# Contributing Guidelines

This document outlines the conventions to follow when contributing to this project.

## Commit Policy

### Run Tests Before Committing

Before preparing or proposing a commit, you **must** run the entire local test suite and ensure that all tests pass. This is a critical step to prevent regressions and maintain the stability of the codebase.

Refer to the "Testing" section in `HOWTO.md` for instructions on how to build and run the tests.

### Format Code Before Committing

All code **must** be formatted using `clang-format` before committing. This ensures a consistent coding style across the entire codebase.

To format your code, run the following command from the project root:
```bash
clang-format -i $(git ls-files | grep -E '\.(h|cc)$' | grep -vE '^(assets|archive)/')
```

Refer to the `.clang-format` file in the project root for the specific style rules.