# Contributing to Systemless
Thanks for helping improve Systemless. These guidelines apply to every
contribution, whether it is prepared manually or with automated tools.
## Before making changes
- Read the project context and build instructions in `README.md`.
- Use a public issue to record a defect before opening a pull request that
fixes it.
- Keep issues and pull requests scoped to the standalone Systemless repository
and its public interfaces.
## Issue and pull-request evidence
- Attach screenshots and other media used only by an issue or pull request to
that GitHub conversation.
- Do not commit issue-only or pull-request-only evidence to the repository or
create a repository-hosted discussion-attachment directory.
- Commit images only when project documentation, tests, examples, or shipped
assets consume them.
- Prefer focused automated tests or fixtures over screenshots when evidence can
be expressed as a durable regression check.
## Validation
Run checks appropriate to the change. The main project checks are:
```sh
cargo build --release
cargo test --lib
cargo check --no-default-features
cargo package
```
## Commits and pull requests
- Use a one-line Conventional Commit message with no attribution trailer.
- Keep commits focused on one coherent change.
- Use pull requests for changes to the public repository and avoid merge
commits.