# Contributing

HELM is maintained as a small OSS kernel. Contributions should improve the retained public surface, not reintroduce removed product or marketing scope.

## Local Setup

```bash
git clone https://github.com/Mindburn-Labs/helm-ai-kernel.git
cd helm-ai-kernel
make build
```

## Validation Before a PR

```bash
make quality-pr
```

Run `make quality-impact` for a quick path-scoped package pass, or use focused
targets such as `make quality-contracts`, `make quality-security`, or
`make quality-typecheck` for the area you changed. Before merge or release,
maintainers use `make quality-merge` and `make quality-release`.

## Contribution Rules

1. Keep documentation tied to code, tests, or release automation.
2. Do not merge incomplete behavior, backlog markers, or deferred public copy.
3. Keep the OSS scope tight: kernel, CLI, contracts, SDKs, and the retained deployment/examples surface.
4. Preserve deterministic verification paths when changing receipts, schemas, or evidence handling.

## Pull Requests

- Keep PRs narrow and reviewable.
- Include the commands you ran.
- Update docs only when the implementation or release truth changes.

## Security Reports

Use the process in [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md), not public issues.
