> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.3ngram.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Contributing

> How to contribute to 3ngram — intake process, DCO sign-off, CI gates, and where to report bugs, security issues, and questions.

3ngram is open source (Apache 2.0) and accepts contributions under the Developer Certificate of Origin. This page is the map; the canonical documents live in the repository and are linked below.

## Before you start

3ngram is maintained by a single person, so contributions are managed deliberately:

* **Open an issue before starting a non-trivial PR** so scope and approach are agreed up front. Unsolicited large PRs may be closed without a full review.
* Small, obvious fixes (typos, clear bugs) are welcome directly.
* Questions and setup help belong in [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/B3dmar/3ngram/discussions), not Issues.

The full workflow — development setup, branch naming, PR checklist, and every CI gate your change must pass — is in [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/B3dmar/3ngram/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md).

## DCO sign-off

Every commit needs a `Signed-off-by` trailer ([Developer Certificate of Origin](https://developercertificate.org/)); there is no CLA. Sign off with the `-s` flag:

```bash theme={null}
git commit -s -m "feat(scope): add the thing"
```

CI enforces the trailer on external (fork) PRs. All contributions are made under Apache 2.0, and every new source file carries an SPDX header — see [LICENSING.md](https://github.com/B3dmar/3ngram/blob/main/LICENSING.md).

## Project policies

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Contributing guide" icon="code-pull-request" href="https://github.com/B3dmar/3ngram/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md">
    Local setup, branch and PR workflow, CI gates, and the PR checklist.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Code of conduct" icon="scale-balanced" href="https://github.com/B3dmar/3ngram/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md">
    The Contributor Covenant applies to all project spaces.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Security policy" icon="shield-halved" href="https://github.com/B3dmar/3ngram/blob/main/SECURITY.md">
    Report vulnerabilities through a private security advisory — never a public issue.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Support" icon="circle-question" href="https://github.com/B3dmar/3ngram/blob/main/SUPPORT.md">
    Where questions, bug reports, and feature requests go, and what response to expect.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Where things go

| You want to…                      | Go to                                                                                 |
| --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Ask a question or discuss an idea | [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/B3dmar/3ngram/discussions)                    |
| Report a reproducible bug         | [Bug issue](https://github.com/B3dmar/3ngram/issues/new?template=bug.yml)             |
| Request a feature                 | [Feature issue](https://github.com/B3dmar/3ngram/issues/new?template=feature.yml)     |
| Report a security vulnerability   | [Private security advisory](https://github.com/B3dmar/3ngram/security/advisories/new) |

Issues are reserved for actionable, reproducible bugs and concrete feature requests; question-style issues may be converted to a Discussion. There is no commercial support tier and no SLA — well-scoped, reproducible reports get attention soonest.