chore: improved guidelines on how to contribute to docs

README.md

@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@
 
 To contribute to LangChain documentation, follow the steps outlined in the [contributing guide](https://docs.langchain.com/oss/python/contributing/overview). The contributing guide also explains our documentation types and their writing and quality standards.
 
+For detailed information about setting up your development environment and contributing to documentation, see the [documentation contributing guide](https://docs.langchain.com/oss/python/contributing/documentation).
+
 > [!IMPORTANT]
 > For contributing to reference docs, see the `README.md` file in the `/reference/python` and `/reference/javascript` directories.
 

src/oss/contributing/documentation.mdx

@@ -39,27 +39,49 @@ For larger changes, additions, or ongoing contributions, it's important to set u
 
 #### Set up local environment
 
+Before you can work on this project, ensure you have the following installed:
+
+**Required:**
+
+- **Python** >= 3.13.0, < 4.0.0
+- **[uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/)** - Python package manager (used for dependency management)
+- **Node.js** and **npm** - For Mintlify CLI and reference documentation builds
+- **Make** - For running build commands (usually pre-installed on macOS/Linux)
+- **Git** - For version control
+
+**Optional but recommended:**
+
+- **[`markdownlint-cli`](https://github.com/igorshubovych/markdownlint-cli)** - For linting markdown files
+  ```bash
+  npm install -g markdownlint-cli
+  ```
+- **[`pnpm`](https://pnpm.io/)** - Required only if you're working on reference documentation
+  ```bash
+  npm install -g pnpm@10.14.0
+  ```
+
+**Setup steps:**
+
 1. Clone the [`langchain-ai/docs`](https://github.com/langchain-ai/docs) repo. Follow the steps outlined in [`IDE_SETUP.md`](https://github.com/langchain-ai/docs/blob/main/IDE_SETUP.md).
-2. [Install `uv`](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/)
-3. [Install `npm`](https://nodejs.org/en/download/)
-4. Create and activate a virtual environment:
+
+2. Install dependencies:
 
     ```bash
-    cd docs
-    uv venv
-    source .venv/bin/activate
+    make install
     ```
 
-5. Install dependencies:
+    This command will:
+    - Install Python dependencies using `uv sync --all-groups`
+    - Install Mintlify CLI globally via npm
 
-    ```bash
-    uv sync --all-groups
-    ```
+3. Verify your setup:
 
     ```bash
-    npm i -g mint
+    make build
     ```
 
+    This should build the documentation without errors.
+
 After install, you'll have access to the `docs` command:
 
 ```bash