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diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
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+# Physical AI Runtime Agent Guide
+
+Physical AI Runtime is the deployment-side package for loading exported policies, connecting cameras and robots, and running control loops on hardware.
+
+## Repository Layout
+
+- `src/physicalai/capture/`: camera interfaces, concrete camera integrations, discovery, and transport support.
+- `src/physicalai/robot/`: robot protocol, concrete robot integrations, connection helpers, and verification.
+- `src/physicalai/inference/`: exported policy loading, adapter registry, backend adapters, preprocessing, callbacks, and runners.
+- `src/physicalai/runtime/`: `PolicyRuntime`, execution modes, action queues, and control-loop behavior.
+- `docs/`: mkdocs documentation.
+- `tests/`: unit and integration tests.
+- `skills/`: canonical agent skills for repo-specific workflows. Client adapters may expose these through `.claude/skills/`, `.agents/skills/`, or other client paths.
+
+## Setup
+
+- Install dependencies with `uv sync` from the repo root.
+- Include hardware extras only when needed, such as `physicalai[realsense]`, `physicalai[basler]`, `physicalai[so101]`, or `physicalai[trossen]`.
+
+## Build, Test, Lint
+
+- Run repo hooks with `prek run --all-files`.
+- Run tests with `uv run pytest`.
+- Build docs with `uv run mkdocs build` when documentation changes are involved.
+
+## Cross-Repo Rules
+
+- Runtime owns the `physicalai` executable and `pai` alias.
+- Training packages, including Studio's `physicalai-train`, contribute CLI subcommands through `physicalai.cli.subcommands`.
+- Runtime owns the load side of the export/load contract. Studio produces artifacts; Runtime consumes them with `InferenceModel.load(...)`.
+- Runtime core ships ONNX and OpenVINO inference adapters. Additional backends may come from companion distributions.
+- Respect Preview markers in docs and APIs. Do not present planned APIs as shipped behavior.
+
+## Contribution Notes
+
+- Use Conventional Commits for PR titles and commits.
+- Sign commits when committing changes.
+- Follow `.github/copilot-instructions.md` for detailed coding standards when present.
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
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+# Claude Code Instructions
+
+Refer to [AGENTS.md](./AGENTS.md) for repository guidance, build/test commands, and agent instructions.
diff --git a/skills/runtime-adding-a-robot/SKILL.md b/skills/runtime-adding-a-robot/SKILL.md
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+---
+name: runtime-adding-a-robot
+description: Add or modify a Physical AI Runtime robot integration. Use when implementing robot hardware support, the Robot protocol, connect/disconnect behavior, get_observation, send_action, joint_names, verification, safety checks, SO-101, Trossen/WidowX, or other robot adapters.
+license: Apache-2.0
+---
+
+# Adding a Runtime Robot
+
+Use this skill for changes under `src/physicalai/robot` or tests/docs for robot integrations.
+
+## Workflow
+
+1. Inspect the `Robot` protocol and existing concrete robot packages before adding a new implementation.
+2. Prefer structural typing. A robot integration must satisfy the protocol; inheritance is not required unless nearby code already uses it.
+3. Implement connection lifecycle explicitly: `connect()`, `disconnect()`, and safe cleanup on errors.
+4. Implement `get_observation()` with stable joint ordering and timestamp/metadata conventions that match existing robots.
+5. Implement `send_action(...)` with clear units, limits, timing semantics, and safe failure behavior.
+6. Add or update verification helpers and tests so users can validate hardware before running a policy.
+
+## Safety Requirements
+
+- Never skip joint limit, workspace, speed, or emergency-stop considerations in user-facing examples.
+- Prefer reduced-speed first-run instructions in docs.
+- Make hardware dependency errors actionable: mention missing packages, permissions, ports, udev rules, or drivers when relevant.
+
+## References
+
+- See `references/robot-protocol.md` for the protocol checklist.
diff --git a/skills/runtime-adding-a-robot/references/robot-protocol.md b/skills/runtime-adding-a-robot/references/robot-protocol.md
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+# Robot Protocol Checklist
+
+Runtime robots are protocol-based. A concrete robot should provide the methods and properties used by `PolicyRuntime` and verification helpers.
+
+## Required Behavior
+
+- `connect()`: initialize hardware communication and fail with actionable errors.
+- `disconnect()`: release hardware resources and be safe to call during cleanup.
+- `get_observation()`: return joint state using stable joint ordering.
+- `send_action(...)`: command the robot using documented units and timing semantics.
+- `joint_names`: expose the exact joint order expected by observations and actions.
+
+## Implementation Notes
+
+- Keep hardware SDK imports lazy or guarded when possible so optional extras remain optional.
+- Do not require inheritance unless needed by existing code. Structural typing is the intended extension mechanism.
