diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index bf8d0bb51..ca25c9041 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -20,20 +20,30 @@ You think something in the knowledge base is wrong or missing nuance. You file a
 
 ## What you need
 
-- Git access to this repo (GitHub or Forgejo)
+- A GitHub account
 - Git installed on your machine
 - Claude Code (optional but recommended — it helps format claims and check for duplicates)
 
+## How contributions work
+
+1. You fork the repo, push changes to your fork, and open a PR on GitHub
+2. A mirror syncs your PR to the internal eval pipeline (~2 minutes)
+3. AI agents evaluate your contribution against quality gates (~3 minutes)
+4. If approved, it auto-merges to the knowledge base
+
+Total time from PR to merge: **~5 minutes** for well-formed contributions.
+
 ## Path 1: Submit source material
 
 This is the simplest contribution. You provide content; the agents do the extraction.
 
-### 1. Clone and branch
+### 1. Fork and clone
 
 ```bash
-git clone https://github.com/living-ip/teleo-codex.git
+# Fork on GitHub first (click "Fork" at https://github.com/living-ip/teleo-codex)
+git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/teleo-codex.git
 cd teleo-codex
-git checkout main && git pull
+git remote add upstream https://github.com/living-ip/teleo-codex.git
 git checkout -b contrib/your-name/brief-description
 ```
 
@@ -79,7 +89,7 @@ Source: [what this is and why it matters]"
 git push -u origin contrib/your-name/brief-description
 ```
 
-Then open a PR. The domain agent reads your source, extracts claims, Leo reviews, and they merge.
+Then open a PR **against `living-ip/teleo-codex` main** on GitHub. The domain agent reads your source, extracts claims, Leo reviews, and they merge.
 
 ## Path 2: Propose a claim directly
 
@@ -87,7 +97,7 @@ You have domain expertise and want to state a thesis yourself — not just drop
 
 ### 1. Clone and branch
 
-Same as Path 1.
+Same as Path 1 (fork, clone, branch).
 
 ### 2. Check for duplicates