GH-49607: [R] Add AGENTS.md file to R package

r/.Rbuildignore

@@ -32,3 +32,4 @@ STYLE.md
 ^inst/__pycache__$
 ^bootstrap.R$
 air.toml
+AGENTS.md

r/AGENTS.md

@@ -0,0 +1,209 @@
+<!---
+  Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+  or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+  distributed with this work for additional information
+  regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+  to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+  "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+  with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+  software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+  "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+  KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+  specific language governing permissions and limitations
+  under the License.
+-->
+
+# AI Agent Development Guidelines for the Arrow R Package
+
+## Project Overview
+
+The `arrow` R package provides an interface to the
+[Apache Arrow](https://arrow.apache.org/) C++ library. It lives at `r/` inside
+the `apache/arrow` monorepo, which also contains the C++ library (`cpp/`),
+Python (`python/`), and other language implementations.
+
+This means:
+
+- The R package depends on the C++ library built from `cpp/`.
+- Some bugs or features require changes in C++ (`cpp/`), not just R (`r/`).
+  Fix problems at the right layer.
+- R functions often call C++ functions via bindings in `r/src/*.cpp`.
+
+## AI Disclosure
+
+Any pull request that used generative AI tools must disclose this. Include
+a note in the PR description stating which AI tools were used.
+
+## Code Generation — Do Not Edit Generated Files
+
+The files `r/R/arrowExports.R` and `r/src/arrowExports.cpp` are
+**auto-generated** by `r/data-raw/codegen.R`. Never edit them manually — your
+changes will be silently overwritten.
+
+To expose a C++ function to R:
+
+1. Add the function to a `.cpp` file in `r/src/` with the `// [[arrow::export]]`
+   annotation above it.
+2. Use the naming convention `ClassName__methodName` (double underscore), e.g.:
+
+   ```cpp
+   // [[arrow::export]]
+   std::shared_ptr<arrow::DataType> Int8__initialize() {
+     return arrow::int8();
+   }
+   ```
+
+3. Run `r/data-raw/codegen.R` to regenerate the export files (this also runs
+   automatically during package configure when `ARROW_R_DEV=true`).
+4. The R side can then call `Int8__initialize()` directly.
+
+Other generated files that should not be edited by hand:
+
+- `r/R/dplyr-funcs-doc.R` — generated documentation
+- `r/man/*.Rd` — generated by roxygen2 (edit the roxygen comments in `r/R/*.R`
+  instead, then run `make doc`)
+
+## Development Setup
+
+### Loading and Building
+
+```r
+# Load the package for interactive development (from the r/ directory)
+devtools::load_all()
+```
+
+### Documentation
+
+After modifying roxygen2 comments in any `r/R/*.R` file, regenerate
+documentation:
+
+```bash
+# From the r/ directory
+make doc
+```
+
+This runs code formatting (via pre-commit), generates documentation helpers,
+runs roxygen2, and stages the updated `.Rd` files. Always do this before
+committing documentation changes.
+
+### Code Formatting
+
+The package uses the [air](https://posit-dev.github.io/air/) formatter
+configured in `r/air.toml` (line width 120, excludes generated files). Run
+formatting via pre-commit:
+
+```bash
+# From the r/ directory — format only changed files
+make style
+
+# Format all files
+make style-all
+```
+
+The full R pre-commit suite (lint, format, C++ format, C++ lint):
+
+```bash
+pre-commit run --show-diff-on-failure --color=always --all-files r
+```
+
+### Testing
+
+Tests use testthat (edition 3). Test files live in `r/tests/testthat/` and
+follow the naming convention `test-<topic>.R`, with shared helpers in
+`helper-*.R` files.
+
+```r
+# Run all tests
+devtools::test()
+
+# Run tests for a single file (e.g., test-array.R)
+devtools::test(filter = "array")
+```
+
+```bash
+# Full R CMD check
+make check
+```
+
+### Package Check
+
+```r
+devtools::check()
+```
+
+## Code Style
+
+Follow the [tidyverse style guide](https://style.tidyverse.org/). See also
+`r/STYLE.md` for documentation-specific conventions.
+
+- Use `snake_case` for functions and arguments.
+- The base pipe `|>` does not support the `.` placeholder inside braces the way
+  `%>%` does. Use explicit function parameters instead.
+
+## File Structure
+
+| Path | Contents |
+|------|----------|
+| `r/R/*.R` | R source code |
+| `r/src/*.cpp` | C++ bindings (using cpp11) |
+| `r/src/arrowExports.cpp` | **Generated** — do not edit |
+| `r/R/arrowExports.R` | **Generated** — do not edit |
+| `r/data-raw/codegen.R` | Code generation script |
+| `r/data-raw/docgen.R` | Documentation generation script |
+| `r/tests/testthat/test-*.R` | Test files |
+| `r/tests/testthat/helper-*.R` | Shared test helpers |
+| `r/man/*.Rd` | **Generated** — edit roxygen comments in `r/R/`, then `make doc` |
+| `r/vignettes/` | Package vignettes |
+
+## Pull Requests
+
+### Title Format
+
+```
+GH-<issue-number>: [R] <description>
+```
+
+For example: `GH-49607: [R] Add AGENTS.md file to R package`
+
+### PR Description
+
+Use all four template sections:
+
+```markdown
+### Rationale for this change
+
+[1-2 sentences: why is this change needed?]
+
+### What changes are included in this PR?
+
+[1-2 sentences: what was changed?]
+
+### Are these changes tested?
+
+[How the changes were tested]
+
+### Are there any user-facing changes?
+
+[Yes/No with brief explanation]
+```
+
+Do not skip any section.
+
+## Git Workflow
+
+This project uses a fork-based workflow:
+
+- **Push to your fork** (`origin`), never directly to `upstream`
+  (`apache/arrow`).
+- **Create PRs** from your fork to `upstream/main`.
+- Fetch latest upstream before creating a branch:
+
+  ```bash
+  git fetch upstream
+  git checkout upstream/main
+  git checkout -b GH-<issue>-description
+  ```