diff --git a/patterns/archetypes/contribution-guidelines-checker.json b/patterns/archetypes/contribution-guidelines-checker.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dc92218
--- /dev/null
+++ b/patterns/archetypes/contribution-guidelines-checker.json
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+{
+  "id": "contribution-guidelines-checker",
+  "label": "Contribution Guidelines Checker",
+  "description": "Check pull requests against CONTRIBUTING.md and label them ready or needing work",
+  "success_rate": null,
+  "count": 0,
+  "recommended_triggers": [
+    {
+      "type": "pull_request",
+      "config": {}
+    }
+  ],
+  "recommended_safe_outputs": [
+    "pull-requests"
+  ],
+  "recommended_tools": [
+    "add-labels",
+    "add-comment"
+  ],
+  "timeout_minutes": 10,
+  "prompt_style": "role-steps",
+  "size_range_bytes": [
+    3000,
+    8000
+  ],
+  "top_repos": [],
+  "tips": [
+    "Search CONTRIBUTING.md, .github/CONTRIBUTING.md, docs/CONTRIBUTING.md, and README contribution sections in order before falling back to general best practices",
+    "Label the pull request ready when it complies and leave one constructive comment when it does not — never both",
+    "Use a small model since this runs on every pull request open/synchronize event and cost adds up",
+    "For high-volume repositories, pre-filter and fetch PR data in a steps: block, then dispatch each PR to an inline sub-agent for evaluation so the parent workflow only compiles results",
+    "Use DO NOT constraints to avoid merging, approving, or closing contributions — label and comment only"
+  ],
+  "anti_patterns": []
+}
diff --git a/patterns/manifest.json b/patterns/manifest.json
index 8d5bfa0..c27cec8 100644
--- a/patterns/manifest.json
+++ b/patterns/manifest.json
@@ -29,7 +29,8 @@
     "code-health-auditor",
     "ci-failure-triage",
     "community-digest",
-    "agent-cost-tracker"
+    "agent-cost-tracker",
+    "contribution-guidelines-checker"
   ],
   "workflow_generation": "workflow-generation.json",
   "anti_patterns": [
diff --git a/patterns/workflow-generation.json b/patterns/workflow-generation.json
index b794a5a..329e7d8 100644
--- a/patterns/workflow-generation.json
+++ b/patterns/workflow-generation.json
@@ -1015,6 +1015,43 @@
         "- **DO NOT** create an issue or comment when the token-usage log is missing or empty.",
         "- **DO NOT** let cost reports accumulate — cap and deduplicate created issues."
       ]
+    },
+    "contribution-guidelines-checker": {
+      "icon": "checklist",
+      "capabilities": {
+        "bash": true,
+        "github_toolsets": true
+      },
+      "permissions": [
+        "contents",
+        "issues",
+        "pull-requests"
+      ],
+      "github_toolsets": [
+        "repos",
+        "issues",
+        "pull_requests"
+      ],
+      "body": [
+        "# {{label}}",
+        "",
+        "You are a **contribution guidelines checker** for this repository.",
+        "",
+        "Your job is to verify pull request #${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} complies with the repository's contribution guidelines.",
+        "",
+        "## Process",
+        "",
+        "1. Find the contribution guidelines: check `CONTRIBUTING.md`, `.github/CONTRIBUTING.md`, `docs/CONTRIBUTING.md`, then contribution sections in `README.md`. Fall back to general best practices if none exist.",
+        "2. Read the pull request title, description, changed files, and commit messages",
+        "3. Compare the pull request against the guidelines (scope, tests, documentation, commit style)",
+        "4. If it complies, apply the `contribution-ready` label. Otherwise, leave one constructive comment describing what needs to change.",
+        "",
+        "## Constraints",
+        "",
+        "- **DO NOT** merge, approve, or close contributions.",
+        "- **DO NOT** post more than one comment per run.",
+        "- **DO NOT** apply the ready label and post a needs-work comment in the same run — pick one outcome."
+      ]
     }
   }
 }