# development/ - Development & Contribution

> **Contributing, testing, and development** guides

**Quick Reference:** [Contributing](contributing.md) | [Testing Guide](testing/testing-guide.md) | [Code of Conduct](code-of-conduct.md)

## Purpose

The `development/` directory contains documentation for contributing to the project, understanding development standards, and working with the codebase.

## Contents

| File | Purpose | Audience |
|------|---------|----------|
| [`contributing.md`](contributing.md) | Contribution guidelines and process | Contributors |
| [`code-of-conduct.md`](code-of-conduct.md) | Community standards and behavior | All participants |
| [`security.md`](security.md) | Security policy and vulnerability reporting | All users |
| [`roadmap.md`](roadmap.md) | Development roadmap and future plans | Maintainers, contributors |
| [`testing-guide.md`](testing/testing-guide.md) | Testing framework guide | Developers |
| [`testing-with-credentials.md`](testing/testing-with-credentials.md) | Testing with external service credentials | Developers |
| [`coverage-gaps.md`](coverage-gaps.md) | Test coverage gap analysis | Developers |
| [`contribution-map.md`](contribution-map.md) | Pre-contribution overlap check and shape routing | Contributors |
| [`optional-dependencies.md`](optional-dependencies.md) | Optional dependency capability matrix | Developers |
| [`no-mocks-http-testing.md`](no-mocks-http-testing.md) | No-mocks HTTP testing with `pytest-httpserver` | Developers |
| [`code-review-checklist.md`](code-review-checklist.md) | Eight-criterion review checklist | Reviewers |
| [`validation_gates.md`](validation_gates.md) | Validation gate stages and enforcement | Developers |

## Quick Navigation

### Contributing to the Project

→ Read **[Contributing](contributing.md)** - Contribution guidelines

### Understanding Testing

→ Study **[Testing Guide](testing/testing-guide.md)** - Testing framework

### Reporting Security Issues

→ Follow **[Security](security.md)** - Security policy

### Community Standards

→ Review **[Code of Conduct](code-of-conduct.md)** - Community guidelines

### Future Development

→ Check **[Roadmap](roadmap.md)** - Development plans

## Related Documentation

- **[`../core/workflow.md`](../core/workflow.md)** - Development workflow
- **[`../best-practices/best-practices.md`](../best-practices/best-practices.md)** - Best practices
- **[`../architecture/`](../architecture/)** - Architecture documentation

## See Also

- [`../documentation-index.md`](../documentation-index.md) - documentation index
- [`../README.md`](../README.md) - Documentation hub overview