CONTRIBUTING.md

We welcome contributions! Follow these guidelines:

Before Starting

1. Check existing issues
2. Discuss major changes via new issue
3. Fork the repository

Development Workflow

1. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/my-feature
2. Make focused, atomic commits
3. Add or update tests for your changes
4. Run full test suite: pytest tests/
5. Update README if needed
6. Push to fork and submit pull request

Code Style

• Follow PEP 8 conventions
• Use type hints (dict[str, Any], etc.)
• Write docstrings for all functions
• Aim for >80% test coverage
• Test both success and failure cases

Commit Message Format

[TYPE] Brief description

Longer explanation if needed.

Fixes #issue_number (if applicable)

Types: feat, fix, docs, style, refactor, test, chore

Example Contribution

# New feature with tests
def extract_custom_format(file_path: str) -> dict[str, Any]:
    """Extract metadata from custom format.
    
    Args:
        file_path: Path to file to extract
        
    Returns:
        Dictionary of extracted metadata
        
    Raises:
        ValueError: If file format is invalid
    """
    # Implementation...
    pass

Reporting Issues

Include:

• OS and Python version
• Steps to reproduce
• Expected vs. actual behavior
• Error messages/stack traces
• Screenshot of GUI (if applicable)

Format:

**Environment**: Windows 10, Python 3.10.5
**Description**: Brief issue description
**Steps**: 
1. ...
2. ...
**Expected**: ...
**Actual**: ...