Start with README.md and load only the documents required for the current task.
Do not read archive/ by default. Use it only when canonical documents do not contain the needed historical rationale.
Treat requirements.md as product intent, technical-design.md as target implementation constraints, and implementation-status.md plus source code as current implementation facts.
Read only the relevant DD entry in ../issues/data-download-open-issues.md when working on a numbered issue.
Update canonical documents instead of appending new decisions to the archived integrated design.
When code and requirements differ, record the discrepancy in the issue ledger rather than silently rewriting requirements to match code.
