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+# AGENTS instructions
+
+## Purpose
+
+This file provides **project-specific guidance for AI agents** (and other automated tools) working on the `commitizen` repository.
+Follow these instructions in addition to any higher-level system or tool rules.
+
+## Project Overview
+
+- **Project**: `commitizen` - a tool to help enforce and automate conventional commits, version bumps, and changelog generation.
+- **Primary language**: Python (library + CLI).
+- **Key entrypoints**:
+  - `commitizen/cli.py` - main CLI implementation.
+  - `commitizen/commands/` - subcommands such as `bump`, `commit`, `changelog`, `check`, etc.
+  - `commitizen/config/` - configuration discovery and loading.
+  - `commitizen/providers/` - version providers (e.g., `pep621`, `poetry`, `npm`, `uv`).
+
+## General Expectations
+
+- **Preserve public behavior and CLI UX.**
+- **Avoid breaking changes** (APIs, CLI flags, exit codes) unless explicitly requested.
+- **Keep changes small and focused.**
+- **Update or add tests/docs** when you change user-facing behavior.
+
+## How to Explore and Validate Changes
+
+- **Code entrypoints**:
+  - CLI behavior: `commitizen/cli.py` and `commitizen/commands/`.
+  - Config resolution: `commitizen/config/factory.py` and config modules.
+  - Bump/changelog/versioning: `commitizen/bump.py`, `commitizen/changelog.py`, `commitizen/version_schemes.py`, `commitizen/providers/`.
+- **Docs to consult** (before larger changes):
+  - `docs/README.md`
+  - `docs/contributing.md`
+  - `docs/commands/` and `docs/config/`
+- **Tests**:
+  - Prefer targeted runs, e.g. `uv run pytest tests/test_cli.py` or a specific `tests/commands/` file.
+
+## Coding Guidelines (for AI tools)
+
+- **Style**: Follow patterns in nearby code; keep functions focused.
+- **Types**: Preserve or improve existing type hints.
+- **Errors**: Prefer `commitizen/exceptions.py` error types; keep messages clear for CLI users.
+- **Output**: Use `commitizen/out.py`; do not add noisy logging.
+
+## Common Task Pointers
+
+- **CLI commands**: edit `commitizen/commands/<name>.py`, wire via `commitizen/cli.py`, and adjust `tests/commands/` + `docs/commands/`.
+- **Version bumps / changelog**: use `commitizen/bump.py`, `commitizen/changelog.py`, `commitizen/version_schemes.py`, and `commitizen/providers/` (+ matching tests).
+- **Config resolution**: use `commitizen/config/factory.py` and config modules; update `tests/test_conf.py` and related tests.
+
+## When Unsure
+
+- Prefer **reading tests and documentation first** to understand the expected behavior.
+- When behavior is ambiguous, **assume backward compatibility** with current tests and docs is required.