diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index daf913b..0dd5628 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 *.o
 *.a
 *.so
+*.out
 
 # Folders
 _obj
@@ -22,3 +23,6 @@ _testmain.go
 *.exe
 *.test
 *.prof
+
+# test editor files
+*.swp
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b6a9a16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+## Release 0.1.0 (UNRELEASED)
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ea9109a..a083b46 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,3 +4,68 @@
 A Golang Matrix client.
 
 **THIS IS UNDER ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT: BREAKING CHANGES ARE FREQUENT.**
+
+# Contributing
+
+All contributions are greatly appreciated!
+
+## How to report issues
+
+Please check the current open issues for similar reports
+in order to avoid duplicates.
+
+Some general guidelines:
+
+-   Include a [minimal reproducible example](https://stackoverflow.com/help/minimal-reproducible-example) when possible.
+-   Describe the expected behaviour and what actually happened
+    including a full trace-back in case of exceptions.
+-   Make sure to list details about your environment
+
+## Setting up your environment
+
+If you intend to contribute to gomatrix you'll first need Go installed on your machine (version 1.12+ is required). Also, make sure to have golangci-lint properly set up since we use it for pre-commit hooks (for instructions on how to install it, check the [official docs](https://golangci-lint.run/usage/install/#local-installation)).
+
+-   Fork gomatrix to your GitHub account by clicking the [Fork](https://github.com/matrix-org/gomatrix/fork) button.
+-   [Clone](https://help.github.com/en/articles/fork-a-repo#step-2-create-a-local-clone-of-your-fork) the main repository (not your fork) to your local machine.
+
+        
+        $ git clone https://github.com/matrix-org/gomatrix
+        $ cd gomatrix
+        
+
+-   Add your fork as a remote to push your contributions.Replace
+    ``{username}`` with your username.
+
+        git remote add fork https://github.com/{username}/gomatrix
+
+-   Create a new branch to identify what feature you are working on.
+
+        $ git fetch origin
+        $ git checkout -b your-branch-name origin/master
+        
+
+-   Make your changes, including tests that cover any code changes you make, and run them as described below.
+
+-   Execute pre-commit hooks by running 
+
+        <gomatrix dir>/hooks/pre-commit
+
+-   Push your changes to your fork and [create a pull request](https://help.github.com/en/articles/creating-a-pull-request) describing your changes.
+
+        $ git push --set-upstream fork your-branch-name
+
+-   Finally, create a [pull request](https://docs.github.com/en/github/collaborating-with-issues-and-pull-requests/about-pull-requests)
+
+## How to run tests
+
+You can run the test suite and example code with `$ go test -v`
+
+# Running Coverage
+
+To run coverage, first generate the coverage report using `go test`
+
+    go test -v -cover -coverprofile=coverage.out
+
+You can now show the generated report as a html page with `go tool`
+
+    go tool cover -html=coverage.out