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+# Contributing to Moko Consulting Projects
+
+Thank you for your interest in contributing. All Moko Consulting repositories follow this universal workflow and version policy.
+
+## Branching Workflow
+
+```
+feature/* ──PR──> dev ──draft PR──> (renamed to rc) ──merge──> main
+```
+
+### Step by step
+
+1. **Create a feature branch** from `dev`:
+   ```bash
+   git checkout dev && git pull
+   git checkout -b feature/my-change
+   ```
+
+2. **Work and commit** on your feature branch. Push to origin.
+
+3. **Open a PR**: `feature/my-change` → `dev`. After review and checks, merge it.
+
+4. **When ready for release**, open a **draft PR**: `dev` → `main`.
+   - This automatically renames the source branch to `rc` (release candidate)
+   - An RC pre-release is built and uploaded
+
+5. **Alpha and beta branches** are created by manually renaming the branch before the RC stage:
+   - Rename `dev` to `alpha` for early testing → alpha pre-release is built
+   - Rename `alpha` to `beta` for feature-complete testing → beta pre-release is built
+   - When the draft PR is created, the branch is renamed to `rc`
+
+6. **Once PR checks pass** on the `rc` branch, mark the PR as ready and merge to `main`.
+
+7. **Merging to main** triggers the stable release pipeline:
+   - Minor version bump (e.g., `02.09.xx` → `02.10.00`)
+   - Stability suffix stripped (clean version)
+   - Gitea release created with ZIP/tar.gz packages
+   - `updates.xml` updated (Joomla extensions)
+   - `dev` branch recreated from `main`
+
+### Branch summary
+
+| Branch | Purpose | Created by |
+|--------|---------|-----------|
+| `feature/*` | New features and fixes | Developer |
+| `dev` | Integration branch | Auto-recreated after release |
+| `alpha` | Alpha pre-release testing | Manual rename from `dev` |
+| `beta` | Beta pre-release testing | Manual rename from `alpha` |
+| `rc` | Release candidate | Auto-renamed on draft PR to main |
+| `main` | Stable releases | Protected, merge only |
+| `version/XX.YY.ZZ` | Archived release snapshots | Auto-created by CI |
+
+### Protected branches
+
+| Branch | Direct push | Merge via |
+|--------|------------|-----------|
+| `main` | Blocked (CI bot whitelisted) | PR merge only |
+| `dev` | Blocked (CI bot whitelisted) | PR merge from feature/* |
+| `rc` | Blocked (CI bot whitelisted) | Auto-created on draft PR |
+| `alpha` | Blocked (CI bot whitelisted) | Manual rename |
+| `beta` | Blocked (CI bot whitelisted) | Manual rename |
+| `feature/*` | Open | N/A (source branch) |
+
+## Version Policy
+
+### Format
+
+All versions use `XX.YY.ZZ` — three two-digit segments, zero-padded:
+
+- **XX** — Major version (breaking changes)
+- **YY** — Minor version (new features, bumped on release to main)
+- **ZZ** — Patch version (auto-incremented on every push to dev/feature branches)
+
+Rollover: patch `99` → `00` increments minor; minor `99` → `00` increments major.
+
+### Stability suffixes
+
+Each branch appends a suffix to indicate stability:
+
+| Branch | Suffix | Example |
+|--------|--------|---------|
+| `main` | (none) | `02.09.00` |
+| `dev` | `-dev` | `02.09.01-dev` |
+| `feature/*` | `-dev` | `02.09.01-dev` |
+| `alpha` | `-alpha` | `02.09.01-alpha` |
+| `beta` | `-beta` | `02.09.01-beta` |
+| `rc` | `-rc` | `02.09.01-rc` |
+
+### Auto version bump
+
+On every push to `dev`, `alpha`, `beta`, `rc`, or `feature/*`:
+
+1. Patch version incremented
+2. Stability suffix applied based on branch name
+3. All version-bearing files updated (manifests, CHANGELOG, PHP headers, etc.)
+4. Commit created with `[skip ci]` to avoid loops
+
+### Version files
+
+The version tools update all files containing version stamps:
+
+- `.mokogitea/manifest.xml` (canonical source)
+- Joomla XML manifests (`<version>` tag)
+- `README.md`, `CHANGELOG.md` (`VERSION:` pattern)
+- `package.json`, `pyproject.toml`
+- Any text file with a `VERSION: XX.YY.ZZ` label
+
+Files synced from other repos (with a `# REPO:` header) are not touched.
+
+## Code Standards
+
+- **PHP**: PSR-12, tabs for indentation
+- **Copyright**: all files must include the Moko Consulting copyright header
+- **License**: SPDX identifier `GPL-3.0-or-later` (or as specified per repo)
+- **Attribution**: use `Authored-by: Moko Consulting` in commits, not individual names
+
+## Commit Messages
+
+Use conventional commit format:
+
+```
+type(scope): short description
+
+Optional body with context.
+
+Authored-by: Moko Consulting
+```
+
+Types: `feat`, `fix`, `chore`, `docs`, `style`, `refactor`, `test`, `ci`
+
+Special flags in commit messages:
+- `[skip ci]` — skip all CI workflows
+- `[skip bump]` — skip auto version bump only
+
+## Reporting Issues
+
+Use the repository's issue tracker with the appropriate template.
+
+---
+
+*Moko Consulting <hello@mokoconsulting.tech>*