# 🎉 Welcome to **cognee**! 

We're excited that you're interested in contributing to our project! This guide will help you get started and ensure your contributions can be efficiently integrated into the project.

## 🌟 Quick Links

- [Code of Conduct](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md)
- [Discord Community](https://discord.gg/bcy8xFAtfd)  
- [Issue Tracker](https://github.com/topoteretes/cognee/issues)

## 1. 🚀 Ways to Contribute

You can contribute to **cognee** in many ways:

- 📝 Submitting bug reports or feature requests
- 💡 Improving documentation
- 🔍 Reviewing pull requests
- 🛠️ Contributing code or tests
- 🌐 Helping other users

## 2. 🛠️ Development Setup

### Fork and Clone

1. Fork the [**cognee**](https://github.com/topoteretes/cognee) repository
2. Clone your fork:
```shell
git clone https://github.com/<your-github-username>/cognee.git
cd cognee
```

### Create a Branch

Create a new branch for your work:
```shell
git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
```

## 3. 🎯 Making Changes

1. **Code Style**: Follow the project's coding standards
2. **Documentation**: Update relevant documentation
3. **Tests**: Add tests for new features
4. **Commits**: Write clear commit messages

### Running Tests
```shell
python cognee/cognee/tests/test_library.py
```

## 4. 📤 Submitting Changes

1. Push your changes:
```shell
git add .
git commit -s -m "Description of your changes"
git push origin feature/your-feature-name
```

2. Create a Pull Request:
   - Go to the [**cognee** repository](https://github.com/topoteretes/cognee)
   - Click "Compare & Pull Request"
   - Fill in the PR template with details about your changes

## 5. 📜 Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO)

All contributions must be signed-off to indicate agreement with our DCO:

```shell
git config alias.cos "commit -s"  # Create alias for signed commits
```

When your PR is ready, please include:
> "I affirm that all code in every commit of this pull request conforms to the terms of the Topoteretes Developer Certificate of Origin"

## 6. 🤝 Community Guidelines

- Be respectful and inclusive
- Help others learn and grow
- Follow our [Code of Conduct](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md)
- Provide constructive feedback
- Ask questions when unsure

## 7. 📫 Getting Help

- Open an [issue](https://github.com/topoteretes/cognee/issues)
- Join our Discord community
- Check existing documentation

Thank you for contributing to **cognee**! 🌟