[OMEGA-294] docs: Add Contributing instructions and Code of Conduct

.dockerignore

@@ -31,3 +31,6 @@ docker-compose.yml
 # Docs and license (not required at runtime)
 README.md
 LICENSE
+CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
+CONTRIBUTING.md
+docs/assets/*

CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+# Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct
+
+## Our Pledge
+
+We as members, contributors, and leaders pledge to make participation in our community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, caste, color, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.
+
+We pledge to act and interact in ways that contribute to an open, welcoming, diverse, inclusive, and healthy community.
+
+## Our Standards
+
+Examples of behavior that contributes to a positive environment for our community include:
+
+* Demonstrating empathy and kindness toward other people  
+* Being respectful of differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences  
+* Giving and gracefully accepting constructive feedback  
+* Accepting responsibility and apologizing to those affected by our mistakes, and learning from the experience  
+* Focusing on what is best not just for us as individuals, but for the overall community
+
+Examples of unacceptable behavior include:
+
+* The use of sexualized language or imagery, and sexual attention or advances of any kind  
+* Trolling, insulting or derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks  
+* Public or private harassment  
+* Publishing others' private information, such as a physical or email address, without their explicit permission  
+* Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting
+
+## Enforcement Responsibilities
+
+Community leaders are responsible for clarifying and enforcing our standards of acceptable behavior and will take appropriate and fair corrective action in response to any behavior that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.
+
+Community leaders have the right and responsibility to remove, edit, or reject comments, commits, code, wiki edits, issues, and other contributions that are not aligned to this Code of Conduct, and will communicate reasons for moderation decisions when appropriate.
+
+## Scope
+
+This Code of Conduct applies within all community spaces, and also applies when an individual is officially representing the community in public spaces. Examples of representing our community include using an official e-mail address, posting via an official social media account, or acting as an appointed representative at an online or offline event.
+
+## Enforcement
+
+Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported to the community leaders responsible for enforcement at [info@singularitynet.io](mailto:info@singularitynet.io). All complaints will be reviewed and investigated promptly and fairly.
+
+All community leaders are obligated to respect the privacy and security of the reporter of any incident.
+
+## Enforcement Guidelines
+
+Community leaders will follow these Community Impact Guidelines in determining the consequences for any action they deem in violation of this Code of Conduct:
+
+### 1\. Correction
+
+**Community Impact**: Use of inappropriate language or other behavior deemed unprofessional or unwelcome in the community.
+
+**Consequence**: A private, written warning from community leaders, providing clarity around the nature of the violation and an explanation of why the behavior was inappropriate. A public apology may be requested.
+
+### 2\. Warning
+
+**Community Impact**: A violation through a single incident or series of actions.
+
+**Consequence**: A warning with consequences for continued behavior. No interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, for a specified period of time. This includes avoiding interactions in community spaces as well as external channels like social media. Violating these terms may lead to a temporary or permanent ban.
+
+### 3\. Temporary Ban
+
+**Community Impact**: A serious violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior.
+
+**Consequence**: A temporary ban from any sort of interaction or public communication with the community for a specified period of time. No public or private interaction with the people involved, including unsolicited interaction with those enforcing the Code of Conduct, is allowed during this period. Violating these terms may lead to a permanent ban.
+
+### 4\. Permanent Ban
+
+**Community Impact**: Demonstrating a pattern of violation of community standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior, harassment of an individual, or aggression toward or disparagement of classes of individuals.
+
+**Consequence**: A permanent ban from any sort of public interaction within the community.
+
+## Attribution
+
+This Code of Conduct is adapted from the [Contributor Covenant](https://www.contributor-covenant.org), version 2.1, available at [https://www.contributor-covenant.org/version/2/1/code\_of\_conduct.html](https://www.contributor-covenant.org/version/2/1/code_of_conduct.html).
+
+Community Impact Guidelines were inspired by [Mozilla's code of conduct enforcement ladder](https://github.com/mozilla/diversity).
+
+For answers to common questions about this code of conduct, see the FAQ at [https://www.contributor-covenant.org/faq](https://www.contributor-covenant.org/faq). Translations are available at [https://www.contributor-covenant.org/translations](https://www.contributor-covenant.org/translations).  

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,245 @@
+# Contributing to Omega
+
+Thank you for your interest in contributing to Omega\! This document provides guidelines and instructions for contributing to this project. Omega is a neural-symbolic agent framework built on the Hyperon AGI stack, and we welcome contributions from the community.
