# Source Grounding > 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). - Skill: `hetcreep/source-grounding` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add hetcreep/source-grounding` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/hetcreep/source-grounding/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - Author: HetCreep (https://skillmd.com/u/hetcreep) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/hetcreep/source-grounding --- # Source Grounding 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.