diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# Contributing
+
+We'd like to try something a little different with this repo.
+
+Given that coding agents write most underlying code now, we'd prefer PRs in the form of _human-written_
+text. This can be quite informal — just run your idea by us in the same way you would a coworker or
+friend, say, over Slack. If we're aligned on the change, we're happy to burn our tokens
+on the underlying implementation.
+
+Please do not have AI artificially expand what you'd like to do into a formal proposal.
+
+Submit changes as a PR adding a `.txt` or `.md` file to the [`adrs/`](./adrs/) folder.
+
+PS: Report any security vulnerabilities privately — see [`SECURITY.md`](./SECURITY.md), not a public issue.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c48b71ce8..11c4f1d5c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -116,10 +116,11 @@ and this repository has no production deployment workflow. See
 
 ## Contributing
 
-Issues and pull requests are welcome. `npm run typecheck`, `npm run lint`, and `npm test`
-are the checks to run locally — CI adds the Postgres suites, the CLI and plugin builds,
-and the deployment contracts. Report vulnerabilities privately —
-see [`SECURITY.md`](./SECURITY.md), not a public issue.
+We take contributions as _human-written_ text, not code — see
+[`CONTRIBUTING.md`](./CONTRIBUTING.md). Describe the change you'd like informally in a
+`.txt` or `.md` file in [`adrs/`](./adrs/), and if we're aligned we'll handle the
+implementation. Report vulnerabilities privately — see [`SECURITY.md`](./SECURITY.md),
+not a public issue.
 
 ## Customize your instance
 
diff --git a/adrs/.gitkeep b/adrs/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb