feat: initial engineering standards and automation setup

Author: Priyanshu Raj

.github/pull_request_template.md

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+# Pull Request Template
+
+## Description
+
+Please provide a clear and concise description of the changes proposed in this PR. Detail the problem being solved and the technical approach chosen.
+
+## Type of Change
+
+- [ ] 🚀 Feature (New capability for AI, SaaS, or Infrastructure)
+- [ ] 🐛 Bug Fix (Resolves an active issue)
+- [ ] 🔒 Security / Compliance (Addresses HIPAA/SOC2/PII vulnerability or control)
+- [ ] ⚙️ Refactor / Chore (Clean up, performance optimization, dependency bump)
+- [ ] 📝 Documentation (Updates to setup, standards, or API docs)
+
+## Scope of Impact
+
+- [ ] **AI & LLM Infrastructure:** PyTorch pipelines, model gateways, RAG, custom agents.
+- [ ] **Product & SaaS Platform:** Next.js UI, FastAPI/Go backend services, database migrations.
+- [ ] **Cloud & DevOps Automation:** Terraform IaC, Kubernetes configurations, GitHub Actions.
+- [ ] **Security & Compliance:** PII masking middleware, authorization rules, auditing tools.
+
+---
+
+## SDLC Quality Checklist
+
+Please verify that each of the following requirements is completed before marking this PR as ready for review:
+
+### 1. Code Quality & Formatting
+- [ ] Code compiles and builds locally without errors or warnings.
+- [ ] Code styles adhere to the language-specific formatting standard (Prettier, Black, Go fmt).
+- [ ] No temporary debug logs, print statements, or commented-out code blocks are left in.
+
+### 2. Testing & Verification
+- [ ] Unit tests written and passing for all modified logic (FastAPI, Go, PyTorch).
+- [ ] Integration or E2E tests run successfully (Playwright, regression suites).
+- [ ] Test coverage meets the team threshold (minimum 80% coverage on new code).
+
+### 3. Compliance & Security by Design
+- [ ] **PII Masking:** Verified that personal data (PII) is sanitized before transit to LLMs or external logging.
+- [ ] **Security Scans:** Local dependency vulnerability scanning run and verified clean (e.g., `npm audit`, `safety check`).
+- [ ] **HIPAA/SOC2:** Audited modifications against least-privilege policies, secure database queries, and log auditing.
+
+### 4. Release Readiness
+- [ ] Release checklist followed (see [release-management.md](file:///Users/acadify/Desktop/engineering%20standards/standards/release-management.md)).
+- [ ] SemVer impact identified: [Major / Minor / Patch].
+- [ ] Changelog draft or release notes draft included below (if applicable).
+
+---
+
+## Verification Evidence
+
+Provide outputs, command logs, or screenshots confirming that the changes have been verified. For UI changes, please attach screenshots or screen recordings showing the UI behavior in different viewports.
+
+### Local Test Output Snippet
+```bash
+# Paste test run results here
+```

.github/workflows/lint.yml

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+name: Lint Markdown
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [ main ]
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [ main ]
+
+jobs:
+  lint:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup Node.js
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: 20
+          cache: 'npm'
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: npm install
+
+      - name: Run Markdown Lint
+        run: npm run lint

.gitignore

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+node_modules/
+.DS_Store

.husky/pre-commit

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+npx markdownlint "**/*.md" --ignore node_modules

.markdownlint.json

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+{
+  "default": true,
+  "MD013": false,
+  "MD024": {
+    "siblings_only": true
+  },
+  "MD033": false,
+  "MD041": false
+}

README.md

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+# Acadify Solution — Engineering Standards & Practices
+
+Welcome to the **Acadify Solution Engineering Standards** repository. This centralized resource defines our internal engineering policies, code quality guidelines, and compliance requirements.
+
+As a distributed team of senior developers building high-reliability AI systems, secure cloud architectures, and scalable SaaS platforms, we hold ourselves to rigorous development standards. Adhering to these guidelines ensures our code is secure, scalable, maintainable, and aligned with industry compliance standards (including HIPAA and SOC2).
+
+---
+
+## 🗺️ Standards Navigation
+
+Our development practices are structured into four main areas:
+
+| Standards Document | Key Topics Covered |
+| :--- | :--- |
+| 🌿 **[Branching & Git Guidelines](standards/branching-git.md)** | Branching models (Trunk-Based / Git Flow), Branch Protection policies, and Conventional Commits. |
+| 🛡️ **[Coding & Security Practices](standards/coding-practices.md)** | AI/LLM safety, PII Masking, HIPAA/SOC2 design rules, SaaS patterns, and static analysis benchmarks. |
+| 👥 **[Peer Reviews & PR Guidelines](standards/peer-reviews.md)** | PR criteria, Author self-audits, Reviewer responsibilities, and PR templates. |
+| 🚀 **[Release & Versioning](standards/release-management.md)** | Semantic Versioning (SemVer), release checklists, changelog management, and hotfix paths. |
+
+---
+
+## 🛠️ Automated Quality & Tooling
+
+To minimize manual overhead and maintain a consistent baseline, we enforce automatic linting and code styles across all repositories via git hooks and CI checkups.
+
+### Local Environment Setup
+
+When you clone any Acadify repository (including this standards repo), follow these steps to initialize the automated quality tools:
+
+#### Prerequisites
+
+* Node.js (LTS version 20+)
+* pnpm / npm / yarn (We recommend `npm` or `pnpm` depending on repository configurations)
+
+#### Step 1: Install Dependencies
+
+This project uses DevDependencies to lint documentation files using `markdownlint-cli` and manage git hooks using `husky`.
+
+```bash
+npm install
+```
+
+#### Step 2: Enable Git Hooks (Husky)
+
+Husky will automatically configure hook directories based on the `"prepare"` script in `package.json`. If it does not run, you can initialize it manually:
+
+```bash
+npx husky
+```
+
+### Formatting and Linting Checks
+
+#### Manual Check
+
+You can run the markdown lint checks on demand:
+
+```bash
+# Run lint check
+npm run lint
+
+# Auto-fix fixable markdown format issues
+npm run lint:fix
+```
+
+#### Commit-time Hooks
+
+Husky prevents malformed documentation commits by automatically running `markdownlint` before your commit goes through. If linting fails, resolve the errors indicated in the command-line output and re-run your `git commit` command.
+
+#### Continuous Integration (CI)
+
+A GitHub Actions workflow (`.github/workflows/lint.yml`) runs on every pull request targeting `main`. PRs cannot be merged if the linting checks fail.
+
+---
+
+## 🤝 Contribution Guidelines
+
+We treat our standards as living documentation. If you spot a gap, outdated practice, or have an optimization proposal:
+
+1. Create a branch named `refactor/standards-update-<topic>`.
+2. Propose the standard updates and verify they comply with the markdown linting rules.
+3. Open a Pull Request and assign it to the engineering leads for review.
+
+---
+
+© 2026 Acadify Solution. All rights reserved. Distributed engineering partner.