diff --git a/litellm-rust/crates/CODING_STANDARDS/PROVIDER_CODING_STANDARDS.md b/litellm-rust/crates/CODING_STANDARDS/PROVIDER_CODING_STANDARDS.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..c7980b11147e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/litellm-rust/crates/CODING_STANDARDS/PROVIDER_CODING_STANDARDS.md
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+# Provider coding standards (litellm-rust)
+
+Rules for adding or changing an LLM provider/route in `litellm-rust`. OCR (`MISTRAL_OCR_CONFIG`) is the reference; `messages` (`ANTHROPIC_MESSAGES_CONFIG`) is the next port.
+
+## Provider resolution
+
+1. Always resolve the provider/model first with `get_custom_llm_provider` (`core/src/routing_utils/provider.rs`). Nothing downstream may branch on a raw model string.
+2. Model/provider is resolved once, in `prepare.rs`, and passed down as typed fields. Don't re-resolve or re-parse it in transforms or handlers.
+
+## Transforms and the base config
+
+3. Every route defines a base config trait with `transform_request` + `transform_response` (+ `complete_url`, `supported_params`), living in `core/src/<route>/transformation.rs` (e.g. `AnthropicMessagesProviderConfig`, mirroring `OcrProviderConfig`).
+4. Each provider implements that trait as a `const <PROVIDER>_<ROUTE>_CONFIG` in `core/src/providers/<provider>/<route>/transformation.rs`, mirroring the Python provider tree.
+5. Individual configs implement only the request/response transforms. Shared behavior (param filtering, defaults) stays as trait default methods so future providers inherit existing logic instead of reimplementing it.
+6. Prefer composition: a provider that extends another reuses the base trait's defaults or wraps another config; don't copy transform bodies between providers.
+
+## Boundaries
+
+7. Layers never cross: `core` = pure transforms/types (no network, env, secrets, auth, logging, global mutable state); `ai-gateway` = all I/O, auth headers, HTTP/SSE, lifecycle hooks; `python-bridge` = thin PyO3 adapter.
+8. Generic/route files contain zero provider-specific branches. A provider is one module under `core/src/providers/<provider>/<route>/`; a route is a module, never a new crate.
+9. Route entry point stays thin: `<route>()` -> `prepare_*` -> `CallLifecycle::run_request`, which owns the pre_call -> during_call -> provider call -> success/failure order and phase timing. Handlers validate and delegate; no business logic in them.
+10. Constants (URLs, env-var names, API versions, error messages) live in a crate `constants.rs`, never inline. Env reads happen only at the host/config layer, with the `DEFAULT_*` fallback defined in `constants.rs`.
+
+## Types and errors
+
+11. Typed contracts only: no bare `serde_json::Value` / `String` / `Vec<String>` as a transform input or output. Parse wire bytes into typed structs/enums at the host edge; a `type` discriminator is a typed field, not a raw string.
+12. Model failures as values: return typed `CoreError`, don't panic. No `unwrap`/`expect`/`panic!` on user or provider input.
+13. No mutation: build values in one shot (comprehensions/iterators, `collect`), prefer immutable bindings and owned typed structs over seeding-and-mutating.
+14. Early returns over deep nesting; small focused files over god modules.
+15. Preserve Python output shape intentionally. If a field is always serialized as `null` for parity, keep it and pin it with a test.
+
+## Safety and data minimization
+
+16. Never log request/response bodies, base64 payloads, document contents, or secrets. Truncate and bound any upstream body before it crosses a host boundary.
+17. Treat empty/whitespace credentials, URLs, and config values as absent at the host resolution layer.
+18. Host I/O sets connect + request timeouts (no unbounded waits), reuses a shared HTTP client, and prefers rustls TLS.
+
+## Tests and rollout
+
+19. Every provider transform ships tests for: supported-param filtering, request body shape, response normalization, missing/null fields, bad input, and `*_match_python` fixture parity.
+20. Lifecycle/hook tests cover hook order, success + failure callback payloads, pre-call guardrail blocking before any provider I/O, during-call body mutation, and provider-error mapping.
+21. Rust paths stay off by default and behind Python parity tests (disabled / enabled-equals-Python / bridge-unavailable fallback) until parity is proven.
+
+## Checks before push
+
+22. Run, and keep green:
+    ```bash
+    cd litellm-rust
+    cargo fmt --check
+    cargo clippy -p litellm-ai-gateway --all-targets --features server -- -D warnings
+    cargo clippy -p litellm-core -p litellm-python-bridge --all-targets -- -D warnings
+    cargo test --workspace
+    ```
diff --git a/litellm-rust/crates/core/tests/workspace_crate_allowlist.rs b/litellm-rust/crates/core/tests/workspace_crate_allowlist.rs
index a56d19b8242a..656ba033b62b 100644
--- a/litellm-rust/crates/core/tests/workspace_crate_allowlist.rs
+++ b/litellm-rust/crates/core/tests/workspace_crate_allowlist.rs
@@ -62,12 +62,17 @@ fn parse_members(manifest: &str) -> BTreeSet<String> {
     members
 }
 
-/// The immediate subdirectory names under `crates/`.
+/// The crate subdirectory names under `crates/`.
+///
+/// A directory counts as a crate only when it holds a `Cargo.toml`; non-crate
+/// directories (e.g. docs like `CODING_STANDARDS/`) are ignored so they can live
+/// under `crates/` without tripping the crate-proliferation guard.
 fn crate_dirs(root: &Path) -> BTreeSet<String> {
     fs::read_dir(root.join("crates"))
         .expect("crates/ directory should exist")
         .filter_map(Result::ok)
         .filter(|entry| entry.file_type().map(|ty| ty.is_dir()).unwrap_or(false))
+        .filter(|entry| entry.path().join("Cargo.toml").is_file())
         .map(|entry| entry.file_name().to_string_lossy().into_owned())
         .collect()
 }