diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index d17c5a0314..92ed10153b 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -14,11 +14,22 @@ The `jlpm` command is JupyterLab's pinned version of [yarn](https://yarnpkg.com/
 
 **Note**: we recommend using `mamba` to speed up the creation of the environment.
 
+### Prerequisites
+
+Make sure you have the following installed:
+- Python >= 3.8
+- Node.ja >= 18(with npm >= 9)
+- [mamba](https://mamba.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) (recommended for faster environment creation)
+- [git](https://git-scm.com/) for version control
+
+
+### Create and Activate an Environment
+
 ```bash
-# create a new environment
+# Create a new environment with Python + Node.js
 mamba create -n notebook -c conda-forge python nodejs -y
 
-# activate the environment
+# Activate the environment
 mamba activate notebook
 
 # Install package in development mode
@@ -64,12 +75,22 @@ Config dir: /home/username/miniforge3/envs/notebook/etc/jupyter
 Config dir: /usr/local/etc/jupyter
 ```
 
+### Run jupyter Notebook
+
 Then start Jupyter Notebook with:
 
 ```bash
 jupyter notebook
 ```
 
+### Watch for changes
+
+```bash
+jlpm watch
+```
+
+
+
 ### Local changes in Notebook dependencies
 
 The development installation described above fetches JavaScript dependencies from [npmjs](https://www.npmjs.com/),
@@ -79,27 +100,41 @@ been published.
 
 [yalc](https://github.com/wclr/yalc) can help you use local JavaScript packages when building Notebook, acting as a local package repository.
 
+
+
 - Install yalc globally in your environment:
   `npm install -g yalc`
+
+
 - Publish your dependency package:\
-  `yalc publish`, from the package root directory.\
+  `yalc publish` , from the package root directory.\
+
+
   For instance, if you are developing on _@jupyterlab/ui-components_, this command must be executed from
   _path_to_jupyterlab/packages/ui-components_.
+
+
 - Depend on this local repository in Notebook:
   - from the Notebook root directory:\
     `yalc add your_package` : this will create a _dependencies_ entry in the main _package.json_ file.\
+
+
     With the previous example, it would be `yalc add @jupyterlab/ui-components`.
   - Notebook is a monorepo, so we want this dependency to be 'linked' as a resolution (for all sub-packages) instead
     of a dependency.\
     The easiest way is to manually move the new entry in _package.json_ from _dependencies_ to _resolutions_.
+
+
   - Build Notebook with the local dependency:\
     `jlpm install && jlpm build`
 
+
 Changes in the dependency must then be built and pushed using `jlpm build && yalc push` (from the package root directory),
 and fetched from Notebook using `yarn install`.
 
 **Warning**: you need to make sure that the dependencies of Notebook and the local package match correctly,
 otherwise there will be errors with webpack during build.\
+
 In the previous example, both _@jupyterlab/ui-components_ and Notebook depend on _@jupyterlab/coreutils_. We
 strongly advise you to depend on the same version.
 
@@ -114,6 +149,7 @@ jlpm run test
 
 There are also end to end tests to cover higher level user interactions, located in the `ui-tests` folder. To run these tests:
 
+
 ```bash
 cd ui-tests
 #install required packages for jlpm
@@ -143,7 +179,8 @@ The repository is configured to use the Lerna caching system (via `nx`) for some
 
 This helps speed up rebuilds when running `jlpm run build` multiple times to avoid rebuilding packages that have not changed on disk.
 
-You can generate a graph to have a better idea of the dependencies between all the packages using the following command:
+
+- You can generate a graph to have a better idea of the dependencies between all the packages using the following command:
 
 ```
 npx nx graph
@@ -173,46 +210,34 @@ This will trigger a GitHub Action that will run the UI tests automatically and p
 ## Code Styling
 
 All non-python source code is formatted using [prettier](https://prettier.io) and python source code is formatted using [black](https://github.com/psf/black).
-When code is modified and committed, all staged files will be
-automatically formatted using pre-commit git hooks (with help from
-[pre-commit](https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit). The benefit of
-using code formatters like `prettier` and `black` is that it removes the topic of
-code style from the conversation when reviewing pull requests, thereby
-speeding up the review process.
-
-As long as your code is valid,
-the pre-commit hook should take care of how it should look.
-`pre-commit` and its associated hooks will automatically be installed when
+When code is modified and committed, all staged files will be automatically formatted using pre-commit git hooks (with help from [pre-commit])(https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit).
+
+The benefit of using code formatters like `prettier` and `black` is that it removes the topic of code style from the conversation when reviewing pull requests
+thereby speeding up the review process.
+
+As long as your code is valid, the pre-commit hook should take care of how it should look. `pre-commit` and its associated hooks will automatically be installed when
 you run `pip install -e ".[dev,test]"`
 
-To install `pre-commit` manually, run the following:
+
+- To install `pre-commit` manually, run the following:
 
 ```shell
 pip install pre-commit
 pre-commit install
 ```
 
-You can invoke the pre-commit hook by hand at any time with:
+- You can invoke the pre-commit hook by hand at any time with:
 
 ```shell
 pre-commit run
 ```
 
-which should run any autoformatting on your code
-and tell you about any errors it couldn't fix automatically.
-You may also install [black integration](https://github.com/psf/black#editor-integration)
-into your text editor to format code automatically.
+which should run any autoformatting on your code and tell you about any errors it couldn't fix automatically. You may also install [black integration](https://github.com/psf/black#editor-integration) into your text editor to format code automatically.
 
-If you have already committed files before setting up the pre-commit
-hook with `pre-commit install`, you can fix everything up using
-`pre-commit run --all-files`. You need to make the fixing commit
-yourself after that.
+If you have already committed files before setting up the pre-commit hook with `pre-commit install`, you can fix everything up using `pre-commit run --all-files`. You need to make the fixing commit yourself after that.
 
-You may also use the prettier npm script (e.g. `npm run prettier` or
-`yarn prettier` or `jlpm prettier`) to format the entire code base.
-We recommend installing a prettier extension for your code editor and
-configuring it to format your code with a keyboard shortcut, or
-automatically on save.
+You may also use the prettier npm script (e.g. `npm run prettier` or`yarn prettier` or `jlpm prettier`) to format the entire code base.
+We recommend installing a prettier extension for your code editor and configuring it to format your code with a keyboard shortcut, or automatically on save.
 
 Some of the hooks only run on CI by default, but you can invoke them by
 running with the `--hook-stage manual` argument.
@@ -221,13 +246,13 @@ running with the `--hook-stage manual` argument.
 
 First make sure you have set up a development environment as described above.
 
-Then run the following command to build the docs:
+-Then run the following command to build the docs:
 
 ```shell
 hatch run docs:build
 ```
 
-In a separate terminal window, run the following command to serve the documentation:
+-In a separate terminal window, run the following command to serve the documentation:
 
 ```shell
 hatch run docs:serve
@@ -246,3 +271,6 @@ Alternatively you can also contribute to Jupyter Notebook without setting up a l
 - [Gitpod](https://gitpod.io/#https://github.com/jupyter/notebook) integration is enabled. The Gitpod config automatically builds the Jupyter Notebook application and the documentation.
 - GitHub’s [built-in editor](https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/working-with-files/managing-files/editing-files) is suitable for contributing small fixes.
 - A more advanced [github.dev](https://docs.github.com/en/codespaces/the-githubdev-web-based-editor) editor can be accessed by pressing the dot (.) key while in the Jupyter Notebook GitHub repository
+
+
+This guide is meant to help both new and experienced contributors quickly set up, test, and improve Jupyter Notebook.