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+# Contributing to ProofWorks GenLayer
+
+Thank you for your interest in contributing to ProofWorks! We welcome community contributions. Please follow this guide to set up your environment, run tests, and submit your pull requests.
+
+## Setup
+
+To set up the development environment, follow these steps:
+
+1. **Clone the repository:**
+   ```bash
+   git clone https://github.com/tommycet/proofworks-genlayer.git
+   cd proofworks-genlayer
+   ```
+
+2. **Install Python dependencies:**
+   Make sure you have Python 3.10+ installed. Create a virtual environment and install the required dependencies:
+   ```bash
+   python -m venv venv
+   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows use: venv\Scripts\activate
+   pip install -r requirements.txt
+   ```
+
+3. **Install Frontend dependencies:**
+   Install Node.js dependencies for the React/Vite frontend application:
+   ```bash
+   make frontend-install
+   ```
+
+## Running the tests
+
+Before submitting any changes, you must ensure that all test suites pass.
+
+To run the full backend and contract test suite, execute the following command:
+```bash
+make test
+```
+
+This will automatically initialize the local `GenVM` root files and run `pytest`.
+
+To run all linting checks and contract validations:
+```bash
+make lint
+```
+
+To run a full validation (tests, contract linter, and frontend build):
+```bash
+make validate-all
+```
+
+## Submitting a pull request
+
+Please adhere to the following workflow when submitting your changes:
+
+1. **Create a branch:**
+   Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix:
+   ```bash
+   git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
+   ```
+
+2. **Commit your changes:**
+   Write clean code and clear commit messages. Make sure to run all validation checks locally using `make validate-all` before committing.
+
+3. **Push and open a PR:**
+   Push your branch to the repository and create a new pull request targeting the `master` branch. Ensure that your PR description clearly explains the changes made and references any related issues.