master/docs/contributing/README.md

# Contributing Docs

This section is a lightweight contributor guide for CrossPoint Reader.
It is written for software developers who may be new to embedded development.

- [Getting Started](./getting-started.md)
- [Architecture Overview](./architecture.md)
- [Development Workflow](./development-workflow.md)
- [Testing and Debugging](./testing-debugging.md)

If you are new, start with [Getting Started](./getting-started.md).
docs: Add lightweight contributor onboarding documentation (#894) ### Summary This PR introduces a lightweight contributor onboarding docs section under `docs/contributing/` and improves local formatting ergonomics for first-time contributors. The goal is to make CrossPoint easier to contribute to for software developers who are new to embedded systems (like me), while keeping onboarding modular and aligned with existing project docs. ### What changed - Added contributor docs hub: `docs/contributing/README.md` - Added focused onboarding pages: - `docs/contributing/getting-started.md` - `docs/contributing/architecture.md` - `docs/contributing/development-workflow.md` - `docs/contributing/testing-debugging.md` - Linked contributor docs from `README.md` for discoverability - Expanded architecture documentation with Mermaid diagrams - Improved `bin/clang-format-fix`: - prefers `clang-format-21` when available - validates formatter version and fails fast with a clear message if too old - handles missing positional arg safely - Updated docs to explain common `clang-format` setup/version issues and install paths (including fallback steps when `clang-format-21` is unavailable in default apt sources) ### Why - There was no dedicated contributor onboarding path; first-time contributors had to infer workflow from multiple files. - New contributors (especially from non-embedded backgrounds) need a clear mental model of architecture, runtime flow, and debugging process. - Local formatting setup caused avoidable friction due to clang-format version mismatch (`.clang-format` expects newer keys used in CI). - The updates make contribution setup more predictable, reduce onboarding confusion, and align local checks with CI expectations. ### Additional context - No firmware behavior/runtime logic was changed; this PR focuses on contributor experience and tooling clarity. --- ### AI Usage > Did you use AI tools to help write this code? Yes, I used AI tools to assist with generating the documentation. I then manually reviewed, tested, and refined the code to ensure it works correctly. please feel free to point out any discrepancies or areas for improvement. 2026-02-22 05:50:08 +00:00			`# Contributing Docs`

			`This section is a lightweight contributor guide for CrossPoint Reader.`
			`It is written for software developers who may be new to embedded development.`

			`- [Getting Started](./getting-started.md)`
			`- [Architecture Overview](./architecture.md)`
			`- [Development Workflow](./development-workflow.md)`
			`- [Testing and Debugging](./testing-debugging.md)`

			`If you are new, start with [Getting Started](./getting-started.md).`