diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 4442e5f091..889259630d 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -5,10 +5,10 @@ This file provides guidance for AI coding agents working in the
 
 ## Project Overview
 
-**NCX Infra Controller (NICo)** is an API-based microservice written in Rust
-that provides site-local, zero-trust, bare-metal lifecycle management with
-DPU-enforced isolation. It automates the complexity of the bare-metal lifecycle
-to fast-track building next-generation AI Cloud offerings.
+**NVIDIA Infra Controller (NICo)** is an API-based microservice written in Rust
+and Golang that provides site-local, zero-trust, bare-metal lifecycle
+management with DPU-enforced isolation. It automates the complexity of the
+bare-metal lifecycle to fast-track building next-generation AI Cloud offerings.
 
 > **Status:** Experimental/Preview. APIs, configurations, and features may
 > change without notice between releases.
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ infra-controller/
 ├── lints/               # Custom Clippy lints (carbide-lints crate)
 ├── include/             # Shared Makefile fragments
 ├── .github/             # GitHub Actions workflows and templates
+├── rest-api/            # Golang-based REST API
 ├── Cargo.toml           # Workspace dependency management
 ├── Makefile.toml        # Primary build/task automation
 ├── Makefile-build.toml  # Build-specific tasks
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@ infra-controller/
 
 ## Technology Stack
 
+### gRPC API and components:
 - **Language:** Rust (edition 2024, toolchain pinned in `rust-toolchain.toml`)
 - **Async runtime:** Tokio
 - **gRPC framework:** Tonic (with TLS via Rustls/aws_lc_rs)
@@ -62,6 +64,9 @@ infra-controller/
 - **Build tool:** `cargo-make` (TOML task runner)
 - **API definitions:** Protocol Buffers (protobuf)
 
+### REST API and components
+- **Language (REST API):** Golang 1.26.x
+
 ## Build, Test, and Lint Commands
 
 All task automation uses `cargo-make`. Install it with:
@@ -159,17 +164,6 @@ verification expectations.
 See [`STYLE_GUIDE.md`](STYLE_GUIDE.md) for detailed Rust coding conventions.
 Make sure to review it to ensure changes meet the expected style of the codebase.
 
-### Avoid stringly-typed values
-
-When a value has a known, finite set of possibilities, model it with an enum (or
-a struct of enums) and derive its string form via `Display`/`FromStr` — do not
-pass it around as a bare `String` or `&str` literal. Stringly-typed values are
-easy to misspell (`NICO-` vs `NICOO-`), silently break log filters and alerts,
-and can't be exhaustively checked by the compiler. See
-[`ErrorCode`](crates/api-model/src/errors.rs) for the pattern: typed
-`ErrorSystem`/`ErrorSubsystem` parts plus a `code`, rendered to the wire string
-in one place. Reserve raw strings for genuinely open-ended values.
-
 ### Instrumentation: logs and metrics
 
 The decision rule:
diff --git a/STYLE_GUIDE.md b/STYLE_GUIDE.md
index 18bff70019..d216af2c52 100644
--- a/STYLE_GUIDE.md
+++ b/STYLE_GUIDE.md
@@ -695,3 +695,74 @@ fn prefer() {
     fails().ok();
 }
 ```
+
+### Avoid stringly-typed values
+
+When a value has a known, finite set of possibilities, model it with an enum
+(or a struct of enums) and implement traits `Display` and `FromStr` — do not
+pass it around as a bare `String` or `&str` literal. Stringly-typed values are
+easy to misspell (`NICO-` vs `NICOO-`), silently break log filters and alerts,
+and can't be exhaustively checked by the compiler. See
+[`ErrorCode`](crates/api-model/src/errors.rs) for the pattern: typed
+`ErrorSystem`/`ErrorSubsystem` parts plus a `code`, rendered to the wire string
+in one place. Reserve raw strings for genuinely open-ended values.
+
+### Prefer methods over free functions
+
+When a function operates primarily on a specific type, define it as a method on that type rather than a free-standing function. This keeps related behavior co-located with the type, makes it easier to discover via autocomplete, and reads more naturally at the call site.
+
+```rust
+// Avoid — free function that operates on a specific type
+fn machine_display_name(machine: &Machine) -> String {
+    format!("{} ({})", machine.hostname, machine.id)
+}
+
+fn is_machine_ready(machine: &Machine) -> bool {
+    machine.state == MachineState::Ready && machine.health.is_ok()
+}
+
+// Prefer — methods on the type itself
+impl Machine {
+    fn display_name(&self) -> String {
+        format!("{} ({})", self.hostname, self.id)
+    }
+
+    fn is_ready(&self) -> bool {
+        self.state == MachineState::Ready && self.health.is_ok()
+    }
+}
+```
+
+This applies to enums as well:
+
+```rust
+// Avoid
+fn is_terminal_state(state: &MachineState) -> bool {
+    matches!(state, MachineState::Failed | MachineState::Decommissioned)
+}
+
+fn state_label(state: &MachineState) -> &'static str {
+    match state {
+        MachineState::Ready => "ready",
+        MachineState::Failed => "failed",
+        MachineState::Decommissioned => "decommissioned",
+    }
+}
+
+// Prefer
+impl MachineState {
+    fn is_terminal(&self) -> bool {
+        matches!(self, Self::Failed | Self::Decommissioned)
+    }
+
+    fn label(&self) -> &'static str {
+        match self {
+            Self::Ready => "ready",
+            Self::Failed => "failed",
+            Self::Decommissioned => "decommissioned",
+        }
+    }
+}
+```
+
+Free functions are still appropriate when the logic genuinely spans multiple unrelated types, belongs in a module rather than a single type, or is a utility with no natural owner.