docs: add API reference, CONTRIBUTING, and architecture overview

Document all nine HTTP routes with error codes, curl examples, and cross-cutting policies. Add contributor onboarding and architecture diagram; link from README for Week 3 Thursday deliverable.

Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>

Author: clean6378-max-it

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+# Contributing
+
+Thanks for considering a patch. This repo is a small Flask app plus a hash-routed SPA and a CLI export script. Keep changes focused and tested.
+
+## Development setup
+
+### Prerequisites
+
+- **Python 3.12** (matches CI)
+- **Node 20+** (only if you change `static/js/` or run frontend unit tests)
+
+### Bootstrap (Windows PowerShell)
+
+```powershell
+git clone https://github.com/cppalliance/claude-code-chat-browser.git
+cd claude-code-chat-browser
+python -m venv .venv
+.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
+pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
+```
+
+### Bootstrap (macOS / Linux)
+
+```bash
+git clone https://github.com/cppalliance/claude-code-chat-browser.git
+cd claude-code-chat-browser
+python -m venv .venv
+source .venv/bin/activate
+pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
+```
+
+### Run the dev server
+
+```bash
+python app.py --port 5000
+# Open http://127.0.0.1:5000
+```
+
+Useful flags:
+
+- `--base-dir PATH` — point at a different `projects/` tree (for tests or fixtures)
+- `--exclude-rules PATH` — session exclusion rules file
+- `--host 0.0.0.0` — listen on all interfaces (use only on trusted networks)
+
+## Running tests
+
+### Python
+
+```bash
+pytest -q                              # full suite + coverage (see pyproject.toml)
+pytest tests/test_api_integration.py -v
+pytest tests/test_search.py -v
+pytest tests/test_api_routes.py -v     # when present on branch
+pytest tests/test_error_codes.py -v
+```
+
+### JavaScript (vitest)
+
+Only needed when editing `static/js/`:
+
+```bash
+npm ci
+npm test
+npm run test:coverage   # optional
+```
+
+`node_modules/` is gitignored — run `npm ci` after clone.
+
+## Code style and conventions
+
+| Area | Convention |
+|------|------------|
+| **API errors** | Use `error_response()` from [`api/error_codes.py`](api/error_codes.py). Do not call `jsonify({"error": ...})` without a `code` field. Add new members to `ErrorCode` and a row in `tests/test_error_codes.py`. |
+| **Exception leakage** | `5xx` bodies are generic messages only. Log full tracebacks with `current_app.logger.exception(...)`. Never put `str(e)` or class names in HTTP JSON (issue #25). |
+| **Path safety** | Use `safe_join()` from `utils/session_path.py` for any path built from URL segments. |
+| **Imports** | stdlib → third-party → local, blank line between groups. |
+| **Line length** | ~100 characters; no enforced formatter yet. |
+
+## Tests required for common changes
+
+| Change | Add or update |
+|--------|----------------|
+| New HTTP route | Happy + error path in `tests/test_api_routes.py` or `tests/test_api_integration.py` |
+| New `ErrorCode` | Parametrized row in `tests/test_error_codes.py` |
+| Search / limit validation | `tests/test_search.py` |
+| New `_parse_tool_result` dispatch entry | Fixture + assertion in `tests/test_jsonl_parser.py` |
+| CLI behavior | `tests/test_cli_e2e.py` (subprocess) or `tests/test_cli_args.py` (parser only) |
+| Frontend shared module | `static/js/shared/*.test.js` (vitest) |
+| Error response shape | `tests/test_error_propagation.py` regression |
+
+## Branching and pull requests
+
+- Default branch: **`master`**. Do not push directly to `master`.
+- Branch names: `feat/<topic>`, `fix/<topic>`, `test/<topic>`, `chore/<topic>`, `docs/<topic>`.
+- One logical change per PR when possible.
+- PR checklist:
+  - [ ] `pytest -q` green locally
+  - [ ] `npm test` green if JS changed
+  - [ ] CI jobs green (`pytest`, `integration-tests`, `js-tests`, `prod-install-smoke`)
+  - [ ] PR description includes a **Test plan** section
+  - [ ] API changes update [`docs/api-reference.md`](docs/api-reference.md) if behavior or errors change
+
+## Where things live
+
+| Task | Location |
+|------|----------|
+| Add HTTP route | `api/<area>.py`, register blueprint in [`app.py`](app.py) |
+| Add stable error code | [`api/error_codes.py`](api/error_codes.py) |
+| Parse JSONL / tool results | [`utils/jsonl_parser.py`](utils/jsonl_parser.py) — see [dispatch table notes](docs/architecture.md#dispatch-table) |
+| Project/session discovery | [`utils/session_path.py`](utils/session_path.py) |
+| Session statistics | [`utils/session_stats.py`](utils/session_stats.py) |
+| Bulk / per-session export | [`api/export_api.py`](api/export_api.py), [`utils/md_exporter.py`](utils/md_exporter.py) |
+| Export state on disk | [`utils/export_state_store.py`](utils/export_state_store.py) |
+| Exclusion rules | [`utils/exclusion_rules.py`](utils/exclusion_rules.py) |
+| CLI export | [`scripts/export.py`](scripts/export.py) |
+| SPA shell + routing | [`static/index.html`](static/index.html), [`static/js/app.js`](static/js/app.js) |
+| Shared frontend utilities | [`static/js/shared/`](static/js/shared/) |
+| API documentation | [`docs/api-reference.md`](docs/api-reference.md) |
+
+## Architecture
+
+See [`docs/architecture.md`](docs/architecture.md) for data flow, export state machine, and component diagram.
+
+## Getting help
+
+Open an issue with a clear repro or propose a draft PR early for CI feedback.

