- Write code, comments, documentation, commit messages, and user-facing source strings in English.
- Keep x86_64 and ARM64 lifecycle behavior unified in shared code. Add separate implementations only where host or guest architecture requirements make sharing impractical.
- Do not commit credentials, local machine paths, VM state, disk images, build products, or extracted distribution files.
- Keep the Workstation, kernel, and distribution boundaries explicit. Use the
path helpers in
tools/vmm/paths.pyinstead of assuming a monorepo layout. - Run the documented Python compilation and regression checks before changes are committed.