `ruff` passes on every commit. `flake8` is also run in CI, primarily to enable stricter checks on docstrings. It is run as `flake8 src`. `ruff` and `flake8` are both configured from `pyproject.toml`.
+`labthings-fastapi` supports **Python 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, and 3.13**. The upper limit is strictly capped at 3.13 due to current `pydantic-core` dependencies.
 
-All changes to the codebase should go via pull requests, and should only be merged once all the checks in the `test` job are passing. It is preferable to merge code where the `test-with-unpinned-dependencies` job fails, and deal with the dependency issues in another PR, particularly where the required changes are distinct from the code in the PR.
+> **Note: Windows Installations on devices with ARM processors**
+>
+> Installing on Windows devices with ARM processors requires Visual Studio with the **"Desktop development with C++"** workload enabled. This is necessary because `pydantic` relies on Rust, which in turn requires C++ build tools to compile.
+>
+> *If you are using a centrally managed machine, you will need administrator privileges to install these system-level dependencies.*
 
-Dependencies are defined in `pyproject.toml` and can be compiled to `dev-requirements.txt` with:
-```
-uv pip compile dev-requirements.in -o dev-requirements.txt
-```
-If you're not using `uv`, just regular `pip-compile` from `pip-tools` should do the same thing.
+For instructions on how to set up a development environment, run tests, and contribute to this project, please see [CONTRIBUTING.md].
 
 ## Demo
 
@@ -34,3 +33,4 @@ See [readthedocs] for a runnable demo.
 [OpenFlexure Microscope software]: https://gitlab.com/openflexure/openflexure-microscope-server/
 [pre-commit hook]: https://openflexure.org/contribute#use-git-hooks-for-ci-checks
 [readthedocs]: https://labthings-fastapi.readthedocs.io/
+[CONTRIBUTING.md]: ./CONTRIBUTING.md

dev-requirements.txt

@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ docstring-parser-fork==0.0.14
     # via pydoclint
 docutils==0.21.2
     # via
+    #   myst-parser
     #   restructuredtext-lint
     #   sphinx
     #   sphinx-prompt
@@ -80,10 +81,6 @@ email-validator==2.3.0
     # via
     #   fastapi
     #   pydantic
-exceptiongroup==1.3.1
-    # via
-    #   anyio
-    #   pytest
 fastapi==0.135.4
     # via labthings-fastapi
 fastapi-cli==0.0.27
@@ -143,6 +140,7 @@ itsdangerous==2.2.0
 jinja2==3.1.6
     # via
     #   fastapi
+    #   myst-parser
     #   sphinx
     #   sphinx-autoapi
     #   sphinx-jinja2-compat
@@ -154,14 +152,19 @@ jsonschema-specifications==2025.9.1
     # via jsonschema
 librt==0.11.0
     # via mypy
-markdown-it-py==4.2.0
-    # via rich
+markdown-it-py==3.0.0
+    # via
+    #   mdit-py-plugins
+    #   myst-parser
+    #   rich
 markupsafe==3.0.3
     # via
     #   jinja2
     #   sphinx-jinja2-compat
 mccabe==0.7.0
     # via flake8
+mdit-py-plugins==0.6.1
+    # via myst-parser
 mdurl==0.1.2
     # via markdown-it-py
 msgpack==1.2.1
@@ -170,6 +173,8 @@ mypy==1.20.2
     # via labthings-fastapi
 mypy-extensions==1.1.0
     # via mypy
+myst-parser==4.0.1
+    # via labthings-fastapi
 natsort==8.4.0
     # via domdf-python-tools
 numpy==2.2.6
@@ -233,6 +238,7 @@ python-multipart==0.0.32
 pyyaml==6.0.3
     # via
     #   fastapi
+    #   myst-parser
     #   sphinx-autoapi
     #   uvicorn
 referencing==0.37.0
@@ -281,6 +287,7 @@ sphinx==8.1.3
     # via
     #   autodocsumm
     #   labthings-fastapi
+    #   myst-parser
     #   sphinx-autoapi
     #   sphinx-autodoc-typehints
     #   sphinx-prompt
@@ -318,22 +325,14 @@ sphinxcontrib-serializinghtml==2.0.0
     # via sphinx
 sphobjinv==2.4
     # via labthings-fastapi
+standard-imghdr==3.10.14
+    # via sphinx-jinja2-compat
 starlette==1.3.1
     # via fastapi
 tabulate==0.10.0
     # via sphinx-toolbox
 tinycss2==1.5.1
     # via dict2css
-tomli==2.4.1
-    # via
-    #   coverage
-    #   fastapi-cli
-    #   flake8-pyproject
-    #   labthings-fastapi
-    #   mypy
-    #   pydoclint
-    #   pytest
-    #   sphinx
 typer==0.26.7
     # via
     #   fastapi-cli
@@ -342,23 +341,17 @@ types-jsonschema==4.26.0.20260518
     # via labthings-fastapi
 typing-extensions==4.15.0
     # via
-    #   anyio
-    #   astroid
     #   beautifulsoup4
     #   domdf-python-tools
-    #   exceptiongroup
     #   fastapi
     #   labthings-fastapi
     #   mypy
     #   pydantic
     #   pydantic-core
     #   pydantic-extra-types
-    #   referencing
     #   rich-toolkit
     #   sphinx-toolbox
-    #   starlette
     #   typing-inspection
-    #   uvicorn
 typing-inspection==0.4.2
     # via
     #   fastapi

