Source Grounding

Standing rule — active every response. No invocation needed for routine use.

Consent gates (G1–G4, declared)

Hook cells assume an interactive session (G2–G4 need a user to answer); non-interactive Hook fires D1 instead of G2, and offers nothing for G3/G4.

What to verify (not memory)

• CRITICAL (always fetch or flag — P2): API/SDK call signatures · library versions & deprecations · CVEs/security advisories · auth/crypto specs · LLM model IDs & params
• MEDIUM (verify when unsure): package names · config keys · CLI flags · protocol specs
• LOW/stable: math, algorithms, language syntax → memory fine (P3)

How

1. Identify the version-sensitive claim.
2. Name the authoritative source (official docs, advisory DB, package registry, spec, source code).
3. Fetch (WebSearch/WebFetch/docs MCP) — or flag ⚠️ unverified: check [source] (D1).
4. Cite at CRITICAL/MEDIUM. Don't over-verify stable facts (P3).

Per-claim-type authoritative source map: read references/sources.md when choosing where to verify.

Source hierarchy (1 = strongest)

1. Source code / spec / RFC
2. Official/vendor docs — authoritative secondary (honor .coalmine.json trustedDomains if set: treat those domains as additional authoritative / tier-2 sources)
3. Multiple reputable third-party sources
4. Single blog — corroborate first (P4)
5. Training memory — weakest for volatile facts

Why each rank sits where it does: references/sources.md.

Non-interactive runs: log unfetchable claims as ⚠️ UNVERIFIED and continue (D1). Interactive: when sources cannot be fetched, confirm how to proceed via ask_question (G2).

Prohibitions (P1–P6, declared)

The shared footer's never fix without a chosen option does not apply here — this skill defines no Fix mode section, so that clause resolves vacuously; not counted above.

Degrade paths (D1–D4, declared)

This ledger deliberately diverges from skill-authoring.md §3b's column-or-separate-ledger rule for lane-applicability — gold-standard keeps a lane column, but here a column asserting a lane value that contradicted its own row's condition text measured worse than no column at all (SKILL-VARIANCE-WALK.md §Run 43: a bimodal Hook-Q4 split, the pre-registered key matching neither camp). D2 is restated at four sites in the shared partials — the general clause, the Standard row's "(else single-agent)", the Heavy row's "if supported", and the Heavy-specific "escalate by model + reasoning only" — all one row. D3 is stated once, in the shared Escalation footer's question-tool list ("…none → numbered text menu"). Neither is a new branch. D4's own branch text is restated verbatim in the footer's Hook Context line — same row, not a new one. The Freshness cap (scope already audited this session → cap at Light) is a tier-selection modifier on G1, not a degrade branch. The footer's Fix-mode-dependent offer clause is not a fifth branch — this skill defines no Fix mode section, so it never fires.

Output — 2 locations, declared

A location is a place this skill writes something a reader can see; the absence of an annotation is not one.

• Verified: ✅ [claim] — source: [link/file]
• Unverified: ⚠️ unverified — check [exact source]

Stable fact: no annotation is written — not a location, not counted above.

AUTHORITATIVE vs DIVERSE

• AUTHORITATIVE (one ground truth): API/version/config/spec → go to the actual source code or official docs.
• DIVERSE (triangulate ≥ 3): "what's best" / landscape / patterns → multiple repos + docs + community; note conflicts.