Repository Onboarding

Concept

A welcoming repo has:

README.md — what it is, how to run it, where to ask questions. CONTRIBUTING.md — branch naming, commit format, PR template, release process. CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md — for OSS especially. SECURITY.md — how to responsibly report vulnerabilities. .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md — what every PR description must include. .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ — bug, feature, question forms. LICENSE — required for OSS.

Per-language conventions:

.editorconfig for indent/encoding
.nvmrc / .tool-versions for runtime version
.env.example documenting required env vars
docker-compose.yml or a setup script for one-command bootstrap

A senior engineer joining your repo should be able to:

Clone
Run one command
Run the test suite
See the app …within 15 minutes. If it takes longer, your onboarding has a bug.

Challenge

List your repo's files

WorkshopSimulated · no real damage

Terminal~/project·main

Idle

Working treemain

Not a git repository. git init to start.

Commit graph

main

Commits will appear here.

Each command rewrites this graph in real time.