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+# Contributing — Adding a New Engine
+
+This guide walks through adding a new search engine to samsa. The minimal engine needs only an HTTP client, a query, and a result parser.
+
+---
+
+## 1. Create the engine file
+
+Place it in `internal/engines/`:
+
+```
+internal/engines/
+  myengine.go        ← your engine
+  myengine_test.go   ← tests (required)
+```
+
+Name the struct after the engine, e.g. `WolframEngine` for "wolfram". The `Name()` method returns the engine key used throughout samsa.
+
+## 2. Implement the Engine interface
+
+```go
+package engines
+
+import (
+    "context"
+    "github.com/metamorphosis-dev/samsa/internal/contracts"
+)
+
+type MyEngine struct {
+    client *http.Client
+}
+
+func (e *MyEngine) Name() string { return "myengine" }
+
+func (e *MyEngine) Search(ctx context.Context, req contracts.SearchRequest) (contracts.SearchResponse, error) {
+    // ...
+}
+```
+
+### The SearchRequest fields you'll use most:
+
+| Field | Type | Description |
+|-------|------|-------------|
+| `Query` | `string` | The search query |
+| `Pageno` | `int` | Current page number (1-based) |
+| `Safesearch` | `int` | 0=off, 1=moderate, 2=strict |
+| `Language` | `string` | ISO language code (e.g. `"en"`) |
+
+### The SearchResponse to return:
+
+```go
+contracts.SearchResponse{
+    Query:               req.Query,
+    NumberOfResults:     len(results),
+    Results:             results,       // []MainResult
+    Answers:             []map[string]any{},
+    Corrections:         []string{},
+    Infoboxes:           []map[string]any{},
+    Suggestions:         []string{},
+    UnresponsiveEngines: [][2]string{},
+}
+```
+
+### Empty query — return early:
+
+```go
+if strings.TrimSpace(req.Query) == "" {
+    return contracts.SearchResponse{Query: req.Query}, nil
+}
+```
+
+### Engine unavailable / error — graceful degradation:
+
+```go
+// Rate limited or blocked
+return contracts.SearchResponse{
+    Query:               req.Query,
+    UnresponsiveEngines: [][2]string{{"myengine", "reason"}},
+    Results:             []contracts.MainResult{},
+    // ... empty other fields
+}, nil
+
+// Hard error — return it
+return contracts.SearchResponse{}, fmt.Errorf("myengine upstream error: status %d", resp.StatusCode)
+```
+
+## 3. Build the result
+
+```go
+urlPtr := "https://example.com/result"
+result := contracts.MainResult{
+    Title:    "Result Title",
+    Content:  "Snippet or description text",
+    URL:      &urlPtr,       // pointer to string, required
+    Engine:   "myengine",
+    Category: "general",     // or "it", "science", "videos", "images", "social media"
+    Score:    0,             // used for relevance ranking during merge
+    Engines:  []string{"myengine"},
+}
+```
+
+### Template field
+
+The template system checks for `"videos"` and `"images"`. Everything else renders via `result_item.html`. Set `Template` only if you have a custom template; omit it for the default result card.
+
+### Category field
+
+Controls which category tab the result appears under and which engines are triggered:
+
+| Category | Engines used |
+|----------|-------------|
+| `general` | google, bing, ddg, brave, braveapi, qwant, wikipedia |
+| `it` | github, stackoverflow |
+| `science` | arxiv, crossref |
+| `videos` | youtube |
+| `images` | bing_images, ddg_images, qwant_images |
+| `social media` | reddit |
+
+## 4. Wire it into the factory
+
+In `internal/engines/factory.go`, add your engine to the map returned by `NewDefaultPortedEngines`:
+
+```go
+"myengine": &MyEngine{client: client},
+```
+
+If your engine needs an API key, read it from config or the environment (see `braveapi` or `youtube` in factory.go for the pattern).
+
+## 5. Register defaults
+
+In `internal/engines/planner.go`:
+
+**Add to `defaultPortedEngines`:**
+```go
+var defaultPortedEngines = []string{
+    // ... existing ...
+    "myengine",
+}
+```
+
+**Add to category mapping in `inferFromCategories`** (if applicable):
+```go
+case "general":
+    set["myengine"] = true
+```
+
+**Update the sort order map** so results maintain consistent ordering:
+```go
+order := map[string]int{
+    // ... existing ...
+    "myengine": N,  // pick a slot
+}
+```
+
+## 6. Add tests
+
+At minimum, test:
+- `Name()` returns the correct string
+- Nil engine returns an error
+- Empty query returns zero results
+- Successful API response parses correctly
+- Rate limit / error cases return `UnresponsiveEngines` with a reason
+
+Use `httptest.NewServer` to mock the upstream API. See `arxiv_test.go` or `reddit_test.go` for examples.
+
+## 7. Build and test
+
+```bash
+go build ./...
+go test ./internal/engines/ -run MyEngine -v
+go test ./...
+```
+
+## Example: Adding an RSS-based engine
+
+If the engine provides an RSS feed, the parsing is straightforward:
+
+```go
+type rssItem struct {
+    Title       string `xml:"title"`
+    Link        string `xml:"link"`
+    Description string `xml:"description"`
+}
+
+type rssFeed struct {
+    Channel struct {
+        Items []rssItem `xml:"item"`
+    } `xml:"channel"`
+}
+
+dec := xml.NewDecoder(resp.Body)
+var feed rssFeed
+dec.Decode(&feed)
+
+for _, item := range feed.Channel.Items {
+    urlPtr := item.Link
+    results = append(results, contracts.MainResult{
+        Title:   item.Title,
+        Content: stripHTML(item.Description),
+        URL:     &urlPtr,
+        Engine:  "myengine",
+        // ...
+    })
+}
+```
+
+## Checklist
+
+- [ ] Engine file created in `internal/engines/`
+- [ ] `Engine` interface implemented (`Name()` + `Search()`)
+- [ ] Empty query handled (return early, no error)
+- [ ] Graceful degradation for errors and rate limits
+- [ ] Results use `Category` to group with related engines
+- [ ] Factory updated with new engine
+- [ ] Planner updated (defaults + category mapping + sort order)
+- [ ] Tests written covering main paths
+- [ ] `go build ./...` succeeds
+- [ ] `go test ./...` passes