+/// Create a new meshlink_open_params_t struct.
+/** This function allocates and initializes a new meshlink_open_params_t struct that can be passed to meshlink_open_ex().
+ * The resulting struct may be reused for multiple calls to meshlink_open_ex().
+ * After the last use, the application must free this struct using meshlink_open_params_free().
+ *
+ * @param confbase The directory in which MeshLink will store its configuration files.
+ * After the function returns, the application is free to overwrite or free @a confbase @a.
+ * @param name The name which this instance of the application will use in the mesh.
+ * After the function returns, the application is free to overwrite or free @a name @a.
+ * @param appname The application name which will be used in the mesh.
+ * After the function returns, the application is free to overwrite or free @a name @a.
+ * @param devclass The device class which will be used in the mesh.
+ *
+ * @return A pointer to a meshlink_open_params_t which can be passed to meshlink_open_ex(), or NULL in case of an error.
+ * The pointer is valid until meshlink_open_params_free() is called.
+ */
+extern meshlink_open_params_t *meshlink_open_params_init(const char *confbase, const char *name, const char *appname, dev_class_t devclass);
+
+/// Free a meshlink_open_params_t struct.
+/** This function frees a meshlink_open_params_t struct and all resources associated with it.
+ *
+ * @param params A pointer to a meshlink_open_params_t which must have been created earlier with meshlink_open_params_init().
+ */
+extern void meshlink_open_params_free(meshlink_open_params_t *params);
+
+/// Open or create a MeshLink instance.
+/** This function opens or creates a MeshLink instance.
+ * All parameters needed by MeshLink are passed via a meshlink_open_params_t struct,
+ * which must have been initialized earlier by the application.
+ *
+ * This function returns a pointer to a struct meshlink_handle that will be allocated by MeshLink.
+ * When the application does no longer need to use this handle, it must call meshlink_close() to
+ * free its resources.
+ *
+ * This function does not start any network I/O yet. The application should
+ * first set callbacks, and then call meshlink_start().
+ *
+ * @param params A pointer to a meshlink_open_params_t which must be filled in by the application.
+ * After the function returns, the application is free to reuse or free @a params @a.
+ *
+ * @return A pointer to a meshlink_handle_t which represents this instance of MeshLink, or NULL in case of an error.
+ * The pointer is valid until meshlink_close() is called.
+ */
+extern meshlink_handle_t *meshlink_open_ex(const meshlink_open_params_t *params);
+