CONTRIBUTING.md

CONTRIBUTING.md Format

The CONTRIBUTING.md format is an unstructured Markdown convention that documents how to contribute to a project. GitHub recognizes the file in three locations checked in priority order: the .github folder, the repository root, and the docs folder. When a contributor opens an issue or pull request, GitHub automatically links to the file. Typical sections include contribution workflow, development setup, branch and commit conventions, code style, testing, pull request review process, code of conduct reference, and licensing terms.

GitHub

Documentation

📖
Documentation
https://docs.github.com/en/communities/setting-up-your-project-for-healthy-contributions/setting-guidelines-for-repository-contributors

Other Resources

🔗
Reference
https://contributing.md/
🔗
Guide
https://opensource.guide/how-to-contribute/
🔗
Examples
https://github.com/github/docs/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md
🔗
APIsJSON
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/contributing-md/refs/heads/main/apis.yml

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API entry from apis.yml

apis.yml Raw ↑ 
aid: contributing-md:format
name: CONTRIBUTING.md Format
tags:
- Community Health
- Conventions
- Documentation
- Markdown
tags_raw:
- Community Health
- Convention
- Documentation
- Markdown
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
humanURL: https://docs.github.com/en/communities/setting-up-your-project-for-healthy-contributions/setting-guidelines-for-repository-contributors
properties:
- url: https://docs.github.com/en/communities/setting-up-your-project-for-healthy-contributions/setting-guidelines-for-repository-contributors
  type: Documentation
- url: https://contributing.md/
  type: Reference
- url: https://opensource.guide/how-to-contribute/
  type: Guide
- url: https://github.com/github/docs/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md
  type: Examples
description: 'The CONTRIBUTING.md format is an unstructured Markdown convention that documents how to
  contribute to a project. GitHub recognizes the file in three locations checked in priority order: the
  .github folder, the repository root, and the docs folder. When a contributor opens an issue or pull
  request, GitHub automatically links to the file. Typical sections include contribution workflow, development
  setup, branch and commit conventions, code style, testing, pull request review process, code of conduct
  reference, and licensing terms.'
x-features:
- Triggers contribution prompt on new issues and pull requests
- Recognized by GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Gitea
- Pairs with CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, ISSUE_TEMPLATE, and PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE
- Can live in repository root, .github, or docs directory
- Often references a Developer Certificate of Origin or CLA process
x-useCases:
- Onboarding first-time contributors to an open source project
- Documenting fork-and-pull workflow expectations
- Defining branch naming, commit message, and review conventions
- Specifying local development setup and required toolchains
- Linking to community resources such as Discord, mailing lists, or forums