Contributing

ChannelWatch is open source under the MIT License. Contributions are welcome in the form of bug reports, feature requests, and pull requests against the product repository.

Where to contribute

All development happens in the public product repository:

github.com/CoderLuii/ChannelWatch

This docs site (ChannelWatch-site) is a separate private repository. It is not open for external pull requests. If you spot an error in the documentation, the best path is to open an issue or start a discussion in the product repo and describe what needs correcting.

Reporting bugs

Open an issue at github.com/CoderLuii/ChannelWatch/issues. A useful bug report includes:

• ChannelWatch version (shown in the web UI footer or docker inspect coderluii/channelwatch:latest | grep -i version)
• Docker host OS and architecture (e.g. Ubuntu 24.04, linux/arm64)
• Channels DVR version
• What you expected to happen and what actually happened
• Relevant log lines from docker logs channelwatch

If the issue involves a notification provider, include which provider and the Apprise URL format you used (with credentials redacted).

Requesting features

Start a discussion at github.com/CoderLuii/ChannelWatch/discussions before opening a feature request issue. Discussions are the right place to explore whether a feature fits the project’s scope and to gather feedback from other users.

Once a feature has community interest and a clear design, open a GitHub issue to track the implementation.

Submitting pull requests

Pull requests are welcome for bug fixes, new alert types, new notification providers, and documentation improvements in the product repo.

Before opening a PR:

1. Check the open issues and discussions to make sure the change is not already in progress
2. For anything beyond a small bug fix, open an issue first to discuss the approach
3. Fork the repository and create a branch from main
4. Follow the existing code style (Python backend uses the patterns in core/alerts/base.py for alert handlers and core/notifications/providers/base.py for notification providers)
5. Test your change locally with docker compose up --build and verify the relevant alert or provider works end to end

Note

The Extension Framework (plugin loader) is the intended path for new alert types and notification providers in v1.0. If your contribution adds a new provider, consider implementing it as a plugin first so it can be tested independently before being considered for inclusion in the core image.

License

ChannelWatch is released under the MIT License. By submitting a pull request, you agree that your contribution will be licensed under the same terms.

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 ChannelWatch

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.

Support the project

If ChannelWatch saves you time or you just want to say thanks, you can support ongoing development:

• GitHub Sponsors
• Buy Me a Coffee
• PayPal

Star the repo on GitHub to help others find the project.