diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..95922693
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+# Contributing
+
+Thank you for your interest! Sanic is always looking for contributors. If you
+don't feel comfortable contributing code, adding docstrings to the source files
+is very appreciated.
+
+## Installation
+
+To develop on sanic (and mainly to just run the tests) it is highly recommend to
+install from sources.
+
+So assume you have already cloned the repo and are in the working directory with
+a virtual environment already set up, then run:
+
+```bash
+python setup.py develop && pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
+```
+
+## Running tests
+
+To run the tests for sanic it is recommended to use tox like so:
+
+```bash
+tox
+```
+
+See it's that simple!
+
+## Pull requests!
+
+So the pull request approval rules are pretty simple:
+1. All pull requests must pass unit tests
+* All pull requests must be reviewed and approved by at least 
+one current collaborator on the project
+* All pull requests must pass flake8 checks
+* If you decide to remove/change anything from any common interface
+a deprecation message should accompany it.
+* If you implement a new feature you should have at least one unit
+test to accompany it.
+
+## Documentation
+
+Sanic's documentation is built
+using [sphinx](http://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/1.5.1/). Guides are written in
+Markdown and can be found in the `docs` folder, while the module reference is
+automatically generated using `sphinx-apidoc`.
+
+To generate the documentation from scratch:
+
+```bash
+sphinx-apidoc -fo docs/_api/ sanic
+sphinx-build -b html docs docs/_build
+```
+
+The HTML documentation will be created in the `docs/_build` folder.
+
+## Warning
+
+One of the main goals of Sanic is speed. Code that lowers the performance of
+Sanic without significant gains in usability, security, or features may not be
+merged. Please don't let this intimidate you! If you have any concerns about an
+idea, open an issue for discussion and help.
diff --git a/docs/sanic/contributing.md b/docs/sanic/contributing.md
index dbc64a02..95922693 100644
--- a/docs/sanic/contributing.md
+++ b/docs/sanic/contributing.md
@@ -4,10 +4,39 @@ Thank you for your interest! Sanic is always looking for contributors. If you
 don't feel comfortable contributing code, adding docstrings to the source files
 is very appreciated.
 
+## Installation
+
+To develop on sanic (and mainly to just run the tests) it is highly recommend to
+install from sources.
+
+So assume you have already cloned the repo and are in the working directory with
+a virtual environment already set up, then run:
+
+```bash
+python setup.py develop && pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
+```
+
 ## Running tests
 
-* `python -m pip install pytest`
-* `python -m pytest tests`
+To run the tests for sanic it is recommended to use tox like so:
+
+```bash
+tox
+```
+
+See it's that simple!
+
+## Pull requests!
+
+So the pull request approval rules are pretty simple:
+1. All pull requests must pass unit tests
+* All pull requests must be reviewed and approved by at least 
+one current collaborator on the project
+* All pull requests must pass flake8 checks
+* If you decide to remove/change anything from any common interface
+a deprecation message should accompany it.
+* If you implement a new feature you should have at least one unit
+test to accompany it.
 
 ## Documentation