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CONTRIBUTING

What is a .contributing file?

Project contribution guide — how to set up a dev environment, where to file issues, how to format pull requests.

Safe format
Type Document
By N/A (developer convention)
MIME text/plain

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What is it

CONTRIBUTING (or CONTRIBUTING.md) is where project maintainers tell potential contributors how to participate without wasting anyone's time. GitHub recognises the file specifically — when someone opens an issue or PR on a repo that has a CONTRIBUTING file, GitHub surfaces a banner with a "Read the contributing guide" link, nudging contributors to read the rules before submitting.

Common contents: how to set up the dev environment (`git clone`, install dependencies, run tests), how to run the test suite, the branching and PR conventions, code style requirements, where to discuss before opening a PR (GitHub Discussions, Discord, mailing list), what to include in commit messages and PR descriptions, the project's code of conduct, and how to find good first issues. Larger projects may split this across CONTRIBUTING, CODE_OF_CONDUCT, and SECURITY files.

GitHub looks for CONTRIBUTING in three places: the repo root, `docs/`, or `.github/`. Markdown is the practical choice — every code-hosting platform renders it. CONTRIBUTING pairs with README (project overview), CODE_OF_CONDUCT (community rules), CHANGELOG (version history), LICENSE (legal terms), and SECURITY (vulnerability disclosure). Together these files form the standard set of project metadata that mature open-source projects ship with.

Technical details
Full Name
Contributing Guide
MIME Type
text/plain
Developer
N/A (developer convention)
Magic Bytes
N/A
Safety
.contributing is a known, safe format.
What opens it
Any text editor
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GitHub (web)
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* Renders Markdown automatically

FAQ
Where does GitHub look for the CONTRIBUTING file?
Three places, in order: the repo root, `docs/`, or `.github/`. The `.github/` directory is the conventional home for GitHub-specific files (issue templates, PR templates, CONTRIBUTING) when you don't want them cluttering the root.
What's the difference between CONTRIBUTING and CODE_OF_CONDUCT?
CONTRIBUTING is the technical guide: how to set up, how to test, how to format a PR. CODE_OF_CONDUCT is the social contract: how community members are expected to treat each other. Mature projects ship both — they answer different questions for different audiences.
Related formats
README
README
LICENSE
License File
CHANGELOG
Changelog