# Query pipeline

Version 0.1.0. Read-only host-executed procedure for `kb-query`.

1. Establish question, explicit scope and answer budget; inspect actual service availability.
2. Retrieve accepted candidates with complete citation groups, scope and index metadata. Use node-type and stale-only facets to narrow the search when useful; keep the filters in the saved URL/request context. Browse source metadata with `list_sources` under the same explicit scope. Preserve degraded-mode and freshness warnings.
3. Inspect decisive nodes/source locations and bounded typed neighbors. Keep suggestions and established relationships distinct.
4. Compose an answer with citations near factual claims, relevant conditions, disagreements and as-of dates. Report insufficient evidence without filling gaps from memory as if retrieved.
5. Record the retrieved revision IDs and omissions when a resumable local work record is needed. Do not create a server mutation merely to log a read-only query.

Stop when the requested question is answered within its budget or a named evidence/service gap prevents it. A changed question/scope starts a new retrieval, rather than silently reusing incompatible prior results.