diff --git a/docs/CODE_REVIEW.md b/docs/CODE_REVIEW.md
index 8bed71b..656d49c 100644
--- a/docs/CODE_REVIEW.md
+++ b/docs/CODE_REVIEW.md
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ CODEOWNERS auto-requests the owning reviewer when a risk path changes; with bran
 | `iqiglobal-site` | `app/Http/Integrations/**` (ERP/Paynet/Meta) · auth & middleware · `database/migrations/**` · `config/**` · deploy workflows |
 | `feed-engine` / `dagster-pipelines` | `@repository` factory files (a `raise` there crashes prod) · any DDL / migration / AUTO_INCREMENT-touching code |
 
-Per-repo CODEOWNERS files are seeded from [`templates/codeowners/`](../templates/codeowners/) in `juwai/standards`.
+Per-repo CODEOWNERS files are seeded from the `templates/codeowners/` directory of `juwai/standards` (maintainer setup step — the templates are not synced here), then owned by each repo.
 
 ## CI gates & flaky tests
 
diff --git a/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md b/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..57855ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# Contributing
+
+How code gets merged around here, in five lines:
+
+1. **Small PRs that do one thing**, with tests, tied to a Linear ticket with clear acceptance criteria.
+2. **Self-review before you request review** — you own correctness, especially for agent-written code. See the pre-PR SOP in [CODE_REVIEW.md](CODE_REVIEW.md#author-guide).
+3. **Gates must be green** (tests · types · lint) before anyone reads anything. The AI first pass comments; humans are routed by risk via CODEOWNERS.
+4. **Review comments use [Conventional Comments](CONVENTIONAL_COMMENTS.md)** — `label (decorations): subject`. Non-blocking means non-blocking; every thread is resolved before merge.
+5. **Pick your lane honestly** (trivial-self-merge / announce-then-merge / standard / touches-risk-surface) in the PR template. Risk surfaces always get a full human read.
+
+The full standard lives in [CODE_REVIEW.md](CODE_REVIEW.md). The comment cheat-sheet is [CONVENTIONAL_COMMENTS.md](CONVENTIONAL_COMMENTS.md).
+
+> These files are synced from [`juwai/standards`](https://github.com/juwai/standards) — propose changes there, not here.