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+# AGENTS.md
+
+## API changes
+
+- Breaking public API changes are to be avoided unless necessary to complete your task
+  - Be explicit when you plan to make breaking API changes
+- When introducing new API surface, always default to private or `pub(crate)` unless there is a specific reason to expose publicly
+- Introduce new public APIs sparingly
+- New APIs should have idiomatic doc comments
+  - All new functions and types should have at least a one-line description
+  - Stay concise and elaborate only when necessary to document unexpected behavior or requirements
+  - Use intra-doc links
+- Include doc tests when doing so meaningfully clarifies API usage
+  - Design to be runnable (i.e., no `ignore`)
+  - Hide lines that are only for setup from generated docs by prefixing with `#`
+
+## Dependencies
+
+- When using APIs from third-party crates, never assume you already know the API
+  - **ALWAYS** reference [_docs.rs_](https://docs.rs) for docs of the specific version being used
+- Pull in new dependencies as a last resort
+  - Explore docs of existing dependencies first to discover new APIs that can be leveraged to get the desired behavior
+
+## Design patterns & conventions
+
+- Functions should generally accept `&str`/`&[T]` rather than `String`/`Vec<T>`
+- Generally avoid clones, but pay special attention when cloning in a high-frequency code path
+  - In such cases, reach for smart pointers (e.g., `Arc<T>`) instead
+- When porting code from other languages, avoid mechanical translation
+  - Apply Rust-specific design patterns and conventions when doing so improves readability or safety
+  - Some patterns common in other languages are heavily discouraged in Rust (e.g., singleton)
+- Leverage the [new type pattern](https://doc.rust-lang.org/rust-by-example/generics/new_types.html) where applicable
+- Implement `From`/`TryFrom` for performing conversion between types
+- Avoid large, catch-all error enums for new APIs
+  - Prefer smaller, context-scoped enums whose variants are limited to errors that can actually occur at that call site
+- Prefer the actor pattern for async tasks
+  - Model as a struct encapsulating local state with an async, consuming run method
+  - Other methods can operate on `&self` to keep `run` small
+- The `livekit` crate is designed to be async runtime agnostic
+
+## Safety
+
+- Avoid `unwrap` except in tests
+  - When unavoidable, prefer `expect` instead and provide a concise message explaining what went wrong (e.g., "Invalid state")
+- Avoid `unsafe` unless absolutely necessary
+  - Typically will only be used in an FFI context (i.e., in `webrtc-sys`)
+- When unavoidable, follow these guidelines
+  - Wrap unsafe code in a safe function or struct
+  - Isolate only the unsafe operations
+  - Every unsafe block should have a `// SAFETY:` comment explaining why the operation is actually safe (e.g., verifying pointers are non-null)
+
+## Style guidelines
+
+- Always format using `cargo fmt`
+- Avoid excessive nesting and prefer [`let-else`](https://doc.rust-lang.org/rust-by-example/flow_control/let_else.html)
+- Avoid long parameter lists; group related inputs into a purpose-built struct when it improves readability
+
+## Documenting changes
+
+- Changes are documented using [_knope_](https://knope.tech)
+- Every PR needs a changeset
+- Changeset must list any crates which need to be bumped stemming from the change
+- Document changes interactively from the CLI with `knope document-change` or create manually in `/.changeset`