diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..91b025b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+## Contributing Guidelines
+
+Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request if you have a way to improve this project.
+
+Make sure your request is meaningful and you have tested the app locally before submitting a pull request.
+
+### Installing Requirements
+
+#### Software Requirements
+
+- [Python 3.7+](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
+
+#### Development Dependencies
+
+Install development dependencies with:
+
+```bash
+pip install -e ".[dev]"
+```
+
+Install documentation dependencies with:
+
+```bash
+pip install -e ".[docs]"
+```
+
+### Running the Tests
+
+Run the following command to run the [Tox](https://github.com/tox-dev/tox) test script which will verify that the tested functionality is still working.
+
+```bash
+task test
+```
+
+### Linting
+
+Black, isort, and pre-commit hooks are used to lint the codebase. Run the following command to lint and fix the codebase.
+
+```bash
+task lint
+```
+
+### Pyright
+
+To ensure that type hints are used correctly, Pyright is used to lint the codebase. Run the following command to check for typing errors.
+
+```bash
+task pyright
+```
+
+### Documentation
+
+To view the documentation locally, run the following command.
+
+```bash
+task docs
+```
+
+The documentation will be served at <http://127.0.0.1:8888>.
+
+### Need some help regarding the basics?
+
+You can refer to the following articles on the basics of Git and GitHub in case you are stuck:
+
+- [Forking a Repo](https://help.github.com/en/github/getting-started-with-github/fork-a-repo)
+- [Cloning a Repo](https://help.github.com/en/desktop/contributing-to-projects/creating-an-issue-or-pull-request)
+- [How to create a Pull Request](https://opensource.com/article/19/7/create-pull-request-github)
+- [Getting started with Git and GitHub](https://towardsdatascience.com/getting-started-with-git-and-github-6fcd0f2d4ac6)
+- [Learn GitHub from Scratch](https://lab.github.com/githubtraining/introduction-to-github)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5a1da1d..e6ec014 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -176,14 +176,8 @@ All parameters are optional.
 ![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/20955511/116204490-802dcf80-a745-11eb-9b4a-7cef49f23958.png)
 
 
-## 🧰 Development
+## 🤗 Contributing
 
-Install development dependencies with `pip install -e .[dev]`
+Contributions are welcome!
 
-### Running tests
-
-Run tests with the command `tox`
-
-### Linting
-
-Run `task lint` to lint with black, isort, and pre-commit hooks.
+See [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/DenverCoder1/table2ascii/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md) for more details on how to get involved.
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index e529124..c79dcf3 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -31,8 +31,9 @@ docs = { cmd = "cd docs && sphinx-autobuild source _build/html --ignore _build -
 isort = { cmd = "task lint isort", help = "Run isort" }
 lint = { cmd = "pre-commit run --all-files", help = "Check all files for linting errors" }
 precommit = { cmd = "pre-commit install --install-hooks", help = "Install the precommit hook" }
-pyright = { cmd = "dotenv -f task.env run -- pyright", help = "Run pyright" }
+pyright = { cmd = "pyright", help = "Run pyright" }
 slotscheck = { cmd = "python -m slotscheck --verbose -m table2ascii", help = "Run slotscheck" }
+test = { cmd = "tox", help = "Run tests" }
 
 
 [tool.slotscheck]
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ require-subclass = false
 typeCheckingMode = "basic"
 include = [
     "table2ascii",
+    "tests",
     "*.py",
 ]
 pythonVersion = "3.7"
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 66a8e5d..c4f622c 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -45,9 +45,9 @@ def requirements():
         "pre-commit==2.18.1",
         "taskipy==1.10.1",
         "slotscheck==0.14.0",
-        "python-dotenv==0.20.0",
         "pyright==1.1.244",
         "tox==3.24.5",
+        "pytest==7.1.2",
     ],
 }
 
diff --git a/table2ascii/table_to_ascii.py b/table2ascii/table_to_ascii.py
index b344b81..3f77d89 100644
--- a/table2ascii/table_to_ascii.py
+++ b/table2ascii/table_to_ascii.py
@@ -327,7 +327,7 @@ def table2ascii(
         footer (:class:`Optional[List[Any]]`): List of column values in the table's footer row
         first_col_heading (:class:`bool`): Whether to add a header column separator after the first column
         last_col_heading (:class:`bool`): Whether to add a header column separator before the last column
-        column_widths (:class:`List[int]`): List of widths in characters for each column (defaults to auto-sizing)
+        column_widths (:class:`Optional[List[int]]`): List of widths in characters for each column (``None`` for auto-sizing)
         alignments (:class:`List[Alignment]`): List of alignments (ex. `[Alignment.LEFT, Alignment.CENTER, Alignment.RIGHT]`)
         style (:class:`TableStyle`): Table style to use for styling (preset styles can be imported)
 
diff --git a/task.env b/task.env
deleted file mode 100644
index b0e60a2..0000000
--- a/task.env
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-PYRIGHT_PYTHON_IGNORE_WARNINGS=1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/test_alignments.py b/tests/test_alignments.py
index 555f0b6..b0c18b2 100644
--- a/tests/test_alignments.py
+++ b/tests/test_alignments.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import pytest
 
-from table2ascii import Alignment, alignment, table2ascii as t2a
+from table2ascii import Alignment, table2ascii as t2a
 
 
 def test_first_left_four_right():
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ def test_invalid_alignments():
             body=[["1", "30", "40", "35", "30"], ["2", "30", "40", "35", "30"]],
             footer=["SUM", "130", "140", "135", "130"],
             first_col_heading=True,
-            alignments=[9999, -1, Alignment.RIGHT, Alignment.CENTER, Alignment.RIGHT],
+            alignments=[9999, -1, Alignment.RIGHT, Alignment.CENTER, Alignment.RIGHT],  # type: ignore
         )
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_column_widths.py b/tests/test_column_widths.py
index feecfc0..f7b367d 100644
--- a/tests/test_column_widths.py
+++ b/tests/test_column_widths.py
@@ -25,6 +25,28 @@ def test_column_widths():
     assert text == expected
 
 
+def test_column_widths_none():
+    text = t2a(
+        header=["#", "G", "H", "R", "S"],
+        body=[["1", "30", "40", "35", "30"], ["2", "30", "40", "35", "30"]],
+        footer=["TOTL", "130", "140", "135", "130"],
+        first_col_heading=True,
+        last_col_heading=True,
+        column_widths=None,
+    )
+    expected = (
+        "╔══════╦═════════════════╦═════╗\n"
+        "║  #   ║  G     H     R  ║  S  ║\n"
+        "╟──────╫─────────────────╫─────╢\n"
+        "║  1   ║ 30    40    35  ║ 30  ║\n"
+        "║  2   ║ 30    40    35  ║ 30  ║\n"
+        "╟──────╫─────────────────╫─────╢\n"
+        "║ TOTL ║ 130   140   135 ║ 130 ║\n"
+        "╚══════╩═════════════════╩═════╝"
+    )
+    assert text == expected
+
+
 def test_wrong_number_column_widths():
     with pytest.raises(ValueError):
         t2a(
diff --git a/tests/test_convert.py b/tests/test_convert.py
index cb67a03..5c0653a 100644
--- a/tests/test_convert.py
+++ b/tests/test_convert.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import pytest
 
-from table2ascii import alignment, table2ascii as t2a
+from table2ascii import table2ascii as t2a
 
 
 def test_header_body_footer():