diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c246019
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+repos:
+  - repo: local
+    hooks:
+      - id: flake8-critical
+        name: flake8 critical errors
+        entry: poetry run flake8 . --count --select=E9,F63,F7,F82 --show-source --statistics
+        language: system
+        pass_filenames: false
+
+      - id: mypy
+        name: mypy
+        entry: poetry run mypy cmr tests
+        language: system
+        pass_filenames: false
+
+      - id: pytest
+        name: pytest
+        entry: poetry run pytest
+        language: system
+        pass_filenames: false
+        stages: [pre-push]
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e31c7a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+# Contributing
+
+## Development setup
+
+Install the project dependencies with Poetry:
+
+```bash
+poetry install
+```
+
+## Pre-commit checks
+
+The repository includes pre-commit hooks that mirror the important local CI checks:
+
+- critical `flake8` errors run before commits;
+- `mypy` runs before commits;
+- the full `pytest` suite runs before pushes.
+
+Install pre-commit, then enable both hook stages:
+
+```bash
+python -m pip install pre-commit
+pre-commit install --hook-type pre-commit --hook-type pre-push
+```
+
+Run all commit-stage hooks manually with:
+
+```bash
+pre-commit run --all-files
+```
+
+Run the pre-push test hook manually with:
+
+```bash
+pre-commit run --all-files --hook-stage pre-push
+```
+
+The hook commands use the project's Poetry environment, so run `poetry install` first.