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+[//]: # (Many of these have been directly quoted from the atom contributing guide https://github.com/atom/atom/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md)
+# Contributing
+
+:+1::tada: First off, thanks for taking the time to contribute! :tada::+1:
+
+The following is a set of guidelines for contributing to GRIP.
+
+## What should I know before I get started?
+
+### Code of Conduct
+
+This project adheres to the [Contributor Covenant 1.3](http://contributor-covenant.org/version/1/3/0/).
+By participating, you are expected to uphold this code.
+
+## How Can I Contribute?
+
+### Reporting Bugs
+
+This section guides you through submitting a bug report for GRIP. Following these guidelines helps maintainers and the community understand your report :pencil:, reproduce the behavior :computer: :computer:, and find related reports :mag_right:.
+
+Before creating bug reports, please check [this list](#before-submitting-a-bug-report) as you might find out that you don't need to create one. When you are creating a bug report, please [include as many details as possible](#how-do-i-submit-a-good-bug-report).
+
+#### Before Submitting A Bug Report
+
+* **Perform a [cursory search](https://github.com/WPIRoboticsProjects/GRIP/issues?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=)** to see if the problem has already been reported. If it has, add a comment to the existing issue instead of opening a new one.
+
+#### How Do I Submit A (Good) Bug Report?
+
+Explain the problem and include additional details to help maintainers reproduce the problem:
+
+* **Use a clear and descriptive title** for the issue to identify the problem.
+* **Describe the exact steps which reproduce the problem** in as many details as possible. For example, start by explaining how you started creating your pipeline in GRIP. When listing steps, **don't just say what you did, but explain how you did it**.
+* **Describe the behavior you observed after following the steps** and point out what exactly is the problem with that behavior.
+* **Explain which behavior you expected to see instead and why.**
+* **Include screenshots and animated GIFs** which show you following the described steps and clearly demonstrate the problem.
+* **If you're reporting that GRIP crashed**, include a crash report with a stack trace from the program and, if possible the operating system.
+* **If the problem is related to performance**, please provide more details about what became slow or irresponsive.
+* **If the problem wasn't triggered by a specific action**, describe what you were doing before the problem happened and share more information using the guidelines below.
+
+Provide more context by answering these questions:
+
+* **Can you reliably reproduce the issue?** If not, provide details about how often the problem happens and under which conditions it normally happens.
+* If the problem is related to working a source, **does the problem happen for all sources or only some** (eg. only with webcams)?
+
+Include details about your configuration and environment:</br>
+(If GRIP generated an exception alert you can copy this directly from this dialog)
+
+* **Which version of GRIP are you using?** This will be the version number on the installer you downloaded. (In the future this will be in the crash log).
+* **What's the name and version of the OS you're using**?
+* **Are you running GRIP in a virtual machine?** If so, which VM software are you using and which operating systems and versions are used for the host and the guest?
+
+### Pull Requests (PR)
+
+* Include screenshots and animated GIFs in your pull request whenever possible.
+* Explain what it does, why it is useful, what it fixes, why it should be merged.
+* Use `java.util.Optional` instead of `null` for object member variables that may not be defined.
+* Project owners have the final say on whether a PR is approved.
+
+### Git Commit Messages
+
+* Use the present tense ("Add feature" not "Added feature")
+* Use the imperative mood ("Move cursor to..." not "Moves cursor to...")
+* Try to limit the first line to 72 characters if possible
+* Reference issues and pull requests liberally
+
+### Documentation Styleguide
+
+* Use JavaDocs
+
+### Code Formatting
+
+* GRIP uses standard Java formatting rules, although we don't care if your line length is over 80 characters. You can probably use your IDE's built-in formatter. This helps keep the code more consistent and readable.