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+# Contributing
+
+Contributions of all kinds are very welcome. If you are planning to implement a larger feature please open an issue
+prior to minimize the risk of duplicate work, or to discuss some specifics of the feature; such as keybindings.
+
+Neogit draws heavy inspiration from [Magit](https://magit.vc/), but aims to be its own thing. Many of our features
+are inspired by Magit, such as the branch keybindings.
+
+
+## Architecture
+
+- [`./lua/neogit/`]
+  - [`./lua/neogit/lib/`] Contains various git and filesystem abstractions
+  - [`./lua/neogit/lib/git/`] High level git wrappers for common commands such as branches, fetch. These are also used
+  to supply the status buffer
+  - [`./lua/neogit/lib/git/cli.lua`] Builder like pattern for constructing git cli invocations
+  - [`./lua/neogit/lib/git/repository.lua`] Modules from `git/` for updating the status buffer
+  - [`./lua/neogit/popups/`] Contains all the popups and keybindings
+  - [`./lua/neogit/buffers/`] Contains all the buffer views, such as `commit_editor` or `log_view`
+
+`Neogit` uses its own UI drawing library for drawing columns and rows of text.
+
+### Making a new view
+
+Neogit's views, such as the `commit` buffer, `log` graph buffer, etc are located in [`./lua/neogit/buffers/`]. They
+are split in a `init.lua` for creating the buffer and setting up keymaps and actions, and `ui.lua` for rendering the
+buffer. The split is such that it is easier to get an overview of how the buffer will *look* without the clutter of git
+commands and actions.
+
+Opening a view is typically done through a *popup* which allows you to configure options before invoking the view.
+
+These reside inside [`./lua/neogit/popups/`], and are split into `init.lua` and `actions.lua` for the setup and
+keybindings, and the git commands to execute, likewise intended to get an overview of the options and keybindings for
+the popup in `init.lua` without concerning yourself with the git commands and parsing in `actions.lua`.
+
+To access your new popup through a keybinding, add it to the table in [`./lua/neogit/popups/init.lua`] inside
+`mappings_table`. This will enable you to access the popup through both the status buffer and help popup.
+
+## Getting Started
+
+If you are using [`Lazy.nvim`](https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim) you can configure it to prefer sourcing plugins from
+a local directory instead of from git. 
+
+Simply clone *Neogit* to your project directory of choice to be able to use your local changes. See
+[`lazy-spec`](https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim#-plugin-spec) and
+[`lazy-configuration`](https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim#%EF%B8%8F-configuration) for details.
+
+### Logging
+
+Logging is a useful tool for inspecting what happens in the code and in what order. Neogit uses
+[`Plenary`](https://github.com/nvim-lua/plenary.nvim) for logging.
+
+Export the environment variables `NEOGIT_LOG_CONSOLE="sync"` to enable logging, and `NEOGIT_LOG_LEVEL="debug"` for more
+verbose logging.
+
+```lua
+local logger = require("neogit.logger")
+
+logger.fmt_info("This is a log message: %d", 2)
+logger.fmt_debug("This is a verbose log message: %q", status)
+```
+
+## Code Standards
+
+### Testing
+
+Neogit is tested using [`Plenary`](https://github.com/nvim-lua/plenary.nvim#plenarytest_harness).
+
+It uses a *Busted* style testing, where each lua file inside [`./tests/{test_name}_spec.lua`] is run.
+
+When adding new functionality we strongly encourage you to add a test spec to ensure that the feature works and remains
+working when new functionality is tacked on.
+
+If you find or fix a bug, it is desired that you add a test case for the bug to ensure it does not occur again in the
+future, and remains *fixed*.
+
+A [`Makefile`](./Makefile) is set up to run tests.
+
+```sh make test ```
+
+### Linting
+
+Additionally, linting is enforced using `selene` to catch common errors, most of which are also caught by
+`lua-language-server`.
+
+```sh make lint ```
+
+### Formatting
+
+`stylua` is used for formatting. This formatting is slightly different from the built in formatting for
+`lua-language-server`.