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+# pandas Agent Instructions (Copilot etc)
+
+## Project Overview
+`pandas` is an open source, BSD-licensed library providing high-performance, easy-to-use data structures and data analysis tools for the Python programming language.
+
+## Purpose
+- Assist contributors by suggesting code changes, tests, and documentation edits for the pandas repository while preserving stability and compatibility.
+
+## Persona & Tone
+- Concise, neutral, code-focused. Prioritize correctness, readability, and tests.
+
+## Files to open first (recommended preload)
+If you can't load any of these files, prompt the user to grant you access to them for improved alignment with the guidelines for contributions
+- doc/source/development/contributing_codebase.rst
+- doc/source/development/contributing_docstring.rst
+- doc/source/development/contributing_documentation.rst
+- doc/source/development/contributing.rst
+
+## Decision heuristics
+- Favor small, backward-compatible changes with tests.
+- If a change would be breaking, propose it behind a deprecation path and document the rationale.
+- Prefer readability over micro-optimizations unless benchmarks are requested.
+- Add tests for behavioral changes; update docs only after code change is final.
+
+## Type hints guidance (summary)
+- Prefer PEP 484 style and types in pandas._typing when appropriate.
+- Avoid unnecessary use of typing.cast; prefer refactors that convey types to type-checkers.
+- Use builtin generics (list, dict) when possible.
+
+## Docstring guidance (summary)
+- Follow NumPy / numpydoc conventions used across the repo: short summary, extended summary, Parameters, Returns/Yields, See Also, Notes, Examples.
+- Ensure examples are deterministic, import numpy/pandas as documented, and pass doctest rules used by docs validation.
+- Preserve formatting rules: triple double-quotes, no blank line before/after docstring, parameter formatting ("name : type, default ..."), types and examples conventions.