build environment improvements (#1385)

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -20,19 +20,87 @@ merge your contributions smoothly.
   tox -e qa
   ```
 
-- ✔️ All tests pass locally.
-
 - ✔️ Your code is clean and consistently formatted:
   ```bash
   tox -e format
   ```
 
+
 - ✔️ You followed the plugin template (if adding a new plugin).
 - ✔️ You included inline docstrings and respected the BSD 2-Clause license.
 - ✔️ Your commit message is descriptive.
 
 ---
 
+## 📦 Local Development Setup
+
+To get started with development:
+
+### 🧰 System Requirements
+
+- Python >= 3.9
+- `pip`
+- `git`
+- Optional: `VS Code` with the Python extension
+
+### 🚀 One-Time Setup
+
+```bash
+git clone https://github.com/caronc/apprise.git
+cd apprise
+
+# Install all runtime + dev dependencies
+pip install .[dev]
+```
+
+(Optional, but recommended if actively developing):
+```bash
+pip install -e .[dev]
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🧪 Running Tests
+
+```bash
+pytest               # Run all tests
+pytest tests/foo.py  # Run a specific test file
+```
+
+Run with coverage:
+```bash
+pytest --cov=apprise --cov-report=term
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🧹 Linting & Formatting with ruff
+
+```bash
+ruff check apprise tests           # Check linting
+ruff check apprise tests --fix     # Auto-fix
+ruff format apprise tests          # Format files
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🧰 Optional: Using VS Code
+
+1. Open the repo: `code .`
+2. Press `Ctrl+Shift+P → Python: Select Interpreter`
+3. Choose the same interpreter you used for `pip install .[dev]`
+4. Press `Ctrl+Shift+P → Python: Discover Tests`
+
+`.vscode/settings.json` is pre-configured with:
+
+- pytest as the test runner
+- ruff for linting
+- PYTHONPATH set to project root
+
+No `.venv` is required unless you choose to use one.
+
+---
+
 ## 📌 How to Contribute
 
 1. **Fork the repository** and create a new branch.