Contributing to Context Graph Protocol

Thanks for wanting to make Context Graph Protocol better. This document is the whole game: how to set up, where your change goes, what "done" means here, and how to get it merged. It's long because it's honest — but the short version is:

The ground rules

Commit format — Conventional Commits, with the crate or surface as scope, matching the existing history:

feat(contextgraph-host): add fan-out timeout for slow providers
fix(contextgraph-conformance): restore correct exit code on budget-honesty failure
docs(readme): clarify dual-license statement
ci(release): publish contextgraph-types to crates.io

DCO, not CLA. Sign every commit (git commit -s) to certify the Developer Certificate of Origin. You keep your copyright; no assignment, ever.

PR checklist (the template walks you through it):

1. One logical change per PR — smaller lands faster.
2. The gate is green locally (fmt / clippy -D warnings / test).
3. A witness test, or a stated reason there isn't one.
4. Docs updated in the same PR if behavior or flags changed (README.md, --help text, doc comments).
5. Commits signed off (-s).

Maintainers aim for a first response within a few days. "Needs work" is a normal part of the loop here, not a rejection.

Issues and labels

• Bug report — include the Context Graph Protocol crate name and version, OS, and a repro.
• Feature request — say what you're trying to do, not just what to add.

Labels you'll see: area:* routes an issue to a crate; P0–P2 is priority; good first issue and help wanted mean what they say; needs-witness means a PR is waiting on its witness test.

License

Context Graph Protocol is dual-licensed MIT OR Apache-2.0. By contributing, you agree your contributions are licensed under the same terms, as certified by your DCO sign-off. No CLA, no copyright assignment.

This project follows the Code of Conduct. By participating you are expected to uphold it.