Django Spicedb Contributor

Overview

Use this skill only when work requires editing files under django_spicedb/. For app-level integration, use $django-spicedb.

Contributor Objectives

1. •Fix root causes, not symptoms.
2. •Keep public API stable by default.
3. •Minimize blast radius of changes.
4. •Use targeted tests before broad suites.
5. •Document behavior changes and known caveats.

Default Internal Workflow

1. •Reproduce behavior in tests first.
2. •Locate owning subsystem.
3. •Patch minimal responsible module.
4. •Add or update regression tests.
5. •Validate with subsystem test matrix.
6. •Expand to cross-cutting tests if needed.
7. •Summarize compatibility impact.

Subsystem Ownership Map

• •Model registration/config extraction: django_spicedb/models/base.py, django_spicedb/core.py, django_spicedb/conf.py
• •Type graph/schema: django_spicedb/types/graph.py, django_spicedb/schema.py
• •Sync pipeline: django_spicedb/sync/registry.py, django_spicedb/sync/backfill.py, django_spicedb/sync/reconcile.py
• •Runtime APIs: django_spicedb/runtime/evaluator.py, django_spicedb/runtime/__init__.py, django_spicedb/integrations/orm.py
• •Adapter boundary: django_spicedb/adapters/base.py, django_spicedb/adapters/spicedb.py, django_spicedb/adapters/factory.py
• •Tenant/hierarchy: django_spicedb/tenant.py, django_spicedb/models/hierarchy.py, django_spicedb/views.py, django_spicedb/hierarchy/signals.py

Invariants to Preserve

1. •RebacModel auto-registration behavior.
2. •TypeGraph validation guarantees for parents/relations/permissions/bindings.
3. •Adapter protocol semantics in adapters/base.py.
4. •Evaluator subject/reference validation and cache semantics.
5. •Sync tuple lifecycle across FK/M2M/through operations.

Compatibility Rule

Default behavior:

1. •Keep signatures and semantics stable for exported runtime APIs.
2. •Keep manager/queryset method contracts stable unless breaking change is requested.
3. •Keep adapter protocol backward compatible.

If breaking change is explicitly requested:

1. •Identify affected call sites.
2. •Provide migration notes.
3. •Update tests and docs in same change.

Change-Type Playbooks

Add/modify binding kind behavior

1. •Update extraction in core.py.
2. •Update validation in types/graph.py.
3. •Update sync generation/handlers in sync/registry.py.
4. •Add sync + edge-case tests.

Change evaluator/query behavior

1. •Update runtime/evaluator.py.
2. •Update queryset integrations in integrations/orm.py.
3. •Validate context, consistency, and caching behavior.
4. •Add runtime/performance/security regression tests.

Change adapter behavior

1. •Update adapters/spicedb.py.
2. •Keep protocol alignment with adapters/base.py.
3. •Validate factory config/errors in adapters/factory.py.
4. •Run adapter/factory tests.

Change tenant/hierarchy semantics

1. •Confirm tenant isolation behavior first.
2. •Confirm staff bypass semantics and policy intent.
3. •Verify hierarchy signal strategy and lifecycle.
4. •Run hierarchy integration + security suites.

Completion Checklist

1. •Behavior reproduced before patch.
2. •Regression test added or updated.
3. •Subsystem tests green.
4. •Cross-cutting tests green where relevant.
5. •Compatibility/migration impact documented.

Resources

• •Internal architecture deep dive: references/architecture-internals.md
• •Implementation workflow patterns: references/implementation-workflows.md
• •Subsystem test matrix: references/subsystem-test-matrix.md
• •Compatibility policy: references/api-compatibility.md
• •Release checklist: references/release-checklist.md
• •Prompt templates: references/contributor-prompt-pack.md