Developer’s Guide#

Depends on Python 3.10+

Getting started#

  1. Quickstart by forking the main repository

  2. Clone your copy of the repository.

    • Using ssh:

      git clone git@github.com:[your user name]/DeepForest.git

    • Using https:

      git clone https://github.com/[your user name]/DeepForest.git

  3. Link or point your cloned copy to the main repository. (I always name it upstream)

    git remote add upstream https://github.com/weecology/DeepForest.git

  4. Check or confirm your settings using git remote -v

   origin git@github.com:[your user name]/DeepForest.git (fetch)
   origin git@github.com:[your user name]/DeepForest.git (push)
   upstream https://github.com/weecology/DeepForest.git (fetch)
   upstream https://github.com/weecology/DeepForest.git (push)

  1. Install the package from the main directory.

Deepforest can be installed using any system that uses PyPI as the source including pip and uv.

Install using Pip

Installing with Pip uses dev_requirements.txt.

pip install .'[dev,docs]'

Install using uv

uv sync --all-extras --dev

  1. Verify the installation by running this simple test:

from deepforest import main
model = main.deepforest()
print("DeepForest successfully installed!")

Testing#

Running tests locally#

$ pip install . --upgrade  # or python setup.py install
$ pytest -v

Code Quality and Style#

We use pre-commit to ensure consistent code quality and style across the project. Pre-commit runs automated checks and fixes before each commit to catch issues early.

Setting up pre-commit#

  1. Install pre-commit (if not already installed):

    pip install pre-commit

  2. Install the pre-commit hooks in your local repository:

    pre-commit install

  3. Run pre-commit on all files (optional, for initial setup):

    pre-commit run --all-files

What pre-commit does#

Our pre-commit configuration (.pre-commit-config.yaml) includes:

  • Code formatting: Uses Ruff for fast Python linting and formatting

  • Import sorting: Automatically sorts and organizes imports

  • Docstring formatting: Uses docformatter to format docstrings

  • Notebook formatting: Formats Jupyter notebooks in the documentation

  • File checks: Ensures files end with newlines, removes trailing whitespace, checks YAML/JSON syntax

  • Large file detection: Prevents accidentally committing large files

Running pre-commit manually#

You can run pre-commit checks manually at any time:

# Run on staged files only
pre-commit run

# Run on all files
pre-commit run --all-files

# Run a specific hook
pre-commit run ruff

Fixing pre-commit issues#

Most pre-commit hooks will automatically fix issues for you. If a hook fails:

  1. Check the output - pre-commit will show you what needs to be fixed

  2. Re-run the hook - many hooks can auto-fix issues:

    pre-commit run --all-files

  3. Stage the fixed files and commit again:

    git add .
git commit -m "Your commit message"

Editor integration#

For the best development experience, consider integrating these tools directly into your editor:

  • VS Code: Install the Ruff extension for real-time linting and formatting

  • PyCharm: Configure Ruff as an external tool

  • Vim/Neovim: Use plugins like nvim-lspconfig with the Ruff language server

For more information, see the pre-commit documentation.

Contributing Code#

Pull Request Quality Standards#

We welcome contributions! To ensure smooth reviews and maintain code quality, please follow these guidelines:

Before Submitting a Pull Request#

  • Issue discussion: For non-trivial changes, discuss your approach in an issue first. This can be done by either responding to an open issue indicating an interest in addressing the issue and an outline of how you plan to do so, or by creating a new issue describing the changes you think should be made (e.g., what the bug or feature is), that you would be interested in helping implement them, and what your general plan is for doing so.

  • Code style: Follow project conventions (Ruff formatting, type hints, docstrings)

  • Tests: Add or update tests for your changes. All tests must pass locally

  • Documentation: Update relevant documentation for new features or API changes

  • Pre-commit checks: Run uv run pre-commit run --all-files and ensure all checks pass

  • Breaking changes: Discuss breaking changes with maintainers before implementing

Pull Request Description Requirements#

Your PR description should include:

  • Problem statement: What issue does this PR address? Link to related issues

  • Solution approach: How does this PR solve the problem?