README.md

@@ -21,20 +21,11 @@ Browse and export Claude Code chat history — Web GUI and CLI.
 - **Per-model badges** in session header
 - **Bulk export** — download all sessions, incremental updates, or latest-day slice as a zip; if there is nothing to export, the API returns **422** with JSON body `{"error": "Nothing to export", "code": "EXPORT_NOTHING_TO_EXPORT", "since": "<mode>"}` (the `since` field echoes your request: `"all"`, `"last"`, or `"incremental"`) instead of an empty zip
 
-### API error codes
+### API
 
-JSON error responses include a machine-readable `"code"` (stable `UPPER_SNAKE_CASE`) and a human-readable `"error"` message. Common codes:
+REST endpoints for projects, sessions, search, and export are documented in **[`docs/api-reference.md`](docs/api-reference.md)**.
 
-| Code | Typical HTTP | Meaning |
-|------|--------------|---------|
-| `SEARCH_INVALID_LIMIT` | 400 | Query param `limit` is not a positive integer |
-| `INVALID_PATH` | 400 | Path traversal or unsafe project/session path |
-| `SESSION_NOT_FOUND` | 404 | Session file missing or excluded |
-| `INVALID_REQUEST_BODY` | 400 | POST body is not a JSON object |
-| `INVALID_SINCE_MODE` | 400 | Bulk export `since` is not `all`, `last`, or `incremental` |
-| `EXPORT_NOTHING_TO_EXPORT` | 422 | No sessions matched the export scope |
-| `PARSE_ERROR` | 500 | Session file could not be parsed |
-| `INTERNAL_ERROR` | 500 | Unexpected failure (e.g. stats computation) |
+JSON error responses include a machine-readable `"code"` (stable `UPPER_SNAKE_CASE`) and a human-readable `"error"` message. See the [error code catalog](docs/api-reference.md#error-code-catalog) for the full table.
 
 ### CLI Export
 - Standalone script to export all sessions to Markdown with YAML frontmatter
@@ -105,14 +96,20 @@ Reads from `~/.claude/projects/` which contains JSONL session files created by C
 
 ## Project Structure
 
+See **[`docs/architecture.md`](docs/architecture.md)** for layered design, data flow, and the dispatch-table ordering rationale.
+
 ```
 claude-code-chat-browser/
 ├── app.py                    # Flask entry point (default port 5000)
 ├── api/
+│   ├── error_codes.py        # ErrorCode enum + error_response() helper
 │   ├── projects.py           # Project listing & session counts
 │   ├── sessions.py           # Session parsing & message delivery
 │   ├── search.py             # Full-text search across sessions
 │   └── export_api.py         # Bulk zip and per-session Markdown export
+├── docs/
+│   ├── api-reference.md      # HTTP API reference (routes, errors, examples)
+│   └── architecture.md       # Component diagram and data flow
 ├── utils/
 │   ├── session_path.py       # OS-aware path detection & project naming
 │   ├── jsonl_parser.py       # JSONL session parser with tool result classification
@@ -122,24 +119,28 @@ claude-code-chat-browser/
 ├── static/
 │   ├── index.html            # SPA entry point (Inter font, minimal markup)
 │   ├── css/style.css         # Dark/light theme, responsive, animations
-│   └── js/app.js             # Hash-based routing, rendering, UI components
+│   └── js/                   # ES modules (app.js, route handlers, shared/)
+├── CONTRIBUTING.md           # Dev setup, tests, PR conventions
 └── tests/
 ```
 
 ## Development
 
-To run the test suite, install the dev requirements (Flask + pytest):
+See **[`CONTRIBUTING.md`](CONTRIBUTING.md)** for full setup, conventions, and where to change each layer.
+
+Quick start:
 
 ```bash
 pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
 pytest
+npm ci && npm test   # only if you changed static/js/
 ```
 
-`requirements.txt` carries only the runtime dep (Flask); `requirements-dev.txt` pulls it in via `-r` and adds pytest.
+`requirements.txt` carries only the runtime dep (Flask); `requirements-dev.txt` pulls it in via `-r` and adds pytest (+ coverage). Frontend tests use vitest (`package.json`).
 
 ## Continuous integration
 
-Every push and pull request runs **`pytest`** on **Ubuntu** (Python 3.12) via [`.github/workflows/ci.yml`](.github/workflows/ci.yml). A separate job verifies that `pip install -r requirements.txt` (production-only) is sufficient to import and boot the app.
+Every push and pull request runs **`pytest`**, **API integration tests**, and **vitest** on **Ubuntu** (Python 3.12, Node 20) via [`.github/workflows/ci.yml`](.github/workflows/ci.yml). A separate job verifies that `pip install -r requirements.txt` (production-only) is sufficient to import and boot the app.
 
 ## Exported Markdown Format