out/_head.md

The head: the narrative of the argument, read first at every leg.

What it holds

Prose the analyst writes, at most 3,000 words. What it must say is left to the analyst; CLAUDE.md names what survives a compaction, in order: the method question, the current account, the reasons for the last revisions, the contrary rooms, the next comparison. Its ids (themes, elements, findings, rooms, concepts) must resolve.

Who writes it, and when

The analyst. A1 writes it first at the close of its first leg; HOW-TO-RUN says it is "rewritten at every close and before every cut", and at a pause the analyst updates it if the stage has one. done.sh keeps the leg open when it exceeds 3,200 words; validate.py --open fails the launch when a link in it does not resolve.

Why it exists

STANDING §2: the head is "the summary" and the first read of every leg's startup packet, and the ceiling is 3,000 words. After a compaction the harness has the analyst re-read it and reconcile it with the diary. E1 reads "every _head*.md in order".

Where

out/_head.md, first written at stage A1, in the analyst's out/ folder.

Checked against: STANDING-INSTRUCTIONS.md §2, CLAUDE.md, HOW-TO-RUN.md, tools/done.sh, tools/validate.py, harness/after_compact.sh, stages/STAGE-A1-reading-room-notes.md, stages/STAGE-E1-formalizing-audit.md.