# Contributing

## Maintainer Expectations

Keep changes small, reviewable, and tied to a clear project purpose. Do not mix source changes with generated build output or dependency caches.

## Before Committing

- Run the relevant build, lint, or smoke test when the project provides one.
- Check that no credentials,  files, tokens, private keys, captures, dumps, or personal data are staged.
- Keep firmware binaries, large archives, and generated artifacts out of Git unless the repo explicitly documents otherwise.
- Preserve upstream licenses and attribution for third-party code.

## Documentation

Update README and wiki pages when setup, hardware, architecture, environment variables, or release behavior changes.

## Safety

Only submit work intended for authorized environments. Project documentation should make scope and safe operation clearer, never weaker.