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+## Thank you for taking the time to contribute to GitLens! ♥
+
+### 🚨 IMPORTANT 🚨
+
+- Please create an issue _before_ creating a Pull Request
+- Please ensure to use the `develop` branch as the base for all PRs
+- Please use the following Git commit message style
+  - Use the future tense ("Adds feature" not "Added feature")
+  - Use a "Fixes #xxx -" or "Closes #xxx -" prefix to auto-close the issue that your PR addresses
+  - Limit the first line to 72 characters or less
+  - Reference issues and pull requests liberally after the first line
+
+<!-- You can erase any parts of this template not applicable to your Pull Request. -->
+
+<!-- Delete everything above here before submitting -->
+
+# Description
+
+<!--
+Please include a summary of the changes and which issue will be addressed. Please also include relevant motivation and context.
+-->
+
+# Checklist
+
+<!-- Please check off the following -->
+
+- [ ] I have followed the guidelines in the Contributing document
+- [ ] My changes are based off of the `develop` branch
+- [ ] My changes follow the coding style of this project
+- [ ] My changes build without any errors or warnings
+- [ ] My changes have been formatted and linted
+- [ ] My changes include any required corresponding changes to the documentation
+- [ ] My changes have been rebased and squashed to the minimal number (typically 1) of relevant commits
+- [ ] My changes have a descriptive commit message with a short title, including a `Fixes $XXX -` or `Closes #XXX -` prefix to auto-close the issue that your PR addresses
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
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+# Contributing
+
+👍🎉 First off, thanks for taking the time to contribute! 🎉👍
+
+When contributing to this project, please first discuss the changes you wish to make via an issue before making changes.
+
+Please note the [Code of Conduct](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md) document, please follow it in all your interactions with this project.
+
+## Your First Code Contribution
+
+Unsure where to begin contributing? You can start by looking through the [`help-wanted`](https://github.com/eamodio/vscode-gitlens/labels/help%20wanted) issues.
+
+### Getting the code
+
+```
+git clone https://github.com/eamodio/vscode-gitlens.git
+```
+
+Prerequisites
+
+- [Git](https://git-scm.com/)
+- [NodeJS](https://nodejs.org/en/), `>= 8.9.1, < 9.0.0`
+- [npm](https://npmjs.com/), `>= 6.2.0`
+
+### Dependencies
+
+From a terminal, where you have cloned the repository, execute the following command to install the required dependencies:
+
+```
+npm install --no-save
+```
+
+### Build
+
+From a terminal, where you have cloned the repository, execute the following command to re-build the project from scratch:
+
+```
+npm run rebuild
+```
+
+👉 **NOTE!** This will run a complete rebuild of the project.
+
+Or to just run a quick build, use:
+
+```
+npm run build
+```
+
+### Watch
+
+During development you can use a watcher to make builds on changes quick and easy. From a terminal, where you have cloned the repository, execute the following command:
+
+```
+npm run watch
+```
+
+Or use the provided `watch` task in VS Code, execute the following from the command palette (be sure there is no `>` at the start):
+
+```
+task watch
+```
+
+This will first do an initial full build and then watch for file changes, compiling those changes incrementally, enabling a fast, iterative coding experience.
+
+👉 **Tip!** You can press <kbd>CMD+SHIFT+B</kbd> (<kbd>CTRL+SHIFT+B</kbd> on Windows, Linux) to start the watch task.
+
+👉 **Tip!** You don't need to stop and restart the development version of Code after each change. You can just execute `Reload Window` from the command palette.
+
+### Formatting
+
+This project uses [prettier](https://prettier.io/) for code formatting. You can run prettier across the code by calling `npm run pretty` from a terminal.
+
+To format the code as you make changes you can install the [Prettier - Code formatter](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items/esbenp.prettier-vscode) extension.
+
+Add the following to your User Settings to run prettier:
+
+```
+"editor.formatOnSave": true,
+```
+
+### Linting
+
+This project uses [tslint](https://palantir.github.io/tslint/) for code linting. You can run tslint across the code by calling `npm run lint` from a terminal. Warnings from tslint show up in the `Errors and Warnings` quick box and you can navigate to them from inside VS Code.
+
+To lint the code as you make changes you can install the [TypeScript TSLint Plugin](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode.vscode-typescript-tslint-plugin) extension.
+
+### Bundling
+
+To generate a production bundle (without packaging) run the following from a terminal:
+
+```
+npm run bundle
+```
+
+To generate a VSIX (installation package) run the following from a terminal:
+
+```
+npm run pack
+```
+
+### Debugging
+
+#### Using VS Code
+
+1. Open the `vscode-gitlens` folder
+2. Ensure the required [dependencies](#dependencies) are installed
+3. Start the [`watch`](#watch) task
+4. Choose the `Launch GitLens` launch configuration from the launch dropdown in the Debug viewlet and press `F5`.
+
+## Submitting a Pull Request
+
+Please follow all the instructions in the [PR template](.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md).