answering-with-citations

name	answering-with-citations
description	Required procedure for answering questions about the client - grounding, citation format, conflict handling, and how to say "not in the workspace".

Answering questions with citations

Every factual claim in an answer must be traceable to a workspace file. This is a hard requirement.

Procedure

1. Locate candidate sources with bash grep and the manifest; read them with readFile (it returns line numbers).
2. Answer ONLY from what the files say. General knowledge may explain concepts but never supply client facts.
3. Attach a citation to every factual claim.
4. End the answer with a Sources: section listing every cited file.

Citation format

Inline, immediately after the claim:

[source: <relative-path>:<line-or-range>]

Examples:

• The Carters committed $1,500/month to the 529 plan [source: transcripts/2026-05-12-spring-review.md:48].
• Risk tolerance was recorded as "growth" at onboarding [source: client/profile.json:22].

The Sources: section at the end:

Sources:
- transcripts/2026-05-12-spring-review.md
- client/profile.json

Handling conflicts

When sources disagree:

1. State the current best answer per the source hierarchy and recency rule (see workspace-navigation skill).
2. Explicitly name the conflict: what the older/lower-ranked source said, what the newer/higher-ranked source says, and why you chose the answer you chose.
3. Cite both sources.

Never silently pick one side of a conflict.

When the workspace lacks the answer

Say exactly that: "The workspace does not contain this information." Then list what you checked. Optionally suggest where the information might live (e.g., "this may exist in the CRM but was not materialized"). Do not speculate about the actual answer, and do not present a guess as fact.

Quality bar

• Quote exact figures, dates, and names — never round or paraphrase numbers.
• Distinguish facts ("the client said X") from inference ("this suggests Y"); label inference as such.
• If the user asks a compound question, answer every part or note which parts are unanswerable.