From ab8b0be0691876e521369dbd0ae95e69f11900d8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Vedant Madane <6527493+VedantMadane@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2026 14:07:25 +0530
Subject: [PATCH] fix: docs: add CONTRIBUTING.md

- CONTRIBUTING.md
- README.md

Fixes #150

Signed-off-by: Vedant Madane <6527493+VedantMadane@users.noreply.github.com>
---
 CONTRIBUTING.md | 20 ++++++++++++++++++++
 README.md       |  4 ++++
 2 files changed, 24 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 CONTRIBUTING.md

diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..52a2cf860
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# Contributing
+
+Thanks for contributing to this project.
+
+## Setup
+
+1. Fork and clone this repository.
+2. Install dependencies from the project toolchain files.
+3. Run the test suite (or build) before opening a pull request.
+
+## Pull requests
+
+- Keep changes focused and clearly described.
+- Link related issues (for example `Fixes #123`).
+- Include a short test plan.
+- Match existing code style.
+
+## Conduct
+
+Be respectful and constructive in reviews and discussions.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index abf035b21..f7835e9c8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -117,3 +117,7 @@ $ pnpm test:sandbox
 ```
 
 The test corpus runs each program under Node and as a compiled native binary, then compares stdout, stderr, and exit codes byte for byte. The full gate also runs the corpus with AddressSanitizer and the runtime reference-count audit.
+
+## Contributing
+
+See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md).