Source Grounding

---
name: source-grounding
description: >-
  Verify version-sensitive facts against live authoritative sources before asserting them in code or answers. Triggers on: "/source-grounding", "source-grounding", "sourcing". Standing rule — always active via CLAUDE.md. Invoke for deep verification work (API signatures, CVEs, model IDs, auth flows, deprecated patterns, security advisories).
---

# Source Grounding

**Language:** Generate EVERYTHING at runtime in the user's language — questions, answer options, menu labels, recommendations, report narrative. Detect from their messages; never default to English just because this file is English. English is allowed only for technical terms: commands, paths, code identifiers, severity labels (CRITICAL/HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW), and tier names (Light/Standard/Heavy).

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

## Consent gates (G1–G4, declared)
| # | what it gates | when it fires | Agent lane | Hook lane |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G1 | model tier | before work starts | `ask_question`, 3 tiers, wait for pick | suppressed — auto-Light, no tier question |
| G2 | how to proceed on an unfetchable source | source can't be fetched, user present | `ask_question` | `ask_question` |
| G3 | entanglement hand-off | after the findings, cross-domain | `ask_question`, once | `ask_question`, once |
| G4 | self error-report | skill misbehaves | offer, never auto-submit | offer, never auto-submit |

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)
| # | never … |
|---|---|
| P1 | default to English just because this file is English |
| P2 | skip fetching or flagging a CRITICAL version-sensitive claim |
| P3 | over-verify a stable/LOW fact |
| P4 | cite a single blog source without corroborating first |
| P5 | auto-submit the self error-report |
| P6 | include unapproved code or paths in the self error-report |

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)
| # | branch | fires when: |
|---|---|---|
| D1 | log as `⚠️ UNVERIFIED`, continue, never block | non-interactive, source unfetchable |
| D2 | degrade to model tier + reasoning depth, never fake parallelism | no capability lever for the target tier on this host |
| D3 | fall back to a numbered text menu | host has no question tool |
| D4 | fixed at Light, no tier question, no sub-agents | Hook Context (auto-triggered) |

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.

## Escalation — Scope & Model Quality

Tiers are **capability targets**, not platform commands — resolve each to your host's nearest lever. No lever for one? **Degrade gracefully — never fake parallelism you can't do**; escalate via model tier + reasoning depth instead.

| Level | Intent | Capability target | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Light** | Spot-check key claims, single source | Cheapest model · single agent, no sub-agents. | Low |
| **Standard** | Balanced verification, mixed sources | Balanced model · raised reasoning · sub-agents per category **only if your platform runs concurrent workers** (else single-agent). | Balanced |
| **Heavy** | Full cross-verification, adversarial check | Most capable model + largest context · deepest reasoning · max sub-agent fan-out **if supported** · adversarial cross-check where available. | High |

Per-platform Heavy levers + Heavy-run durability: read `references/escalation.md` before a Heavy run. No concurrent fan-out on your host → escalate by model + reasoning only.

**Agent Context (interactive):** score the tier rubric, then call `ask_question` once with the 3 tiers — the pick marked `✓`, score shown, labels localized — and wait for the choice before starting. `ask_question` = your platform's question tool: Claude Code `AskUserQuestion` · Cline `ask_question` · Copilot `askQuestions` · Gemini CLI `ask_user` (business-tier product; individual tiers ended 2026-06-18 → Antigravity CLI) · Codex `request_user_input` · Cursor/Devin Desktop (ex-Windsurf)/Antigravity built-in prompts; none → numbered text menu.

**Tier rubric (deterministic):** +1 each — ① >20 files or whole-repo/cross-module reach ② >2 of this skill's categories relevant ③ release/security/pre-ship context ④ findings will drive code changes. **0–1 Light · 2–3 Standard · 4 Heavy.** **Freshness cap:** scope already audited ≥Standard this session → cap at Light (re-auditing fresh ground wastes tokens; scope to what changed). **Default tier:** honor `.coalmine.json` `defaultTier` unless the user requests a tier for that run — an explicit request overrides everything.

**Hook Context (auto-triggered):** auto-Light, no tier question, no sub-agents — report first. Interactive session (a user is present) → follow this skill's own Fix mode section, if it defines one, for what to offer after the report; non-interactive → report-only. Where a Fix mode section exists, never fix without a chosen option.

**Entanglement:** after the report, if confirmed findings fall in another canary's domain, offer it once via `ask_question` (one line, max one offer): perf/N+1 → scale-canary · contract/serialization/config → drift-canary · failure-path/retry → resilience-audit · logging/metrics → telemetry-canary · coupling/DI → testability-canary · dependency/CVE → supply-chain-audit · unverified version-sensitive claim → source-grounding · missing/stale rule → gold-standard.

**Self error-report:** if this skill misbehaves (contradictory instruction, broken procedure, wrong finding class), OFFER to file it at https://github.com/HetCreep/CoalMine/issues/new/choose with a user-reviewed summary — never auto-submit, never include unapproved code or paths.