diff --git a/runtime/runtime_callbacks.h b/runtime/runtime_callbacks.h
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+++ b/runtime/runtime_callbacks.h
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+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 The Android Open Source Project
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#ifndef ART_RUNTIME_RUNTIME_CALLBACKS_H_
+#define ART_RUNTIME_RUNTIME_CALLBACKS_H_
+
+#include <vector>
+
+#include "base/macros.h"
+#include "base/mutex.h"
+
+namespace art {
+
+class Thread;
+class ThreadLifecycleCallback;
+
+// Note: RuntimeCallbacks uses the mutator lock to synchronize the callback lists. A thread must
+//       hold the exclusive lock to add or remove a listener. A thread must hold the shared lock
+//       to dispatch an event. This setup is chosen as some clients may want to suspend the
+//       dispatching thread or all threads.
+//
+//       To make this safe, the following restrictions apply:
+//       * Only the owner of a listener may ever add or remove said listener.
+//       * A listener must never add or remove itself or any other listener while running.
+//       * It is the responsibility of the owner to not remove the listener while it is running
+//         (and suspended).
+//
+//       The simplest way to satisfy these restrictions is to never remove a listener, and to do
+//       any state checking (is the listener enabled) in the listener itself. For an example, see
+//       Dbg.
+
+class RuntimeCallbacks {
+ public:
+  void AddThreadLifecycleCallback(ThreadLifecycleCallback* cb)
+      REQUIRES(Locks::mutator_lock_);
+  void RemoveThreadLifecycleCallback(ThreadLifecycleCallback* cb)
+      REQUIRES(Locks::mutator_lock_);
+
+  void ThreadStart(Thread* self)
+      REQUIRES_SHARED(Locks::mutator_lock_);
+  void ThreadDeath(Thread* self)
+      REQUIRES_SHARED(Locks::mutator_lock_);
+
+ private:
+  std::vector<ThreadLifecycleCallback*> thread_callbacks_
+      GUARDED_BY(Locks::mutator_lock_);
+};
+
+}  // namespace art
+
+#endif  // ART_RUNTIME_RUNTIME_CALLBACKS_H_