Feature/contributing file

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# Contributing to Charli3 Dendrite
+
+If you would like to support this project, have an idea to improve it, or if you found some errors – fork the repository, add your fixes, and open a pull request to the **main branch**.
+
+## Reporting Issues and Requesting Features
+
+To help us improve, please use the appropriate issue template when reporting a bug or requesting a feature.
+
+- **[Report a Bug](https://github.com/Charli3-Official/charli3-dendrite/blob/main/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md)** – Use this template to provide detailed information on bugs.
+- **[Request a Feature](https://github.com/Charli3-Official/charli3-dendrite/blob/main/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.md)** – Use this template to suggest new features or improvements.
+
+Please follow the prompts in each template to ensure all necessary information is provided.
+
+### Guidelines for Issue Discussions
+
+The [GitHub issues](https://github.com/Charli3-Official/charli3-dendrite/issues) page is the preferred channel for bug reports, feature requests, and submitting pull requests. Please keep discussions focused and constructive:
+
+- **Stay on topic** and avoid derailing or trolling in discussions.
+- Respect the opinions of others and keep conversations constructive.
+
+## Pull Requests
+
+When submitting a pull request, please follow these guidelines:
+
+- Base your code on the latest main branch to avoid conflicts.
+- Ensure your pull request is concise and focused on a single issue or feature.
+- Clearly explain the problem and your proposed solution in the PR description.
+- Optional, adding tests is appreciated
+
+## Code Quality and Linting
+
+To maintain code quality, this project uses **pre-commit** hooks for linting and formatting. Run `pre-commit` locally before pushing your changes:
+
+
+```bash
+pre-commit install && pre-commit run --all-files
+```
+This will apply all configured checks locally. GitHub Actions will also automatically run these checks on pull requests, but running them locally helps catch issues earlier.
+
+
+## License
+
+By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the [MIT License](./LICENSE.md).
+
+## Building Documentation
+
+This project uses **MkDocs** with **mkdocs-material** and **mkdocstrings** for documentation.
+```bash
+poetry install && poetry run mkdocs serve
+```
+To view the documentation locally, start the MkDocs and open [http://127.0.0.1:8000/charli3-dendrite/](http://127.0.0.1:8000/charli3-dendrite/). Any changes to the source code will auto-update in your browser.

README.md

@@ -199,4 +199,4 @@ poetry run pytest --benchmark-disable -v --slow -n auto
 ```
 
 ## Contributing
-Contributions to Charli3 Dendrite are welcome! Please refer to the `CONTRIBUTING.md` file for guidelines on how to contribute to the project.
+Contributions to Charli3 Dendrite are welcome! Please refer to the [CONTRIBUTING.md](./CONTRIBUTING.md) file for guidelines on how to contribute to the project.