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Contributing to Parent Helper

Thanks for wanting to make Parent Helper better! Here's how to contribute.

Store Profiles

The easiest way to contribute is adding a new grocery store profile to setup/store-profiles.md. Each profile needs:

  1. Store name and tier (Budget $, Mid-Range $$, Premium $$$, Warehouse)
  2. Search URL pattern — search for any item on the store's website, note the URL structure
  3. Store brand — the house/generic brand name (e.g., "Great Value" for Walmart)
  4. Membership info — any loyalty program or delivery subscription
  5. Deal types — what kind of sales the store runs (BOGO, digital coupons, weekly ads, etc.)
  6. Cart button — what the "Add to Cart" button looks like (text, aria-label)
  7. DOM extraction tips — how prices, sale badges, and product names appear in the page structure
  8. Platform — direct website, Instacart, or other delivery platform

See the "How to Add Any Store" guide at the bottom of setup/store-profiles.md for a step-by-step walkthrough.

Testing Your Profile

Before submitting, test your store profile by:

  1. Pasting the search URL into Chrome with a real item (e.g., "whole milk")
  2. Verifying prices load and are visible
  3. Confirming the add-to-cart button description matches what's on screen
  4. Checking that the DOM extraction tips actually find price elements

Other Contributions

We also welcome:

  • Meal plan templates — common dietary patterns (vegetarian, keto, allergen-free) as example configs
  • Integration guides — setup instructions for additional MCP servers
  • Localization — non-US school systems, international grocery chains, regional store coverage
  • Bug fixes — if something in the skill file doesn't work as documented

How to Submit

  1. Fork the repo
  2. Create a branch (git checkout -b add-kroger-profile)
  3. Make your changes
  4. Test with your own family setup if possible
  5. Open a PR with a clear description of what you added/changed

Guidelines

  • Don't include personal data. No real names, addresses, Notion IDs, or calendar details. Use fictional examples if you need to demonstrate something. This is enforced by a PHI/secret pre-commit hook (see below) — but the hook is a backstop, not a substitute for judgment.
  • Keep store profiles consistent. Follow the existing format in store-profiles.md so all profiles look the same.
  • One store per PR makes review easier, but bundling related stores (e.g., all Kroger subsidiaries) in one PR is fine.

PHI / secret protection

This repo ships a defense-in-depth gate against committing personal data, credentials, or patient information:

  • Pre-commit hook — install it once per clone: 
    ln -sf ../../hooks/pre-commit .git/hooks/pre-commit
    It blocks staged credential/env files, PHI-risk binaries, structured-data exports (.csv/.tsv), and content that looks like a name next to a DOB/MRN. Override only when you're certain it's a false positive: git commit --no-verify.
  • Retroactive audit — scan a repo's entire history (the hook only guards new commits): 
    python hooks/scan-history.py
  • Tests — python -m unittest discover -s hooks/tests (86 cases, zero deps). Add a regression test alongside any change to the gate's patterns.

The hook is a heuristic backstop with known limits — it raises the floor, it is not a guarantee. Real-name/PHI hygiene is still the contributor's responsibility.

Questions?

Open an issue if you're unsure about anything. We'd rather help you contribute than have you give up.