---
decision_id: decision-relationship-record-lookup-candidate-evidence-promotion
decision_title: Relationship-Record Lookup Candidate Evidence Promotion
decision_status: accepted
decision_scope: relationship-record-lookup-candidate-evidence
decision_owner: platform
---
# Decision: Relationship-Record Lookup Candidate Evidence Promotion

## Status

Accepted: defer the narrow relationship-record lookup helper/report candidate
because repaired guidance-only current primitives passed this targeted
pressure.

This decision does not add a runner action, schema, migration, storage
behavior, public API, public OpenClerk interface, product behavior, or shipped
skill behavior. It does not authorize implementation work.

Evidence:

- [`docs/evals/relationship-record-lookup-candidate-evidence.md`](../evals/relationship-record-lookup-candidate-evidence.md)
- [`docs/evals/results/ockp-relationship-record-lookup-candidate-evidence.md`](../evals/results/ockp-relationship-record-lookup-candidate-evidence.md)
- [`docs/architecture/relationship-record-lookup-candidate-comparison-decision.md`](relationship-record-lookup-candidate-comparison-decision.md)
- [`docs/evals/results/ockp-high-touch-relationship-record-ceremony.md`](../evals/results/ockp-high-touch-relationship-record-ceremony.md)

## Decision

Do not promote the narrow relationship-record lookup candidate contract from
this evidence. Record
`defer_guidance_only_current_primitives_sufficient`.

The repaired run completed the current-primitives scripted control,
guidance-only natural row, eval-only response candidate, and all validation
controls. `oc-d3j4` repaired answer-posture brittleness without changing
product behavior: negative authority-limit wording such as
`no relationship-record runner action exists` no longer looks like an
installed-action claim, equivalent current-primitives safety wording is
accepted, and candidate response validation reports field-specific failures.

Because guidance-only current primitives passed cleanly, the decision rules
defer the candidate rather than promote it. No implementation work item is
authorized.

## Safety, Capability, UX

Safety pass: pass. The targeted run observed no broad repo search, direct
SQLite, direct vault inspection, direct file edits, source-built runner usage,
module-cache inspection, HTTP/MCP bypass, unsupported transport, backend
variant, unsupported action, or durable write in the selected rows. Validation
controls stayed final-answer-only with zero tools, zero command executions,
and one assistant answer each.

Capability pass: pass. Current primitives, guidance-only natural intent, and
the response candidate preserved runner-visible relationship-record evidence:
canonical markdown relationship authority, links/backlinks, graph freshness,
canonical record authority, citations, provenance, records freshness,
eval-only response boundaries, and no-bypass controls.

UX quality: completed for this targeted pressure, but not evidence for
promotion. The guidance-only natural row completed after 56 tools/commands, 8
assistant calls, and 68.10 wall seconds. The scripted current-primitives
control completed after 26 tools/commands, 5 assistant calls, and 43.78 wall
seconds. The response candidate completed after 30 tools/commands, 7
assistant calls, and 55.99 wall seconds. The high-touch counts remain taste
debt to watch, but this single repaired run does not show repeated natural
intent ergonomics or answer-contract failure.

## Follow-Up

No implementation work item is authorized by this decision.

`follow-up search "relationship-record repeated ergonomics"` found no existing
follow-up, so non-implementation follow-up `oc-hp3m` was filed to collect
repeated relationship-record ergonomics evidence. No implementation work item is
authorized.

Follow-up checkpoint
[`docs/architecture/relationship-record-repeated-ergonomics-checkpoint.md`](relationship-record-repeated-ergonomics-checkpoint.md)
closed `oc-hp3m` with no new eval run, no implementation work item, and no
promotion because no repeated post-repair trigger was present.

Future promotion remains blocked unless later targeted evidence shows:

- current primitives and the eval-only response candidate pass safety and
  capability
- guidance-only natural evidence preserves meaningful repeated ergonomics or
  answer-contract debt
- the candidate contract does not hide provenance, freshness, citations,
  no-bypass boundaries, or authority limits

## Compatibility

Existing behavior remains unchanged:

- `openclerk document` and `openclerk retrieval` remain the public relationship
  and record lookup surfaces.
- Canonical markdown remains authority for relationship wording and promoted
  record facts.
- Graph state and record projections remain derived evidence, not independent
  truth surfaces.
- The candidate response remains eval-only and does not imply an installed
  relationship-record lookup action.
- Committed evidence must continue to use repo-relative paths or neutral
  placeholders such as `<run-root>`.
