TheColliery 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).
Config reads — every config key, always the CASCADE, never the bare project file: ~/.claude/.coalmine.json first, then the project config (own agent dir → other known agent dirs → legacy <gitroot>/.claude/.coalmine.json, then <gitroot>/.coalmine.json), project wins per key. A bare project read is ABSENT on a machine configured only globally, so it silently yields defaults.
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
- Identify the version-sensitive claim.
- Name the authoritative source (official docs, advisory DB, package registry, spec, source code).
- Fetch (WebSearch/WebFetch/docs MCP) — or flag
⚠️ unverified: check [source](D1). - 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)
- Source code / spec / RFC
- Official/vendor docs — authoritative secondary (honor
.coalmine.jsontrustedDomainsif set: treat those domains as additional authoritative / tier-2 sources) - Multiple reputable third-party sources
- Single blog — corroborate first (P4)
- 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.