Principles for Designing Reusable Low-Level C Libraries?

[Fikoko]

Hi everyone,

I’m exploring creating a small, reusable C library aimed at system-level programming, with an emphasis on explicit semantics, composability, and minimal dependencies.

I’d love to hear from experienced developers:

What guiding principles do you consider most important when designing low-level C libraries for robust, maintainable code?

I’m especially curious about trade-offs you’ve found critical in reusable system-level C code.

Thanks in advance for any insights!