Couchers.org

Join us as we build the new alternative to Couchsurfing™

Free forever. Community‑led. Non‑profit. Modern.

Read more about us at Couchers.org.

The code in this repository is licensed under the MIT license.

👩‍💻 Looking to contribute as a software developer?

Please read our Developer Contributor Guide first — it explains our workflow, expectations, and how to get started. You can see and apply to our current volunteer positions here.

How to contribute

If you found an issue with the app, or have a suggestion/feature you'd like to raise, please add it to the Issues (in the issues tab on GitHub). A developer will come and triage the issue and add it to the backlog.

If you are a frontend developer, we have an up to date Quick Start at app/web/readme.md.

If you are a backend or full stack developer, there is a Quick Start at app/backend/readme.md.

Overview of documentation

• Getting started with dev: app/readme.md outlines basic steps to get a dev environment set up, start here!
• Architectural overview: docs/architecture/main.md outlines the basic workings of the app, the different components, core features, and the way they interact.
• Developer Contributor Guide: docs/contributing.md explains how we work with this codebase and helps you get up and running with development.
• CI/CD goodies: docs/cicd.md lists the different CI/CD functionality that we've got set up and how you can use this to simplify life
• Database & migrations: docs/database.md explains how to use the database and how we version the database with Alembic and update it when new tables or columns are added
• Docker: docs/docker.md has some tips on how to work with docker and be less miserable
• Release checklist: docs/release-checklist.md goes over the steps that need to be completed for each release.

Translations

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Note on intellectual property

The source code for the Couchers.org project is licensed under the MIT license (doesn't include things like long-form Couchers blog posts or essays), allowing anybody to use and redistribute the code with few restrictions. However, Couchers, Inc. owns, holds exclusive copyrights to, or owns trademarks for, other intellectual property, including the logos, colour schemes, designs, and texts that appear on the platform. If you wish to reuse parts of the project, you must make sure to remove this intellectual property (including by rebranding the app) to reduce confusion and uphold the brand of Couchers.org.