Add contribution guidelines to welcome new contributors

.github/workflows/discord-notify.yml

@@ -33,16 +33,16 @@ jobs:
                 "${{ github.event.action }}" == "closed" && \
                 "${{ github.event.pull_request.merged }}" == "true" ]]; then
             # merged PR metadata
-            MERGER=$(jq -r '.pull_request.merged_by.login' < "$GITHUB_EVENT_PATH")
             PR_NUMBER=$(jq -r '.pull_request.number'       < "$GITHUB_EVENT_PATH")
             PR_TITLE=$(jq -r '.pull_request.title'         < "$GITHUB_EVENT_PATH")
             PR_URL=$(jq -r '.pull_request.html_url'        < "$GITHUB_EVENT_PATH")
             BASE_REF=$(jq -r '.pull_request.base.ref'      < "$GITHUB_EVENT_PATH")
-            PR_BODY=$(jq -r '.pull_request.body'           < "$GITHUB_EVENT_PATH")
+            PR_BODY=$(jq -r '.pull_request.body // ""'     < "$GITHUB_EVENT_PATH")
+            OPENER=$(jq -r '.pull_request.user.login'      < "$GITHUB_EVENT_PATH")
 
-            # assemble a 4-line message: header / title / URL / body
+            # header / title / URL / body
             printf -v MSG '%s\n%s\n%s\n\n%s' \
-              "📦 PR #${PR_NUMBER} merged into **${BASE_REF}** by **${MERGER}**" \
+              "📦 PR #${PR_NUMBER} merged into **${BASE_REF}** — credit goes to [@${OPENER}](https://github.com/${OPENER})" \
               "**${PR_TITLE}**" \
               "${PR_URL}" \
               "${PR_BODY}"

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+# Contributing to FastLanes
+
+We welcome contributions of all kinds:
+
+- bug fixes  
+- performance improvements  
+- documentation  
+- new features  
+
+This document describes the contribution process and testing requirements.
+
+---
+
+## Getting Started
+
+1. **Fork the repository** on GitHub and create a feature branch:
+   ```bash
+   git checkout -b my-feature
+    ```
+
+2. **Make your changes**, following our coding guidelines (see below).
+3. **Run the test suite** locally before submitting your PR.
+4. **Open a Pull Request (PR)** against the `dev` branch.
+
+---
+
+## Testing
+
+FastLanes includes several layers of testing. All PRs must pass the full test suite in CI.
+
+### Fuzzy Tests
+
+FastLanes uses **fuzzy tests** with an incremental bump seed to check edge cases.
+To keep results reproducible, the fuzz seed is stored in the repository.
+
+* Each PR must **increment the seed** so tests run with a new value.
+* Bump the seed by running:
+
+  ```bash
+  make bump
+  ```
+
+---
+
+## Submitting a PR
+
+* Open your PR against the **`dev` branch**.
+* Make sure your branch is **rebased on top of `dev`** before submission.
+* Verify that **CI passes** (unit tests + fuzzy tests + Python tests if applicable).
+* Keep PRs focused — small, logical changes are easier to review and merge.
+
+---
+
+## Communication
+
+* For questions, join the FastLanes Discord.
+* Use GitHub Issues for bug reports and feature requests.
+
+---
+
+Thanks for helping improve FastLanes — we appreciate your contributions!

README.md

@@ -190,6 +190,13 @@ This project is released under the [MIT License](LICENSE).
 
 ---
 
+## Contributing
+
+We welcome contributions to FastLanes!  
+Please see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for guidelines on how to get started.
+
+---
+
 ## Join Our Community
 
 Come discuss FastLanes, share feedback, and help shape the future of data formats on Discord:

test/src/quick_fuzz_tests/fuzz_config.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "num_cases": 10,
-  "base_seed": 8,
+  "base_seed": 9,
   "delimiter": "|",
   "min_cols": 1,
   "max_cols": 2,