docs: add a five-minute first-contribution path - #49
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SignalLayerLabs merged 1 commit intoAug 19, 2026
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CONTRIBUTING.md documents the standards a change must meet, but a first-time contributor still has to infer where a small safe change can begin. Add docs/project/first-contribution.md covering the other half: clone, editable install, one focused test, then the full pre-PR checks. Named low-risk starting points: documentation, synthetic fixtures, the executable examples, and tests for behaviour that already exists. The last one notes the asymmetry in CONTRIBUTING -- new behaviour needs a failing test first, whereas covering existing behaviour does not, which makes it the easier entry point. The synthetic-identifier rule is stated explicitly rather than referenced, with the reason: fixtures reach exports, so a real name in a fixture outlives the pull request. Nothing here relaxes an existing requirement. The page says so in its opening, and repeats the full pre-PR check list verbatim rather than an abbreviated version, so it cannot drift into looking like a lighter path. Every command in the page was run against this tree: pytest on a single file and with -k, the ruff checks, and both executable examples. Linked from the top of CONTRIBUTING.md and from docs/index.md under Project. Closes SignalLayerLabs#34
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Aug 19, 2026
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Closes #34.
Adds
docs/project/first-contribution.md, linked from the top ofCONTRIBUTING.mdand fromdocs/index.mdunder Project.Acceptance criteria
CONTRIBUTING.md— the link sits directly under the opening line, before Principles.On not weakening the contract
This was the criterion I was most careful about, since a "quick start" page is exactly where standards get quietly softened. Two deliberate choices:
CONTRIBUTING.mdapply to a one-line docs fix exactly as to a new adapter.The synthetic-identifier rule is quoted in full with its rationale: fixtures end up in exports, so a real name in a fixture is a privacy incident that outlives the PR.
It also flags the asymmetry a newcomer is most likely to trip on: new behavior requires a failing test before implementation, whereas adding coverage for behavior that already exists does not — which is why the latter is recommended as a starting point.
Verification
Every command in the page was actually run against this tree, not copied from
CONTRIBUTING.mdon faith:pytest tests/test_budget.py -qpytest tests/test_budget.py -q -k reservationruff check src tests examplespython examples/shadow_mode.pypython examples/universal_runtime.pyNote
I deliberately did not link the capability glossary from #37 here, so this PR stands alone and neither depends on merge order. The relevant sentence points at the existing
integrations/overview.md#integration-labelsinstead. Happy to add the glossary link in a follow-up once #37 lands.