+- Ensure observation and action dimensions match `joint_names`.
+- Keep verification code conservative. Users should validate joints individually before running policies.
diff --git a/skills/runtime-adding-an-inference-backend/SKILL.md b/skills/runtime-adding-an-inference-backend/SKILL.md
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+---
+name: runtime-adding-an-inference-backend
+description: Add or modify a Physical AI Runtime inference backend adapter. Use when implementing RuntimeAdapter classes, backend_registry registration, ONNX, OpenVINO, Torch, ExecuTorch companion adapters, file extension detection, InferenceModel.load(...), exported artifact metadata, or the Runtime side of the Studio export/load contract.
+license: Apache-2.0
+---
+
+# Adding a Runtime Inference Backend
+
+Use this skill for changes under `src/physicalai/inference/adapters`, `InferenceModel.load(...)`, backend discovery, or exported artifact compatibility.
+
+## Workflow
+
+1. Identify the exported artifact format, file extensions, optional dependencies, and target hardware/runtime.
+2. Inspect the existing ONNX and OpenVINO adapters before adding a new adapter.
+3. Implement the `RuntimeAdapter` contract with explicit load, predict, and cleanup behavior.
+4. Register the backend with `backend_registry.register(...)` or `register_lazy_module(...)` so auto-detection can find it without importing heavy dependencies too early.
+5. Validate the adapter against the shared export/load contract in `references/export-contract.md`.
+6. Add tests for registration, extension detection, missing dependency errors, and at least one load/predict path using mocks when real runtime dependencies are heavy.
+
+## Runtime Packaging Rules
+
+- Runtime core ships ONNX and OpenVINO adapters.
+- Additional backends should keep optional dependencies isolated, ideally through extras or companion distributions.
+- Do not add user-facing support claims unless installation and loading are documented.
+
+## Required Checks
+
+- Backend names and extensions are stable and unique.
+- Missing optional dependencies raise helpful installation guidance.
+- The adapter consumes Studio export metadata without changing field semantics unilaterally.
+- Auto-detection remains deterministic when multiple model files are present.
+
+## References
+
+- See `references/backend-adapters.md` for adapter implementation patterns.
+- See `references/export-contract.md` for the shared Studio/Runtime artifact contract.
diff --git a/skills/runtime-adding-an-inference-backend/references/backend-adapters.md b/skills/runtime-adding-an-inference-backend/references/backend-adapters.md
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+# Backend Adapter Patterns
+
+Runtime adapters bridge exported model artifacts to `InferenceModel`.
+
+## Registration
+
+- Use `backend_registry.register("name", extensions=(".ext",))` for adapters safe to import eagerly.
+- Use `backend_registry.register_lazy_module(...)` when the adapter has heavy or optional dependencies.
+- Keep extensions available without importing heavy dependencies so export directories can be probed cheaply.
+
+## Adapter Behavior
+
+- Load model artifacts from the export directory or explicit model path.
+- Convert Runtime-prepared inputs into backend-specific input objects.
+- Return outputs in the shape and naming expected by `InferenceModel` postprocessing.
+- Release backend resources in cleanup/close paths when the backend needs it.
+
+## Dependency Errors
+
+- Missing dependencies should raise clear messages with the package or extra to install.
+- Do not import optional runtime SDKs at module import time unless they are required by the base package.
+
+## Testing
+
+- Test registry name and extension behavior.
+- Test missing dependency messages.
+- Mock heavy backend runtimes when CI cannot install or execute them.
diff --git a/skills/runtime-adding-an-inference-backend/references/export-contract.md b/skills/runtime-adding-an-inference-backend/references/export-contract.md
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+# Export/Load Contract
+
+Studio produces deployment artifacts; Runtime loads them with `InferenceModel.load(...)`.
+
+## Required Artifact Properties
+
+- A backend-identifying model file exists in the export directory.
+- Metadata describes the policy, backend, expected inputs, expected outputs, preprocessing/postprocessing requirements, and action chunk semantics.
+- Runtime can either auto-detect the backend from file extensions or load it when the backend is explicitly provided.
+- Optional backend dependencies fail with clear installation guidance.
+
+## Backend Ownership
+
+- Studio owns export implementation and export metadata generation.
+- Runtime owns adapter discovery, backend loading, preprocessing, inference execution, and action selection from exported artifacts.
+- Studio and Runtime must keep this contract synchronized. If this file is mirrored from Studio, CI should fail when copies diverge.
+
+## Compatibility Rules
+
+- Do not change metadata field names or semantics without coordinating Studio changes.
+- Do not add a backend to user-facing instructions unless Runtime can load it in the current package or via a documented companion distribution.
+- Treat numerical parity and latency validation as separate checks: parity proves correctness; latency proves deployment viability.