Contributing
How to build Lumen from source and where to send your changes.
Lumen is AGPL-3.0 and the project lives at github.com/Lux-Softworks/Lumen. Open an issue before investing time on a large change so we can align on direction. Smaller fixes and improvements can go straight to a pull request.
Build from source
You need a Mac with Xcode 26.2 or newer, an Apple Developer account for signing, and an iOS 18 target device or simulator.
git clone https://github.com/Lux-Softworks/Lumen.git
cd Lumen
open Lumen.xcworkspace
# In Xcode:
# - Select the Lumen scheme
# - Pick your signing team
# - Cmd-R to run on device or simulatorThe first build pulls MLX Swift through Swift Package Manager and runs longer than subsequent builds. Budget about five minutes on a first clone.
What we welcome
- Bug fixes with a reproducer.
- Accessibility improvements.
- New readers, site-specific extractors, or parser enhancements.
- Privacy hardening that does not add complexity.
- Docs edits — every page on this site is a markdown file you can edit.
What we are careful about
- Features that would require a backend. We do not run one.
- Third-party SDKs, analytics, or telemetry. None allowed.
- Design changes that break the calm. Lumen is deliberately quiet.
License reminder
AGPL-3.0 means if you distribute a modified version, you must share your changes under the same license. That rule is a feature, not a friction: it keeps the project honest about staying open as it grows.