Add CONTRIBUTING.md with project setup and contribution guidelines

CONTRIBUTING.md

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+# Contributing to Booklore
+
+🎉 Thanks for your interest in contributing to **Booklore**, a modern, self-hostable digital library system for books and comics. Whether you're fixing bugs, adding features, improving documentation, or asking questions - your contribution matters!
+
+---
+
+## 📚 Overview
+
+**Booklore** is a self-hostable platform designed to manage and read books and comics. It includes:
+
+- **Frontend**: Angular 20, TypeScript, PrimeNG 19, Tailwind CSS
+- **Backend**: Java 21, Spring Boot 3.5
+- **Authentication**: Local JWT + optional OIDC (e.g. Authentik)
+- **Database**: MariaDB
+- **Deployment**: Docker-compatible, reverse proxy-ready
+
+---
+
+## 📦 Project Structure
+
+```
+booklore/
+├── booklore-ui/       # Angular frontend
+├── booklore-api/      # Spring Boot backend
+├── assets/            # Shared assets
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🚀 Getting Started
+
+1. **Fork the repository** on GitHub
+2. **Clone your fork** locally:
+
+```bash
+git clone https://github.com/adityachandelgit/BookLore.git
+cd booklore
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🧱 Local Development Setup
+
+### 1. Prerequisites
+
+- **Java 21+**
+- **Node.js 18+**
+- **MariaDB**
+- **Docker and Docker Compose**
+
+---
+
+### 2. Frontend Setup
+
+To set up the Angular frontend:
+
+```bash
+cd booklore-ui
+npm install
+ng serve
+```
+
+The dev server runs at `http://localhost:4200/`.
+
+> ⚠️ Use `--force` with `npm install` only as a last resort for dependency conflicts.
+
+---
+
+### 3. Backend Setup
+
+#### a. Configure `application-dev.yml`
+
+Create or edit `booklore-api/src/main/resources/application-dev.yml`:
+
+```yaml
+app:
+  path-book: '/path/to/booklore/books'      # Directory for book/comic files
+  path-config: '/path/to/booklore/config'   # Directory for thumbnails, metadata, etc.
+
+spring:
+  datasource:
+    driver-class-name: org.mariadb.jdbc.Driver
+    url: jdbc:mariadb://localhost:3333/booklore?createDatabaseIfNotExist=true
+    username: root
+    password: Password123
+```
+
+> 🔧 Replace `/path/to/...` with actual local paths
+
+#### b. Run the Backend
+
+```bash
+cd booklore-api
+./gradlew bootRun
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🧪 Testing
+
+### Frontend
+
+Run unit tests using:
+
+```bash
+cd booklore-ui
+ng test
+```
+
+### Backend
+
+Run backend tests using:
+
+```bash
+cd booklore-api
+./gradlew test
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🛠️ Contributing Guidelines
+
+### 💡 Bug Reports
+
+- Check [existing issues](https://github.com/adityachandelgit/BookLore/issues)
+- Include reproduction steps, expected vs. actual behavior, and logs if possible
+
+### 🌟 Feature Requests
+
+- Clearly explain the use case and benefit
+- Label the issue with `feature`
+
+### 🔃 Code Contributions
+
+- Create a feature branch:
+
+```bash
+git checkout -b feat/my-feature
+```
+
+- For bug fixes:
+
+```bash
+git checkout -b fix/my-fix
+```
+
+- Follow code conventions, keep PRs focused and scoped
+- Link the relevant issue in your PR
+- Test your changes
+- Target the `master` branch when opening PRs
+
+---
+
+## 🧼 Code Style & Conventions
+
+- **Angular**: Follow the [official style guide](https://angular.io/guide/styleguide)
+- **Java**: Use modern features (Java 17+), clean structure
+- **Format**: Use linters and Prettier where applicable
+- **UI**: Use Tailwind CSS and PrimeNG components consistently
+
+---
+
+## 📝 Commit Message Format
+
+Follow [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/):
+
+Examples:
+
+- `feat: add column visibility setting to book table`
+- `fix: correct metadata locking behavior`
+- `docs: improve contributing instructions`
+
+---
+
+## 🙏 Code of Conduct
+
+Please be respectful, inclusive, and collaborative. Harassment, abuse, or discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated.
+
+---
+
+## 💬 Community & Support
+
+- Use [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/adityachandelgit/BookLore/discussions)
+- Discord server: https://discord.gg/Ee5hd458Uz
+
+---
+
+## 📄 License
+
+Booklore is open-source and licensed under the MIT License. See [`LICENSE`](./LICENSE) for details.
+
+---
+
+Happy contributing!