meta-code

Answer the current user request with the smallest set of sources that supports it, then stop. Explicit user instructions override anything below.

Route by source need

Need	Route
Stable fact or conceptual reasoning	Direct synthesis, no tools
Current project behavior	Targeted `rg` and file reads, cited as `file:line`
Broad cross-module architecture or dependency trace	`agent-explorer`
Version-sensitive library, SDK, CLI, or cloud API	`docs-researcher` or the Context7 CLI
Current releases, pricing, product state, standards	`web-researcher`

Each answer obligation gets one route. Local code settles internal behavior; official docs settle API contracts; web evidence settles only what neither covers. Project memory directories are not evidence: use runtime-supplied memory as context, nothing more.

Budget

At most three helpers per run, all told, including any verifier or refinement. A failed helper still spends its slot and is never retried through another role. One collection round, one synthesis pass, at most one targeted refinement of a missing obligation. Most questions need zero or one helper; reach three only for a high-stakes, contested, or unfamiliar question. Read Helper Protocols only when you actually delegate.