diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b0f41ffb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# Contributing to Chibi-Scheme
+
+Thanks for your interest!
+
+Chibi-Scheme is fun and easy to hack.  If you want to contribute your
+changes back upstream, there are just a few guidelines:
+
+* Code must be released following the license in COPYING.
+* New modules likely belong on snow-fort.org, not the core distribution.
+* Chibi values small size over speed.
+* Features should be built up in layers, not added directly to the core.
+* Once you're ready to contribute, run `make init-dev` to install some
+  local settings (currently only git submit hooks).