Write contributor guidelines

Tell prospective contributors how to engage with your codebase.

Contributor guidelines inform prospective contributors about how they should engage with the codebase. They may include requests to focus on specific aspects of the project, and requirements to provide specific information in pull requests or issues. They may also outline the parameters through which code is vetted before being folded into the main branch.

Contributing guidelines are often specified in a CONTRIBUTING.md file. The Good Docs Project has written about the value of contributing guidelines, and has also provided a great template for you to adapt for your own project.

Further reading

• GitHub Docs: Setting guidelines for repository contributors
• The Good Docs Project: Contributing guide
• Contributing guide template