Contributing to NorthernWidget

Repository naming

Type	Pattern	Examples
Hardware design	Project-<Name>	Project-Margay, Project-Apis
Arduino library (new)	match library name	NW_BME280, Walrus_Library
Arduino library (legacy)	<Name>_Library	Margay_Library, MaxBotix_Library
NW tools / specs	NW-<Name>	NW-Device-Specification, NW-Provision

New library repos follow the Adafruit/SparkFun convention: the repository name matches the library name exactly, with no _Library suffix. Existing _Library repos retain their names.

The Project- prefix for hardware design repos is a NorthernWidget convention — it has no direct equivalent at Adafruit or SparkFun, but clearly distinguishes hardware design repos from software at a glance.

Arduino Library Manager naming

The name= field in library.properties follows separate rules from the repo name:

• Use the generic chip or sensor name if it is unclaimed in the Arduino Library Manager (no suffix, no prefix).
• Apply the NW_ prefix only if the generic name is already taken.
• Never use a _Library suffix in name=.

Confirmed conflicts requiring NW_ prefix: NW_MCP3421, NW_BME280.

Before finalizing any library name, check the Arduino Library Manager.

Version numbering

See version-numbering-standards for the NorthernWidget versioning scheme (covers combined hardware/firmware repos as well as code-only repos).

Hardware repos (Project-*) use a HWmajor.HWminor.FWversion scheme where FWversion tracks the firmware burned to the sensor's onboard MCU — not the Arduino library version, which is tracked separately in the corresponding *_Library repo.

Releasing

• Arduino libraries — see RELEASING.md § Arduino library
• Hardware design repos (Project-*) — see RELEASING.md § Hardware