Research

Answer one bounded question with current evidence. Research informs a caller; it does not select work, approve a plan, mutate lifecycle state, or decide what happens next.

Contract

1. State the question, decision it informs, scope, non-goals, and evidence required for a useful answer.
2. Search the smallest relevant local sources. For changing external facts, use current primary sources.
3. Verify structural or semantic-search leads against authoritative content.
4. Separate observation, inference, contradiction, and unknown.
5. Lead with the answer and cite every load-bearing claim.
6. Report unchecked scope and stop.