# Development
URL: https://usememos.com/docs/development

Work on Memos from a local checkout through to a reviewable contribution. These pages cover the backend and frontend toolchains, building the application, choosing useful checks, and explaining changes to maintainers.

<Cards>
  <Card title="Setup" href="/docs/development/setup" icon="Settings">
    Prepare the Go and frontend toolchains, install dependencies, and get a local checkout ready.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Building" href="/docs/development/building" icon="Code">
    Build the frontend assets and backend binary, then verify that they work together.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Testing" href="/docs/development/testing" icon="Activity">
    Choose backend tests, frontend checks, and smoke tests that match the behavior you changed.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Contributing" href="/docs/development/contributing" icon="Github">
    Scope a code or documentation change and prepare the context reviewers need.
  </Card>
</Cards>

## Choose the question you need to answer [#choose-the-question-you-need-to-answer]

| If you want to know…                                           | Start with…                                    |
| -------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| What do I need to work on Memos locally?                       | [Setup](/docs/development/setup)               |
| How do I turn the source into a runnable application?          | [Building](/docs/development/building)         |
| Which checks should I run for my change?                       | [Testing](/docs/development/testing)           |
| What should I include in a code or documentation contribution? | [Contributing](/docs/development/contributing) |

For a first code change, get an unchanged checkout building before editing. Use a focused test loop while developing, then verify the built application and describe the resulting behavior in your pull request. Update the relevant docs when that behavior changes.

For an overview of the application layers, read [Architecture](/docs/operations/architecture). To deploy the build you produce, continue to [Build From Source](/docs/deploy/development).