docs: use PyCOADS template for contrib guide, add ci/cd details

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -15,3 +15,102 @@ Please write tests for your code, add these to the `test` directory. I use `pyte
 ## Issues
 
 Please file issues as they arise. Describe the problem, the steps to reproduce, and provide any output.
+
+# Contributing to `GeoSpatialTools`
+
+To contribute to this package you will need to be a member of NOC GitLab & have access permissions
+to this repository - if you're able to read this then you have access!
+
+If you wish to contribute please make sure you are working on your own branches (not main), ideally
+you should work on your own fork. If you wish to work on a particular module you could name your
+branch `module-user` where `module` would be replaced by the name of the module you are working on,
+and `user` would be your user name. However you can name your branch as you see fit, but it is a
+good idea to name it something that relates to what you are working on. If you are working on an
+issue please reference the issue number in the branch name and associated Merge request. It is
+generally easier to make a merge request and create a branch from the issue.
+
+If you wish to merge to `main` please create a merge request and assign it to `josidd`,
+and/or `ricorne` - either to perform the merge and/or review/approve the request. Please provide a
+summary of the main changes that you have made so that there is context for us to review the
+changes.
+
+## Changelog
+
+The changelog is `CHANGES.md`. Please add your changes to the changelog in your merge request.
+
+## Commit Messages
+
+We are trying to use a consistent and informative approach for writing commit messages in this
+repository. We have adopted the [conventional commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/en/v1.0.0/)
+standard for commit messages. Whilst we won't enforce this standard upon others, we do recommend the
+approach. Otherwise please ensure that your messages are descriptive and not just `changes` or
+similar.
+
+## Development Instructions
+
+We recommend [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) for development purposes.
+
+Clone the repository and create your development branch
+
+```bash
+git clone git@git.noc.ac.uk:noc_surface_processes/geospatialtools.git /path/to/geospatialtools
+cd /path/to/geospatialtools
+git checkout -b new-branch-name  # if not a new branch exclude the '-b'
+```
+
+Create a virtual environment and install the dependencies
+
+```bash
+uv venv --python 3.12  # recommended version >= 3.9 is supported
+source .venv/bin/activate  # assuming bash or zsh
+```
+
+To install the dependencies run:
+
+```bash
+uv sync
+```
+
+Or to install all development dependencies and dependencies run:
+
+```bash
+uv sync --extra all --dev
+```
+
+## Standards
+
+We recommend the use of [ruff](https://docs.astral.sh/ruff/) as a linter/formatter. The
+`pyproject.toml` file includes all the settings for `ruff` for `GeoSpatialTools`.
+
+```bash
+uvx ruff check
+uvx ruff check --fix
+uvx ruff format
+```
+
+[codespell](https://github.com/codespell-project/codespell) is also used to check spelling/bad
+names.
+
+We use [pre-commit](https://pre-commit.com/) as part of out CI/CD processing.
+
+## Tests
+
+If you create new functionality please write and perform unit-tests on your code. The current
+implementation of `GeoSpatialTools` uses the `pytest` library.
+
+New tests do not need to be comprehensive, but I likely won't merge if your changes fails testing,
+especially the pre-existing tests. You will need to include (and reference) any data that is
+needed for testing.
+
+We have a CI/CD pipeline that will automatically implement testing as part of merge requests.
+
+We welcome additions/improvements to the current tests. New python test files should be placed in
+the `test` directory and filenames must be prefixed with `test_`.
+
+To perform tests you will need to have the environment set-up and active. Then run:
+
+```
+uv run pytest test/test_*.py
+```
+
+from the main/top directory for the repository.