AGENTS.md

This repository defines the OpenTab specification and related tooling.

AI agents, contributors, and automated tools should follow these guidelines.

Project intent

OpenTab aims to be:

• Open
• Minimal
• Deterministic
• Forward-compatible

Changes should prioritize:

1. Explicit musical semantics
2. Backward compatibility
3. Human + machine readability

Contribution guidelines

When modifying or generating content:

Spec changes

• Never modify an existing spec version
• Add new versions as new files (e.g. opentab-v0.2.md)
• Document breaking changes explicitly

Tooling

• Treat parsers/renderers as reference implementations
• Avoid proprietary dependencies
• Prefer clarity over cleverness

Samples

• Keep samples small and focused
• Each sample should demonstrate one concept clearly

Git guidelines

• Use conventional commits when adding changes

Parsing rules (high-level)

• Unknown annotations must be ignored (unless strict mode)
• Explicit timing always wins over inference
• Formatting is not semantic

AI usage

AI-generated contributions are welcome, but must:

• Be reviewed by a human
• Follow the spec exactly
• Avoid inventing undocumented features

Philosophy

“Tabs are data, not drawings.”

OpenTab exists to preserve musical intent across tools, time, and platforms.