CONTRIBUTING.md Format

aid: contributing-md:format
name: CONTRIBUTING.md Format
tags:
- Community Health
- Convention
- Documentation
- Markdown
image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/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: Example
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