diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+# Welcome to libgit2!
+
+We're making it easy to do interesting things with git, and we'd love to have
+your help.
+
+## Discussion & Chat
+
+We hang out in the #libgit2 channel on irc.freenode.net.
+
+## Reporting Bugs
+
+First, know which version of libgit2 your problem is in.  Compile and test
+against the `development` branch to avoid re-reporting an issue that's already
+been fixed.
+
+It's *incredibly* helpful to be able to reproduce the problem.  Please include
+a bit of code and/or a zipped repository (if possible).  Note that some of the
+developers are employees of GitHub, so if your repository is private, find us
+on IRC and we'll figure out a way to help you.
+
+## Pull Requests
+
+Life will be a lot easier for you if you create a named branch for your
+contribution, rather than just using your fork's `development`.
+
+It's helpful if you include a nice description of your change with your PR; if
+someone has to read the whole diff to figure out why you're contributing in the
+first place, you're less likely to get feedback and have your change merged in.
+
+## Porting Code From Other Open-Source Projects
+
+The most common case here is porting code from core Git.  Git is a GPL project,
+which means that in order to port code to this project, we need the explicit
+permission of the author.  Check the
+[`git.git-authors`](https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/blob/development/git.git-authors)
+file for authors who have already consented; feel free to add someone if you've
+obtained their consent.
+
+Other licenses have other requirements; check the license of the library you're
+porting code *from* to see what you need to do.
+
+## Styleguide
+
+We like to keep the source code consistent and easy to read.  Maintaining this
+takes some discipline, but it's been more than worth it.  Take a look at the
+[conventions file](https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/blob/development/CONVENTIONS.md).
+
diff --git a/CONVENTIONS b/CONVENTIONS
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-libgit2 conventions
-===================
-
-Namespace Prefixes
-------------------
-
-All types and functions start with 'git_'.
-
-All #define macros start with 'GIT_'.
-
-
-Type Definitions
-----------------
-
-Most types should be opaque, e.g.:
-
-----
-	typedef struct git_odb git_odb;
-----
-
-with allocation functions returning an "instance" created within
-the library, and not within the application.  This allows the type
-to grow (or shrink) in size without rebuilding client code.
-
-
-Public Exported Function Definitions
-------------------------------------
-
-All exported functions must be declared as:
-
-----
-	GIT_EXTERN(result_type) git_modulename_functionname(arg_list);
-----
-
-
-Semi-Private Exported Functions
--------------------------------
-
-Functions whose modulename is followed by two underscores,
-for example 'git_odb__read_packed', are semi-private functions.
-They are primarily intended for use within the library itself,
-and may disappear or change their signature in a future release.
-
-
-Calling Conventions
--------------------
-
-Functions should prefer to return a 'int' to indicate success or
-failure and supply any output through the first argument (or first
-few arguments if multiple outputs are supplied).
-
-int status codes are 0 for GIT_OK and < 0 for an error.
-This permits common POSIX result testing:
-
-----
-	if (git_odb_open(&odb, path))
-		abort("odb open failed");
-----
-
-Functions returning a pointer may return NULL instead of an int
-if there is only one type of failure (GIT_ENOMEM).
-
-Functions returning a pointer may also return NULL if the common
-case needed by the application is strictly success/failure and a
-(possibly slower) function exists that the caller can use to get
-more detailed information.  Parsing common data structures from
-on-disk formats is a good example of this pattern; in general a
-"corrupt" entity can be treated as though it does not exist but
-a more sophisticated "fsck" support function can report how the
-entity is malformed.
-
-
-Documentation Fomatting
------------------------
-
-All comments should conform to Doxygen "javadoc" style conventions
-for formatting the public API documentation.
-
-
-Public Header Format
---------------------
-
-All public headers defining types, functions or macros must use
-the following form, where ${filename} is the name of the file,
-after replacing non-identifier characters with '_'.
-
-----
-	#ifndef INCLUDE_git_${filename}_h__
-	#define INCLUDE_git_${filename}_h__
-
-	#include "git/common.h"
-
-	/**
-	 * @file git/${filename}.h
-	 * @brief Git some description
-	 * @defgroup git_${filename} some description routines
-	 * @ingroup Git
-	 * @{
-	 */
-	GIT_BEGIN_DECL
-
-	... definitions ...
-
-	/** @} */
-	GIT_END_DECL
-	#endif
-----
diff --git a/CONVENTIONS.md b/CONVENTIONS.md
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index 000000000..ea5e40ee6
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+++ b/CONVENTIONS.md
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+# Libgit2 Conventions
+
+We like to keep the source consistent and readable.  Herein are some guidelines
+that should help with that.
