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+# Contributing to harel-python
+
+**harel-python** is the Python reference implementation of the
+[harel](https://github.com/fruwehq/harel) statechart engine. It is correct **iff** it
+passes the language-agnostic [conformance suite](https://github.com/fruwehq/harel-conformance).
+The prose specification lives in [`fruwehq/harel`](https://github.com/fruwehq/harel)
+(`SPEC.md`, the JSON Schema, and examples); the executable correctness target lives in
+[`fruwehq/harel-conformance`](https://github.com/fruwehq/harel-conformance).
+
+## Dev setup
+
+```sh
+python -m venv .venv
+source .venv/bin/activate     # or `.venv\Scripts\activate` on Windows
+pip install -e '.[dev]'
+```
+
+Python ≥ 3.11. The package is import-named `harel`, distribution-named `harel-python`.
+
+## The gate
+
+Before pushing, run all three and keep them clean:
+
+```sh
+ruff check .
+mypy src
+pytest
+```
+
+CI runs `test (ubuntu-24.04)` on every PR and is **required** — a PR merges only once it
+is green.
+
+## The conformance suite
+
+The suite is **not** a submodule. `tests/conftest.py` clones
+`fruwehq/harel-conformance` at the release tag matching this package's version (falling
+back to `main` while the tag does not yet exist) into a gitignored `.cache/` directory and
+reuses it. To force a refresh, delete `.cache/`.
+
+- **Offline / local edits:** point the tests at a local checkout with
+  `HAREL_CONFORMANCE_DIR=/path/to/harel-conformance` (and `HAREL_SPEC_DIR=/path/to/harel`
+  for the schema-parity test). If the suite cannot be obtained and no override is set, the
+  conformance tests **skip** rather than error.
+- **Black-box CLI conformance** runs the implementation's `harel` (via `python -m harel`)
+  as a **subprocess** against `conformance/run_cli.py`, so packaging/entry-point regressions
+  are caught (SPEC §13.6).
+
+## Workflow
+
+1. Branch from `main`, open a Pull Request, and **squash-merge** — `main` stays linear.
+2. Resolve all review threads before merging.
+3. **Never push to `main` directly.**
+4. **No AI/assistant attribution anywhere** — not in commits, PR bodies, comments, or
+   docs (no `Co-Authored-By:`, no "Generated with…"). Commits and PRs read as the
+   author's own work.
+5. One issue → one PR. A behavior change usually pairs with a `harel` spec edit and a
+   `harel-conformance` case; link them from the PR.
+
+## Versioning
+
+The version source of truth is **`pyproject.toml`** (`version = "0.0.1"`); the package
+exports it as `harel.__version__`. The package version **is** the implemented harel spec
+version.
+
+> harel, harel-conformance, and harel-python share one synchronized SemVer version
+> (currently pre-1.0 `0.0.x`). A release tags all three `vX.Y.Z` in lockstep; an
+> implementation declares "implements harel spec vX.Y.Z" and pins the conformance suite
+> at that tag.
+
+## License
+
+Contributions are made under the project's [MIT license](LICENSE).