CONTRIBUTING.md Generator

Every healthy open source project needs a visitor's guide. Contributors arrive with different backgrounds — some have been here for years, most never touched the codebase — and the questions they all ask are the same: how do I report a problem, how do I ask for a feature, how do I get the project running locally, and what will happen to my pull request. Answering those once in CONTRIBUTING.md saves maintainers from answering them a thousand times in issues, and it sets the tone: how bugs are described, how commits are written, how code is reviewed. This generator writes that guide from a short form, following the structure the busiest open source repositories use.

The generated file walks a contributor through the whole lifecycle. Opening sections explain how to report a bug (with the details that matter: version, environment, repro steps, expected versus actual), how to request a feature (and how proposals are triaged), and where to find good first issues. The benefits section tells them what to expect in return — code review, guidance, attribution in the project’s history — so contributing feels like a social act, not a chore. A development section covers one-off setup, the clone-and-install sequence, and the day-to-day loop of making changes, running tests and previewing results. Communication details — a slack link, a mailing list email, the issue tracker URL — plug in where you fill them.

Then come the rules of the road, each a checkbox. If the project follows Conventional Commits, the generator prints the full type list and the type(scope): subject format as the standard. If it wants signed commits, a statement explains git commit -S and why signatures matter. Pre-commit hooks, enforced tests, the coverage threshold, and the request for tests along with changes each become a short paragraph distilled from a single toggle. The development workflow section covers forking, branching and opening a pull request, including the checklist maintainers run through during review. Finally, the acknowledgements and code of conduct sections close the document: the Contributor Covenant v2.1 (the de facto standard licence for community conduct) or a custom statement of your own, appended verbatim.

The generator runs entirely in the browser — all section templates and assembly logic are bundled with the page — so nothing is uploaded and it works offline, even for private work. The preview updates on every change and shows the section, line and byte counts as you go. Once the guide reads right, copy it or download CONTRIBUTING.md into the repository root, and GitHub starts showing it to every contributor automatically. For a quick look at a typical result, click Load sample — it fills the form with a conventional-commits, signed-commits, GitHub-hosted project and generates the full guide immediately.

• Complete contributor lifecycle — bugs, feature requests, good first issues, setup, workflow and pull requests.
• Communication placeholders — slack link, mailing list, issue tracker and PR template all plug in from the form.
• Conventional Commits statement — prints the full type list and the type(scope): subject format when enabled.
• Signed commits statement — explains git commit -S and why signatures are required.
• Project toggles — pre-commit hooks, enforced tests, coverage threshold and test-with-changes each turn into a paragraph.
• Code of conduct — append the Contributor Covenant v2.1 or a custom statement.
• Live preview and statistics — sections, lines and bytes update on every change.
• Copy and download — get CONTRIBUTING.md in one click, fully client-side.

1. Write the basics — project name, short description and the important links (issues, PR template, slack, email).
2. Tick the community sections — bug reporting, feature requests, good first issues and the benefits of contributing.
3. Describe the development setup — one-off init, dependencies install, test and lint commands, and how to preview changes.
4. Set the rules of the road — conventional commits, signed commits, hooks, tests, coverage threshold.
5. Choose a code of conduct — Contributor Covenant v2.1 or a custom statement.
6. Generate CONTRIBUTING.md and read the live preview and statistics, then copy or download it into the repository root.

Example 1 — Node project with Conventional Commits. Standard sections plus the conventional commits list and signed commits, around 90 lines of Markdown ready for a GitHub-hosted JavaScript repository.

Example 2 — Library without a formal process. Bug reports, feature requests and development setup only — a short, friendly twenty-line file that still answers the essentials.

Example 3 — Enterprise mono-repo. Everything on: pre-commit hooks, enforced tests with a coverage gate, test-with-changes, signed commits and a custom code of conduct. The strictest output the tool produces.

Example 4 — Slack-first community. Adds the communication section with a slack link and mailing list, plus the benefits section to attract first-time contributors.

Example 5 — Docs-only repository. Bug reports pointing at the docs-tracker, feature requests asking for proposal issues, and a minimal setup section for editing Markdown.

Example 6 — New open source project. Full guide with the Contributor Covenant, good first issues and conventional commits — everything a starting community needs on day one.

• Fewer repetitive questions — the essentials are answered in one place, always up to date.
• Warm first experience — contributors know exactly what to do and what to expect in return.
• Consistent quality — bugs get repro steps, PRs get tests, commits follow the chosen convention.
• Faster onboarding — setup, tests and hooks are spelled out, not discovered the hard way.
• Rule clarity — conventional commits, signed commits and coverage are stated, not enforced reactively.
• Nothing uploaded — generation runs entirely in the browser, safe for private work.
• Instant iteration — the preview and counts update on every keystroke.