+
+## Table of Contents
+
+- [Code of Conduct](#code-of-conduct) 
+- [How to Contribute](#how-to-contribute)  
+- [Development Setup](#development-setup)  
+- [Pull Request Process](#pull-request-process)  
+- [Coding Standards](#coding-standards)  
+- [Writing Documentation](#writing-documentation)  
+- [Reporting Bugs](#reporting-bugs)  
+- [Suggesting Enhancements](#suggesting-enhancements)  
+- [Community](#community)  
+- [License](#license)
+
+---
+
+## Code of Conduct
+
+This project follows the [Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md). By participating, you are expected to uphold this code. Please report unacceptable behavior to the maintainers.
+
+---
+
+## How to Contribute
+
+There are many ways to contribute to Omega:
+
+- **Bug fixes**: Fix issues reported by the community in the [issue tracker](https://github.com/singnet/Omega/issues) or found during your own testing.  
+- **New features**: Propose and implement new capabilities for the agent framework.  
+- **New skills:** Add new MeTTa skills following the skill dispatch architecture (see [tutorial-03](docs/tutorial-03-writing-a-custom-skill.md)).  
+- **New channels:** Build communication channel adapters (see [tutorial-04](docs/tutorial-04-adding-a-channel.md)).  
+- **New plugins**: Develop new plugins, or extensions that enhance Omega's functionality.  
+- **Documentation**: Improve or expand documentation, tutorials, or inline code comments.  
+- **Tests**: Add unit tests, integration tests, or autotest scenarios to improve code coverage and reliability.  
+- **Code review**: Review open pull requests and provide constructive feedback.  
+- **Provider integrations**: Add support for new LLM providers or communication channels.  
+- **Docker:** Improve containerization, CI workflows, or deployment scripts.  
+- **Reasoning engines:** Improve or extend NAL, PLN, or ONA reasoning integrations.
+
+---
+
+## Development Setup
+
+### Fork and Clone
+
+1. Fork the [Omega](https://github.com/singnet/Omega) repository.  
+2. Clone your fork locally:
+
+```shell
+git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/Omega.git
+cd Omega
+```
+
+3. Add the upstream remote to keep your fork synchronized:
+
+```shell
+git remote add upstream https://github.com/singnet/Omega.git
+```
+
+### Installation
+
+Installation process described at [Readme](https://github.com/singnet/Omega#installation)
+
+### Configuration and Usage
+
+For usage and configuration instructions please refer to project [Readme](https://github.com/singnet/Omega#installation)
+
+### Running Tests
+
+Tests live in two places.
+
+`tests/` holds the unit tests. The Python ones run on a plain checkout:
+
+```shell
+./tests/pytest.sh
+```
+
+The MeTTa ones need a PeTTa tree, so they run inside the container:
+
+```shell
+docker exec -e PETTA_PATH=/PeTTa omega /PeTTa/repos/Omega/tests/mettatest.sh
+```
+
+`Autotests/` holds the scenario tests, which drive a running agent, plus a unit tier in `Autotests/unit/`. Build the image, start an agent, then run the suite from that directory:
+
+```shell
+docker build -t omega:dev .
+export TEST_SERVER_IP=host.docker.internal
+./scripts/omega start -p Test -t test -d omega:dev -g http://host.docker.internal:18789
+cd Autotests
+pytest -s -v @run_mandatory
+```
+
+`run_mandatory` has to pass: CI treats it as blocking. `run_optional` is the non-blocking list, and one case in it needs `OMEGA_GIT_TOKEN`. The rest of `Autotests/` runs against real providers and needs their API keys, see `Autotests/README_live.md`.
+
+CI runs all of this on every pull request to `main`: `build.yml` calls `common.yml`, which calls `autotests.yml`.
+
+---
+
+## Pull Request Process
+
+1. **Create a branch** from `main` with a descriptive name:
+
+```shell
+git checkout main
+git pull upstream main
+git checkout -b fix/your-bug-fix    # or feature/your-feature, docs/your-docs
+git push origin fix/your-bug-fix
+```
+
+2. **Make your changes** following the coding standards below.  
+
+3. **Write tests** for your changes if applicable. Ensure all [existing tests](#running-tests) pass.
+
+4. **Update documentation** if you are adding features, changing behavior, or modifying configuration options.  
+
+5. **Commit** with clear, conventional commit messages:
+
+```shell
+git commit -m "feat(skills): add web-search skill with result caching"
+git commit -m "fix(loop): handle empty LLM response in main loop"
+git commit -m "docs(channels): update Telegram adapter setup guide"
+```
+
+We follow [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/) prefixes:
+
+- `feat:` — new features  
+- `fix:` — bug fixes  
+- `docs:` — documentation only  
+- `refactor:` — code changes that neither fix bugs nor add features  
+- `test:` — adding or updating tests  
+- `chore:` — build process, tooling, CI/CD  
+- `perf:` — performance improvements  
+
+6. **Open a Pull Request** against the `singnet/Omega` `main` branch. Use the PR framework provided at .github/pull\_request\_template.md, which includes a checklist including a "PR contains autogenerated code" disclosure. Provide a clear description of the change, its motivation, and any relevant issue numbers in the form.  
