# Contributing to Open Engineer

## The Bedrock Phase

Open Engineer is currently in **The Bedrock Phase**. During this phase, contributions follow a strict linear workflow.

## How to Contribute

### The Four-Question Framework

Every proposed addition must answer four questions:

1. **Observation?** — What was observed that prompted this?
2. **Engineering Principle?** — What engineering principle does this express?
3. **Reasoning?** — What is the reasoning that connects the observation to the principle?
4. **Relationship to Existing Concepts?** — How does this relate to what already exists in the standard?

Nothing enters Bedrock without surviving those four layers.

### The Workflow

1. **Observe** — Begin with a direct, verifiable observation
2. **Draft** — Write the proposed addition
3. **Review** — Submit for review against the four-question framework
4. **Accept** — If it passes review, it is accepted
5. **Freeze (RC)** — Accepted documents reach Release Candidate status
6. **Reference** — Frozen documents become reference material

### Editorial Rules

- **Translate. Do not transplant.** — Extract engineering principles from observations without adopting surrounding ideology.
- **Single Responsibility** — Every document must have exactly one primary responsibility.
- **No Overlap** — The spec defines. The reference explains. The examples illustrate. The tools implement.

### Important Constraints

- Do not skip ahead in the specification dependency tree
- Do not redefine earlier layers — only extend them
- Do not add free-form exploration; channel ideas through the RFC process
- Stop touching implementations (website, tools) until the specification is frozen