diff --git a/.github/check-license-headers.yaml b/.github/check-license-headers.yaml
index 7f3076a2d..90c67096b 100644
--- a/.github/check-license-headers.yaml
+++ b/.github/check-license-headers.yaml
@@ -15,7 +15,8 @@
       "*/Cargo.toml",
       "libaio/**",
       "docs/**",
-      "CODEOWNERS"
+      "CODEOWNERS",
+      "CONTRIBUTING.md"
     ],
     "license": "./.github/license-header.txt"
   },
@@ -32,7 +33,8 @@
       "*/Cargo.toml",
       "libaio/**",
       "docs/**",
-      "CODEOWNERS"
+      "CODEOWNERS",
+      "CONTRIBUTING.md"
     ],
   }
 ]
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8fda78eb9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+# Welcome contributors!
+
+We are eager for contributions and happy you found yourself here.
+Please read through this document to familiarize yourself with our
+guidelines for contributing to firewood.
+
+# Table of Contents
+
+ * [Quick Links](#Quick Links)
+ * [Testing](#Testing)
+ * [How to submit changes](#How to submit changes)
+ * [Where can I ask for help?](#Where can I ask for help)
+
+# [Quick Links]
+
+ * [Setting up docker](README.docker.md)
+ * [Auto-generated documentation](https://ava-labs.github.io/firewood/firewood/)
+ * [Issue tracker](https://github.com/ava-labs/firewood/issues)
+
+# [Testing]
+
+After submitting a PR, we'll run all the tests and verify your code meets our submission guidelines. To ensure it's more likely to pass these checks, you should run the following commands locally:
+
+    cargo fmt
+    cargo test
+    cargo clippy
+    cargo doc --no-deps
+
+Resolve any warnings or errors before making your PR.
+
+# [How to submit changes]
+
+To create a PR, fork firewood, and use github to create the PR. We typically prioritize reviews in the middle of our the next work day,
+so you should expect a response during the week within 24 hours.
+
+# [How to report a bug]
+
+Please use the [issue tracker](https://github.com/ava-labs/firewood/issues) for reporting issues.
+
+# [First time fixes for contributors]
+
+The [issue tracker](https://github.com/ava-labs/firewood/issues) typically has some issues tagged for first-time contributors. If not,
+please reach out. We hope you work on an easy task before tackling a harder one.
+
+# [How to request an enhancement]
+
+Just like bugs, please use the [issue tracker](https://github.com/ava-labs/firewood/issues) for requesting enhancements. Please tag the issue with the "enhancement" tag.
+
+# [Style Guide / Coding Conventions]
+
+We generally follow the same rules that `cargo fmt` and `cargo clippy` will report as warnings, with a few notable exceptions as documented in the associated Cargo.toml file.
+
+By default, we prohibit bare `unwrap` calls and index dereferencing, as there are usually better ways to write this code. In the case where you can't, please use `expect` with a message explaining why it would be a bug, which we currently allow. For more information on our motivation, please read this great article on unwrap: [Using unwrap() in Rust is Okay](https://blog.burntsushi.net/unwrap) by [Andrew Gallant](https://blog.burntsushi.net).
+
+# [Where can I ask for help]?
+
+Please reach out on X (formerly twitter) @rkuris for help or questions!
+
+# Thank you
+
+We'd like to extend a pre-emptive "thank you" for reading through this and submitting your first contribution!