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+# Repository Guidelines for AI Agents and Contributors
+
+This document provides operational context, development commands, and design system guidelines for contributors and AI coding agents working on the Layer5 Recognition repository.
+
+## Repository Overview
+
+The **Layer5 Recognition Program** site ([badges.layer5.io](https://badges.layer5.io)) celebrates community member milestones, contributions, and certifications across Layer5 and Meshery projects through digital badges.
+
+- **Framework**: Gatsby 5 / React 18
+- **UI & Styling**: `@sistent/sistent` component library with `styled-components`
+- **Data & State**: TanStack React Table, TanStack React Query, local JSON metadata
+
+## Development Runbook
+
+Use the repository's existing Make targets or npm scripts for local development:
+
+| Task | Make Target | npm Script | Description |
+| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
+| **Setup** | `make setup` | `npm install` | Installs project dependencies. |
+| **Develop** | `make site-dev` | `npm start` / `npm run develop` | Starts the Gatsby development server at `http://localhost:8000`. |
+| **Build** | `make build` | `npm run build` | Generates the static production build into `public/`. |
+| **Clean** | `make clean` | `npm run clean` | `npm run clean` removes Gatsby cache/build artifacts; `make clean` also restarts the site. |
+
+## Useful Repository Structure
+
+Key directories and files for day-to-day work:
+
+- `src/`
+  - `src/pages/`: Route components and page templates.
+  - `src/sitecomponents/`: Reusable presentation components (e.g., `BadgeGrid`, `Faq`).
+  - `src/badgesInfo.json`: Badges metadata, slugs, criteria, and image paths.
+- `static/`: Static assets, including badge images and icons.
+- `gatsby-config.js`: Site metadata, Gatsby plugins, and source filesystem configuration.
+- `package.json`: Node dependencies, build scripts, and engine specifications.
+- `Makefile`: Standard development automation targets.
+
+## UI and Sistent Guidance
+
+This repository consumes the Layer5 design system via `@sistent/sistent` with `styled-components`.
+
+- **Component Reuse:** Prefer existing `@sistent/sistent` UI primitives before creating custom components.
+- **Design Tokens:** Prefer existing Sistent theme/token values over hardcoded brand colors.
+- **Design Guidance Reference:** Consult `node_modules/@sistent/sistent/DESIGN.md` when available, or the Sistent release tag matching the resolved version in `package-lock.json` rather than `master`. Do not create or maintain a separate `DESIGN.md` in this repository.
+
+## Contribution Guidelines
+
+- **Commit Sign-Off (DCO)**: Every commit must include a Developer Certificate of Origin sign-off (`git commit -s -m "..."`).
+- **Target Branch**: Submit pull requests against the `master` branch.
+- **Verification**: Always verify that the project builds cleanly without errors before submitting changes:
+  ```bash
+  npm run build
+  ```