docs feat: add 'Start Here: New Contributor Quickstart' section to README

[samyuktha2004]

This PR adds a “Start Here: New Contributor Quickstart” section to the README, providing a concise onboarding checklist and direct links to key resources for first-time contributors. This aims to make the contribution process more accessible and welcoming, in line with Rocket.Chat’s open source values.

Related Issue:
Closes #39961

Checklist:

I have read the Code of Conduct
I have reviewed the Contribution Process
I have signed the CLA
This PR only updates documentation and does not affect code or tests
Notes:

The new section is placed above the Contributions section for visibility.
All links have been verified and point to the latest official resources.
Feedback is welcome!

Proposed changes (including videos or screenshots)

Issue(s)

Steps to test or reproduce

Further comments

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Documentation
  • Enhanced contributor onboarding with a new structured quickstart guide featuring step-by-step instructions covering the Code of Conduct, contribution process, CLA requirements, finding beginner-friendly issues, and community resources.

[dionisio-bot]

Looks like this PR is not ready to merge, because of the following issues:

• This PR is missing the 'stat: QA assured' label
• This PR is missing the required milestone or project

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Latest commit: ce93cc3

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[CLAassistant]

All committers have signed the CLA.

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

Replaced the "Contributions" section header with a new "Start Here: New Contributor Quickstart" section, adding an 8-step onboarding checklist covering Code of Conduct, contribution process, contribution modes, CLA signing, issue discovery, community server access, and links to official documentation.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Documentation README.md	Replaced "Contributions" section with "Start Here: New Contributor Quickstart," providing a numbered step-by-step onboarding guide with links to Code of Conduct, contribution process, CLA, community resources, and the full Contributor Guide.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 1 (Trivial) | ⏱️ ~3 minutes

Suggested labels

type: chore

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	The PR fulfills all coding requirements from issue #39961: adds the 'Start Here: New Contributor Quickstart' section to README with a numbered step-by-step checklist, links to key onboarding resources (Code of Conduct, contribution process, CLA, community resources), and complements the existing contributor guide without duplication.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	All changes are within scope: the PR only modifies README.md to add the requested quickstart section with no extraneous documentation changes or unrelated code modifications.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and specifically describes the main change: adding a 'Start Here: New Contributor Quickstart' section to the README documentation.
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.

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[cubic-dev-ai]

No issues found across 1 file

[coderabbitai]

🧹 Nitpick comments (1)

README.md (1)

106-106: Optional tone polish for Line 106.

Consider replacing “very happy” with “happy” (or “glad”) for a tighter, more neutral docs tone.

🤖 Prompt for AI Agents

Verify each finding against the current code and only fix it if needed.

In `@README.md` at line 106, The sentence "Welcome! Rocket.Chat is an open-source
project, and we are very happy to accept community contributions." uses "very
happy" which is wordy; update that exact sentence in README.md to use a tighter
phrasing such as "happy" or "glad" (e.g., replace "very happy" with "happy") to
improve tone while preserving the rest of the sentence.

🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents

Verify each finding against the current code and only fix it if needed.

Nitpick comments:
In `@README.md`:
- Line 106: The sentence "Welcome! Rocket.Chat is an open-source project, and we
are very happy to accept community contributions." uses "very happy" which is
wordy; update that exact sentence in README.md to use a tighter phrasing such as
"happy" or "glad" (e.g., replace "very happy" with "happy") to improve tone
while preserving the rest of the sentence.

---

ℹ️ Review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Organization UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: d154ba55-53dc-4280-b49c-30eb31511d7e

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 4235cd9 and ce93cc3.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• README.md

📜 Review details

🧰 Additional context used

🧠 Learnings (4)

📚 Learning: 2025-11-10T19:06:20.146Z

Learnt from: MartinSchoeler
Repo: RocketChat/Rocket.Chat PR: 37408
File: apps/meteor/client/views/admin/ABAC/useRoomAttributeOptions.tsx:53-69
Timestamp: 2025-11-10T19:06:20.146Z
Learning: In the Rocket.Chat repository, do not provide suggestions or recommendations about code sections marked with TODO comments. The maintainers have already identified these as future work and external reviewers lack the full context about implementation plans and timing.

Applied to files:

• README.md

📚 Learning: 2026-01-08T15:03:59.621Z

Learnt from: d-gubert
Repo: RocketChat/Rocket.Chat PR: 38068
File: apps/meteor/tests/data/apps/app-packages/README.md:14-16
Timestamp: 2026-01-08T15:03:59.621Z
Learning: For the RocketChat/Rocket.Chat repository, do not analyze or report formatting issues (such as hard tabs vs spaces, line breaks, etc.). The project relies on automated linting tools to enforce formatting standards.

Applied to files:

• README.md

📚 Learning: 2026-03-03T19:18:03.410Z

Learnt from: dougfabris
Repo: RocketChat/Rocket.Chat PR: 0
File: :0-0
Timestamp: 2026-03-03T19:18:03.410Z
Learning: Only add the "community" label to pull requests from external contributors who are not part of the RocketChat organization. Do not add this label for contributions from organization members.

Applied to files:

• README.md

📚 Learning: 2025-11-19T12:32:29.696Z

Learnt from: d-gubert
Repo: RocketChat/Rocket.Chat PR: 37547
File: packages/i18n/src/locales/en.i18n.json:634-634
Timestamp: 2025-11-19T12:32:29.696Z
Learning: Repo: RocketChat/Rocket.Chat
Context: i18n workflow
Learning: In this repository, new translation keys should be added to packages/i18n/src/locales/en.i18n.json only; other locale files are populated via the external translation pipeline and/or fall back to English. Do not request adding the same key to all locale files in future reviews.

Applied to files:

• README.md

🪛 LanguageTool

README.md

[style] ~106-~106: As an alternative to the over-used intensifier ‘very’, consider replacing this phrase.
Context: ...t is an open-source project, and we are very happy to accept community contributions. If y...

(EN_WEAK_ADJECTIVE)

---

[uncategorized] ~114-~114: The official name of this software platform is spelled with a capital “H”.
Context: ...tributors. 7. See our CONTRIBUTING.md for more tips. For ...

(GITHUB)

🔇 Additional comments (1)

README.md (1)

104-117: Solid newcomer onboarding flow—clear and actionable.

This section is concise, links to canonical resources, and aligns well with the quickstart objective for first-time contributors.

[samyuktha2004]

This PR is missing the 'stat: QA assured' label
This PR is missing the required milestone or project

As a first time contributor, I'm not able to edit the labels and milestones, so I request the maintainers to help me with the same, if possible. Thank you.