reef-pi project has three core values: affordable, modular and extensible. These are the guiding force behind key decisions and development strategies. This section of the documentation details how reef-pi project interprets these values

Affordable

• Prefer easy to source parts.
• Be frugal, encourage salvaging older electronics component.
• Encourage user specific hacks and workaround that may significantly lower the build cost or time.
• Safety and reliability of the controller is not a yes or no question, its a compromise and we only encourage the current best practices.
• reef-pi project may deliberately compromise some feature and performance to avoid expensive and proprietary components.

Modular

• reef-pi software will always allow individual modules to be run independently
• Only exception to these rule is where one module is functionally dependant on another module
• reef-pi will allow and provide avenue for maximum utilization the hardware features even with module specific builds whenever it is possible.

Extensible

• reef-pi will always provide UI based on API. API is the cornerstone of reef-pi’s extensibility.
• reef-pi project will always be open to all usage of the API, including out of tree UI or mobile clients.
• reef-pi development will always thrive to preserve API stability by sticking to semver. This will ensure components that extend reef-pi using API can guarantee their correctness for a fixed timer period against a fixed reef-pi version(s).

Note, other than these three core values reef-pi project also respect and abide Opensource ethos, Contributor covenant code of conduct and reef2reef community guidelines whenever they are applicable. These are a priori and not detailed here.