+
+7. **Address review feedback** promptly. Maintainers may request changes, additional tests, or documentation updates.
+
+---
+
+## Coding Standards
+
+### General
+
+- No dead code: Remove unused imports, variables, and functions before submitting.  
+- Consistent formatting: Use the same indentation and line length conventions as the surrounding code.  
+- Backward compatibility: Avoid breaking changes to existing APIs. If a breaking change is necessary, discuss it in an issue first and document the migration path.
+
+### Python Code
+
+- Follow [PEP 8](https://peps.python.org/pep-0008/) style guidelines.  
+- Use type hints for function signatures and return values where practical.  
+- Write docstrings for all public functions, classes, and modules following the [Google Python Style Guide](https://google.github.io/styleguide/pyguide.html#384-functions-and-methods).  
+- Keep functions focused and concise. If a function exceeds \~50 lines, consider breaking it up.  
+- Import order: standard library, third-party packages, local modules (separated by blank lines).
+
+### MeTTa Code
+
+- Follow the existing skill dispatch pattern documented in [reference-internals-skill-dispatch.md](docs/reference-internals-skill-dispatch.md).  
+- New skills must conform to the **Signature → Purpose → Parameters → Returns → Examples → Notes/Limits** template (see existing reference docs for examples).  
+- Keep the MeTTa core (`src/*.metta`) minimal — the design goal is simplicity and transparency.  
+- Add inline comments explaining non-obvious symbolic reasoning patterns.
+
+### Prolog (SWI-Prolog) Code
+
+- Follow existing conventions in `src/skills.pl`.  
+- Document predicate arity, expected input formats, and failure modes.
+
+### Shell Scripts
+
+- Use `#!/usr/bin/env bash` shebang.  
+- Follow [ShellCheck](https://www.shellcheck.net/) recommendations — ensure scripts pass `shellcheck` with no errors.  
+- Quote all variable expansions unless you explicitly require word splitting.
+
+### Docker
+
+- Base images should be pinned by digest or specific tag (avoid `latest` in Dockerfiles).  
+- Follow multi-stage build patterns to minimize image size where possible.  
+- Document any port mappings, volume mounts, and environment variables in comments.
+
+---
+
+## Writing Documentation
+
+Omega uses flat Markdown files in the [`docs/`](docs/) directory. Documentation is organized by prefix:
+
+| Prefix | Type | Example |
+| :---- | :---- | :---- |
+| `intro-*` | Conceptual introduction | `introduction.md` |
+| `tutorial-NN-*` | Numbered, task-oriented walkthrough | `tutorial-03-writing-a-custom-skill.md` |
+| `reference-*` | API, engines, internals | `reference-skills-memory.md` |
+
+### Guidelines
+
+- Tutorials must be self-contained and walk the reader through a concrete task step by step.  
+- Reference pages must follow the standard template: Signature → Purpose → Parameters → Returns → Examples → Notes/Limits.  
+- Use relative links for intra-repo references.  
+- Include runnable code examples wherever possible.  
+- If adding a new skill or channel, you must add or update the corresponding reference documentation.
+
+---
+
+## Reporting Bugs
+
+If you find a bug, please open an issue on the [issue tracker](https://github.com/singnet/Omega/issues) by choosing one of the issue forms, per the screenshot below:  
+![screenshot](docs/assets/create_new_issue_screenshot.png)
+
+In your report, be sure to include all relevant details such as:
+
+1. Clear title and description — What happened and what you expected to happen.  
+2. Steps to reproduce — Minimal, specific steps that trigger the bug.  
+3. Environment details —  
+   - OS and version  
+   - Python version  
+   - SWI-Prolog version  
+   - LLM provider and model used  
+   - Omega version or commit hash  
+4. Logs or error output — Paste relevant terminal output or log snippets.  
+5. Configuration — Any non-default configuration settings (redact API keys).
+
+---
+
+## Suggesting Enhancements
+
+We welcome feature ideas\! Please open an issue with:
+
+- A clear description of the proposed feature and its use case.  
+- Motivation — Why is this feature useful to Omega users?  
+- Possible implementation approach — If you have ideas on how it could be built (optional but helpful).
+
+---
+
+## Community
+
+- **Issues**: [GitHub Issue tracker](https://github.com/singnet/Omega/issues)  
+- **Telegram**: Chat with the Omega Developers community at [BGI Commons Telegram Channel](https://t.me/+AWxn8CUgdyE3Y2Jh)  
+- **Discord**: Chat with the Omega Developers at [SingularityNET Discord](https://discord.gg/snet)
+
+---
+
+## License
+
+By contributing to Omega, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the [Apache License 2.0](LICENSE).