docs/source/_windows_arm_note.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+.. note::
+   **Windows Installations on devices with ARM Processors**
+
+   Installing on Windows devices with ARM processors requires `Visual Studio`_ with the **"Desktop development with C++"** workload enabled. This is necessary because ``pydantic`` relies on Rust_, which in turn requires C++ build tools to compile.
+
+   *If you are using a centrally managed machine, you will need administrator privileges to install these system-level dependencies.*

docs/source/conf.py

@@ -27,8 +27,11 @@
     "autoapi.extension",
     "sphinx_rtd_theme",
     "sphinx_toolbox.decorators",
+    "myst_parser",
 ]
 
+myst_heading_anchors = 3
+
 templates_path = ["_templates"]
 exclude_patterns = []
 

docs/source/contributing.md

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+```{include} ../../CONTRIBUTING.md

docs/source/index.rst

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ Documentation for LabThings-FastAPI
    :maxdepth: 2
    :caption: Contents:
 
+   contributing.md
    quickstart/quickstart.rst
    tutorial/index.rst
    structure.rst
@@ -50,6 +51,10 @@ Installation
 
 ``pip install labthings-fastapi``
 
+``labthings-fastapi`` supports **Python 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, and 3.13**. The upper limit is strictly capped at 3.13 due to current ``pydantic-core`` dependencies.
+
+.. include:: _windows_arm_note.rst
+
 Indices and tables
 ==================
 
@@ -59,4 +64,6 @@ Indices and tables
 
 .. _python-labthings: https://github.com/labthings/python-labthings/
 .. _FastAPI: https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/
-.. _pydantic: https://pydantic-docs.helpmanual.io/
+.. _pydantic: https://pydantic-docs.helpmanual.io/
+.. _Visual Studio: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/
+.. _Rust: https://www.rust-lang.org/

docs/source/tutorial/installing_labthings.rst

@@ -25,4 +25,14 @@ then install labthings with:
 
 It is also possible to install LabThings from source, by cloning the GitHub repository and running ``pip install -e .[dev]``, but this is only recommended if you intend to alter the LabThings-FastAPI library; it is best to use the published package unless you have a good reason not to.
 
-.. _PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/labthings-fastapi/
+
+Installation Notes
+++++++++++++++++++
+
+``labthings-fastapi`` supports **Python 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, and 3.13**. The upper limit is strictly capped at 3.13 due to current ``pydantic-core`` dependencies.
+
+.. include:: ../_windows_arm_note.rst
+
+.. _PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/labthings-fastapi/
+.. _Visual Studio: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/
+.. _Rust: https://www.rust-lang.org/

pyproject.toml

@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ dev = [
   "sphinx-autoapi",
   "sphinx-toolbox",
   "sphobjinv",
+  "myst-parser<5",
   "tomli; python_version < '3.11'",
   "codespell",
 ]
@@ -70,6 +71,7 @@ addopts = [
     "--cov-report=xml:coverage.xml",
     "--cov-report=html:htmlcov",
     "--cov-report=lcov",
+    "--cov=src"
 ]
 markers = [
     "slow: marks tests as slow (deselect with '-m \"not slow\"')",