Add comprehensive contributor guidelines and environment variables example

[Copilot]

This PR addresses the issue by adding essential documentation for contributors and providing a proper environment setup template.

Changes Made

📋 Added CONTRIBUTION.md

Created a comprehensive contributor guidelines document (309 lines) that provides:

• Complete development setup - Step-by-step instructions for forking, cloning, and setting up the development environment
• Project structure explanation - Detailed breakdown of the Next.js app structure with specific focus on the AI integration components
• Contribution workflow - Clear guidelines for creating issues, feature branches, and pull requests
• Coding standards - TypeScript, React/Next.js, and styling conventions aligned with the project's tech stack
• Testing guidelines - Manual testing checklist specific to recipe generation features
• Deployment information - Instructions for Vercel, Netlify, and other supported platforms

🔧 Added .env.example

Created a comprehensive environment variables template (102 lines) that includes:

• Required variables - NEXT_PUBLIC_GEMINI_API_KEY with detailed setup instructions
• Step-by-step API setup - Complete guide for obtaining Google Gemini AI API keys
• Development variables - Optional configurations for local development
• Future-proofing - Commented examples for potential features like database, authentication, and analytics
• Security best practices - API key management and usage guidelines

🛠️ Updated .gitignore

Modified to properly exclude sensitive .env* files while specifically allowing .env.example to be tracked in version control.

Benefits for Contributors

The new documentation makes it significantly easier for new contributors to:

1. Get started quickly - Clear setup instructions reduce onboarding time
2. Understand the codebase - Project structure explanation helps navigate the AI-powered recipe generation system
3. Follow best practices - Coding standards ensure consistent, maintainable code
4. Set up environment correctly - Detailed API key setup prevents common configuration issues
5. Contribute effectively - Clear workflow guidelines streamline the contribution process

Environment Setup Example

Contributors can now easily set up their development environment:

# Copy the example file
cp .env.example .env.local

# Edit with their actual API key
NEXT_PUBLIC_GEMINI_API_KEY=actual_api_key_here

The .env.example file includes comprehensive comments explaining each variable and links to obtain the necessary API keys, making the setup process straightforward for developers of all experience levels.

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

• fonts.googleapis.com
  • Triggering command: /usr/local/bin/node /home/REDACTED/work/Rasoi-AI/Rasoi-AI/node_modules/next/dist/compiled/jest-worker/processChild.js (dns block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
• Add the appropriate URLs or hosts to the custom allowlist in this repository's Copilot coding agent settings (admins only)

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✨ Let Copilot coding agent set things up for you — coding agent works faster and does higher quality work when set up for your repo.

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Project	Deployment	Preview	Comments	Updated (UTC)
rasoi-ai	Ready	Preview	Comment	Sep 24, 2025 5:42am