Prepare repository for KaiCode 2026 competition

[RAprogramm]

Objective

Prepare the masterror repository for submission to KaiCode 2026 competition by implementing all required documentation, processes, and quality standards expected by the jury.

Background

KaiCode is an annual open source festival evaluating projects on code quality, development maturity, and engineering practices. Competition requirements:

• Minimum 4,000 SLOC (we have 15,994)
• Project age 12-60 months (will be ~10 months by June 2026)
• Clean code with automated quality controls
• Comprehensive testing and coverage
• Requirements engineering documentation
• Structured development processes
• CI/CD automation
• Proper licensing

Current Status

Strengths (85% compliant):

• Excellent code quality and architecture
• Comprehensive CI/CD with fmt, clippy, tests, benchmarks
• Codecov integration with high coverage
• Semantic versioning
• MIT/Apache-2.0 licensing
• Active issue tracking
• Security audit tools

Gaps (15% to address):

• Missing formal requirements engineering documentation
• No explicit code review process documentation
• Missing CONTRIBUTING.md
• Missing ARCHITECTURE.md
• Incomplete security and community guidelines
• No PR/issue templates

Implementation Plan

Phase 1: Documentation & Requirements (High Priority)

1.1 REQUIREMENTS.md

• Problem statement and motivation
• Use cases and user stories
• Functional requirements
• Non-functional requirements
• Architecture decision records (ADRs)
• Design tradeoffs and rationale

1.2 CONTRIBUTING.md

• Development environment setup
• Code style guidelines
• Testing requirements
• PR submission process
• Commit message format
• Review process

1.3 ARCHITECTURE.md

• High-level system design
• Module structure and responsibilities
• Data flow diagrams
• Extension points
• Performance characteristics
• Design patterns used

1.4 Expand docs/wiki

• Migration guides from alternatives
• Best practices documentation
• Common usage patterns
• Integration examples

Phase 2: Process Improvements (High Priority)

2.1 GitHub Templates

• .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
• .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md
• .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.md
• .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/documentation.md

2.2 Branch Protection (manual setup)

• Document recommended branch protection rules
• Require PR reviews
• Require status checks
• Require branches up to date

Phase 3: Community Standards (Medium Priority)

3.1 SECURITY.md

• Security policy
• Vulnerability reporting process
• Supported versions matrix

3.2 CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md

• Community guidelines
• Enforcement procedures

3.3 Improve CHANGELOG.md

• Restructure with clear sections
• Added/Changed/Fixed/Removed/Deprecated
• Migration notes for breaking changes

Phase 4: Enhanced Examples (Low Priority)

4.1 Examples Directory

• Create examples/ with real-world scenarios
• Integration examples for major frameworks
• Comparison examples with alternatives

Success Criteria

• All Phase 1 documentation complete and reviewed
• PR/issue templates in place and functional
• Security and community standards documented
• All CI checks pass with no warnings
• Code coverage maintained at >95%
• Documentation reviewed for clarity and completeness

Timeline

Target completion: Q2 2026 (before KaiCode 2026 submission deadline)

Resources

• KaiCode evaluation criteria: https://www.kaicode.org/2024.html