diff --git a/src/native/collector/AGENTS.md b/src/native/collector/AGENTS.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6e50e20cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/native/collector/AGENTS.md
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+# HSM Native Collector — Codex Instructions
+
+Directory-scoped rules for `src/native/collector/` (the native C++ HSM collector + its C ABI). These
+supplement the root [`AGENTS.md`](../../../AGENTS.md); where a rule here refines the root, the more
+specific rule wins. Sibling: [`../../agent/AGENTS.md`](../../agent/AGENTS.md) (the agent that embeds this
+collector).
+
+## Versioning — two numbers, do not confuse them
+
+Both live in [`include/hsm_collector/hsm_collector.h`](include/hsm_collector/hsm_collector.h) and are
+**distinct from any host application's version** (e.g. the agent's `HsmAgent VERSION`).
+
+### 1. C ABI version `HSM_COLLECTOR_VERSION_*` — bump it when the C ABI grows
+
+- **Rule:** whenever a PR **adds or changes an exported `hsm_*` C ABI function, or appends a struct
+  field**, bump this version **in the same PR** — `MINOR` for additive, backward-compatible growth;
+  `MAJOR` for any breaking change (reorder/remove a field, change a function's semantics). Policy is
+  stated in the header and `docs/native-collector-c-abi.md`.
+- **Keep `CMakeLists.txt` `project(HsmCollectorNative VERSION x.y.z)` in sync** with the header macros —
+  it feeds the `find_package(hsm_collector x.y)` compatibility check, so a drift silently lets an
+  incompatible consumer link.
+- This is the C++/native code's own version. **If you touch the native/C-ABI code in a way that changes
+  what a consumer can call or observe, this number moves.**
+
+### 2. Product version `HSM_COLLECTOR_PRODUCT_VERSION` — pinned to the managed collector
+
+- This is the `.module/Collector version` sensor value — the shared **HSMDataCollector product** number.
+- **Keep it byte-identical to the managed collector** (`src/collector/HSMDataCollector/HSMDataCollector.csproj`
+  `<Version>`) so the native port and the C# collector report the same product version. **Do NOT bump it
+  native-only** — that diverges two collectors meant to report one product version.
+- It moves only at a **DataCollector product release**, in lockstep on BOTH sides. A native-only parity
+  change (native catching up to existing managed behavior) does not move it.
+
+**Precedent (#1221):** the built-in file logger added the C ABI function `hsm_collector_enable_file_logging`
+but did **not** bump `HSM_COLLECTOR_VERSION` — an ABI-hygiene miss (a new function owes a `MINOR` bump).
+It correctly left `HSM_COLLECTOR_PRODUCT_VERSION` at `3.4.12` (native parity with the managed collector,
+which had no release). The fix bumped the ABI to `0.6.0` and resynced `CMakeLists.txt` (which had also
+drifted to `0.4.0`).
diff --git a/src/native/collector/CMakeLists.txt b/src/native/collector/CMakeLists.txt
index 5d6a5a987..c8259d6b9 100644
--- a/src/native/collector/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/native/collector/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.21)
 
 # VERSION tracks the C ABI semver (HSM_COLLECTOR_VERSION_* in include/hsm_collector/hsm_collector.h);
 # keep the two in sync. It feeds the find_package(hsm_collector x.y) version check (#1100).
-project(HsmCollectorNative VERSION 0.4.0 LANGUAGES CXX)
+project(HsmCollectorNative VERSION 0.6.0 LANGUAGES CXX)
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Target topology (epic #1093 / issue #1095 §1 — "core lib / C ABI lib / C++
diff --git a/src/native/collector/include/hsm_collector/hsm_collector.h b/src/native/collector/include/hsm_collector/hsm_collector.h
index a2ed6099f..7b643075b 100644
--- a/src/native/collector/include/hsm_collector/hsm_collector.h
+++ b/src/native/collector/include/hsm_collector/hsm_collector.h
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ extern "C"
    appended); MAJOR for any breaking change (field reorder/removal, semantic
    change). hsm_collector_version() returns the packed value at runtime. */
 #define HSM_COLLECTOR_VERSION_MAJOR 0
-#define HSM_COLLECTOR_VERSION_MINOR 5
+#define HSM_COLLECTOR_VERSION_MINOR 6
 #define HSM_COLLECTOR_VERSION_PATCH 0
 #define HSM_COLLECTOR_VERSION \
     ((HSM_COLLECTOR_VERSION_MAJOR * 10000) + (HSM_COLLECTOR_VERSION_MINOR * 100) + HSM_COLLECTOR_VERSION_PATCH)