+
+
+## Naming Things
+
+All types and functions start with `git_`, and all #define macros start with `GIT_`.
+
+Functions with a single output parameter should name that parameter `out`.
+Multiple outputs should be named `foo_out`, `bar_out`, etc.
+
+Parameters of type `git_oid` should be named `id`, or `foo_id`.  Calls that
+return an OID should be named `git_foo_id`.
+
+Where there is a callback passed in, the `void *` that is passed into it should
+be named "payload".
+
+## Typedef
+
+Wherever possible, use `typedef`.  If a structure is just a collection of
+function pointers, the pointer types don't need to be separately typedef'd, but
+loose function pointer types should be.
+
+## Exports
+
+All exported functions must be declared as:
+
+```C
+GIT_EXTERN(result_type) git_modulename_functionname(arg_list);
+```
+
+## Internals
+
+Functions whose modulename is followed by two underscores,
+for example `git_odb__read_packed`, are semi-private functions.
+They are primarily intended for use within the library itself,
+and may disappear or change their signature in a future release.
+
+## Parameters
+
+Out parameters come first.
+
+Whenever possible, pass argument pointers as `const`.  Some structures (such
+as `git_repository` and `git_index`) have internal structure that prevents
+this.
+
+Callbacks should always take a `void *` payload as their last parameter.
+Callback pointers are grouped with their payloads, and come last when passed as
+arguments:
+
+```C
+int foo(git_repository *repo, git_foo_cb callback, void *payload);
+```
+
+
+## Memory Ownership
+
+Some APIs allocate memory which the caller is responsible for freeing; others
+return a pointer into a buffer that's owned by some other object.  Make this
+explicit in the documentation.
+
+
+## Return codes
+
+Return an `int` when a public API can fail in multiple ways.  These may be
+transformed into exception types in some bindings, so returning a semantically
+appropriate error code is important.  Check
+[`errors.h`](https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2/blob/development/include/git2/errors.h)
+for the return codes already defined.
+
+Use `giterr_set` to provide extended error information to callers.
+
+If an error is not to be propagated, use `giterr_clear` to prevent callers from
+getting the wrong error message later on.
+
+
+## Opaque Structs
+
+Most types should be opaque, e.g.:
+
+```C
+typedef struct git_odb git_odb;
+```
+
+...with allocation functions returning an "instance" created within
+the library, and not within the application.  This allows the type
+to grow (or shrink) in size without rebuilding client code.
+
+To preserve ABI compatibility, include an `int version` field in all opaque
+structures, and initialize to the latest version in the construction call.
+Increment the "latest" version whenever the structure changes, and try to only
+append to the end of the structure.
+
+## Option Structures
+
+If a function's parameter count is too high, it may be desirable to package up
+the options in a structure.  Make them transparent, include a version field,
+and provide an initializer constant or constructor.  Using these structures
+should be this easy:
+
+```C
+git_foo_options opts = GIT_FOO_OPTIONS_INIT;
+opts.baz = BAZ_OPTION_ONE;
+git_foo(&opts);
+```
+
+## Enumerations
+
+Typedef all enumerated types.  If each option stands alone, use the enum type
+for passing them as parameters; if they are flags, pass them as `unsigned int`.
+
+## Code Layout
+
+Try to keep lines less than 80 characters long.  Use common sense to wrap most
+code lines; public function declarations should use this convention:
+
+```C
+GIT_EXTERN(int) git_foo_id(
+   git_oid **out,
+   int a,
+   int b);
+```
+
+Public headers are indented with spaces, three to a tab.  Internal code is
+indented with tabs; set your editor's tab width to 3 for best effect.
+
+
+## Documentation
+
+All comments should conform to Doxygen "javadoc" style conventions for
+formatting the public API documentation.  Try to document every parameter, and
+keep the comments up to date if you change the parameter list.
+
+
+## Public Header Template
+
+Use this template when creating a new public header.
+
+```C
+#ifndef INCLUDE_git_${filename}_h__
+#define INCLUDE_git_${filename}_h__
+
+#include "git/common.h"
+
+/**
+ * @file git/${filename}.h
+ * @brief Git some description
+ * @defgroup git_${filename} some description routines
+ * @ingroup Git
+ * @{
+ */
+GIT_BEGIN_DECL
+
+/* ... definitions ... */
+
+/** @} */
+GIT_END_DECL
+#endif
+```
+
+