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Add a developer guide to help new contributors get started #3806

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9dab9fc
docs: add content to Developer’s Guide (#3792)
ijayhub Aug 7, 2025
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docs: add content to Developer’s Guide (#3792)
ijayhub Aug 7, 2025
35c91d3
docs: improve Developers' guide with clear getting started steps
ijayhub Aug 7, 2025
6c2b0b5
docs: add content to Developer’s Guide (#3792)
ijayhub Aug 8, 2025
686fa1b
docs: add content to Developer’s Guide (#3792)
ijayhub Aug 8, 2025
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docs: improve developer guide with clearer instructions
ijayhub Aug 8, 2025
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22 changes: 22 additions & 0 deletions website/content/en/docs/dev/_index.md
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title: Developers' guide
weight: 500
---

Welcome to the Lima Developer Guide!

If you’re new and want to help with Lima, you’re in the right place. Lima is a free tool that helps you run Linux virtual machines on macOS.

Here’s how you can get started:

## 📌 Quick Start for Contributors

- **Learn about the code**: Visit [Lima on DeepWiki](https://deepwiki.com/lima-vm/lima) to see how things are set up.
- **Know the main folders**: Look inside `cmd/`, `pkg/`, and `website/`. These are important parts of the project.
- **Read the guide**: Follow the steps in [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](https://github.com/lima-vm/.github/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md) to set up everything.
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This is a redirect, to https://lima-vm.io/docs/community/contributing/ (but use a relative link)

It doesn't really mention how to set up the development environment though, like Git and Go?

- **Talk with others by joining the community**: You can ask questions or share your ideas on GitHub Issues or Discussions.

## 🧠 Tips for First-Time Contributors

- Start with small things: fix typos, improve docs, or make comments in code easier to understand.
- Don’t worry if you’re not sure—just ask.
- Use `make` to test or build the project if you're working with the command line.

We’re happy you’re here. Every little bit of contribution counts!