  • Testing: How was this tested? Include test results or examples

  • Breaking changes: Are there any breaking changes? If so, how should users migrate?

  • Screenshots/Examples: For visualization if applicable

AI-Assisted Contributions Policy#

We recognize that AI tools can be helpful in development. However, we have specific expectations:

  • Transparency: If you used AI tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, etc.), please mention this in your PR description

  • Understanding required: You must understand the code you’re submitting. Don’t submit code you can’t explain or debug

  • Review and validation: AI-generated code must be thoroughly reviewed, tested, and validated by you before submission

  • Context matters: Ensure AI suggestions fit our project’s architecture, patterns, and coding standards

Review Process Expectations#

  • Each PR: Has an issue and has passed CI tests

  • Be responsive: Respond to review feedback promptly and constructively

  • Be open to suggestions: Maintainers may suggest alternative approaches - be open to discussion

  • Iterate: It’s normal for PRs to go through multiple rounds of review

  • Inactive PRs: PRs that are inactive for 30+ days may be closed. Please communicate if you need more time

Documentation#

We are using Sphinx and Read the Docs for the documentation.

We use Docformatter for formatting and style checking.

$ docformatter --in-place --recursive src/deepforest/

Update Documentation#

The documentation is automatically updated for changes in functions. However, the documentation should be updated after the addition of new functions or modules.

Change to the docs directory and use sphinx-apidoc to update the doc’s source. Exclude the tests and setup.py documentation.

Run:

sphinx-apidoc -f -o ./source ../ ../tests/* ../setup.py

The source is the destination folder for the source rst files. ../ is the path to where the deepforest source code is located relative to the doc directory.

Test documentation locally#

cd docs  # Go to the docs directory and install the current changes.
pip install ../ -U
make clean  # Run
make html  # Run

Create Release#

Start#

  1. Run Pytest tests – seriously, run them now. And Test build artifacts

    • Run Pytest -v

    • Run pip install build && python -m build && twine check dist/*

  2. Ensure HISTORY.rst is up to date with all changes since the last release.

  3. Use bump-my-version show-bump to determine the appropriate version bump.

  4. Update the version for release: bump-my-version bump [minor | patch | pre_l | pre_n]. If show-bump does not have the right option, we can manually set it bump-my-version bump --new-version 1.4.0

  5. Publish the release to PyPi

    • All releases are done on GitHub Actions when a new tag is pushed.

    • git tag v1.0.0

    • git push origin v1.0.0

  6. Post-release, update the version to the next development iteration:

    • Run bump-my-version show-bump to check the target version.

    • Then, execute bump-my-version bump [minor | patch | pre_l | pre_n].

Note: Do not commit the build directory after making html.

Upload to Hugging Face Hub#

To upload a trained model to the weecology organization space on Hugging Face Hub:

  1. Train or load your model checkpoint

  2. Set the label dictionary to match your classes

  3. Use push_to_hub with the weecology organization name

For example:

from deepforest import main

# Load model from checkpoint
model = main.deepforest.load_from_checkpoint("path/to/checkpoint.ckpt")

# Set label dictionary mapping class names to indices
model.label_dict = {"Livestock": 0}

# Push to weecology organization space
model.model.push_to_hub("weecology/deepforest-livestock")

# reload later
model.from_pretrained("weecology/deepforest-livestock")

The model will be uploaded to https://huggingface.co/weecology/[model-name]

CropModel#

from deepforest.model import CropModel

crop_model = CropModel()
crop_model.push_to_hub("weecology/cropmodel-deadtrees")

# Reload it later
crop_model.from_pretrained("Weecology/cropmodel-deadtrees")

Please name the cropmodel based on what is being classified.

Note: You must have appropriate permissions in the weecology organization to upload models to weecology. If you are not already an active collaborator we recommend initially uploading new models to your own huggingface account and then letting us know and the model and whether or not you are interested in having them hosted on weecology’s account.

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