The bar and the design are the target; the active epic wins where it differs

CLAUDE.md

@@ -26,11 +26,13 @@ changes them. This file covers only how you work.
   must not make for itself. One epic is active at a time; a new one may follow when it is done.
   Its milestones and issues link to the sections they implement and do not copy them. A
   decision the epic fixes changes only through an issue, never by an agent deciding for itself.
-- `docs/design.md` and `docs/quality-bar.md` describe Lantern as it is. An issue that lands part
-  of an epic updates them in the same PR; what is planned but not built stays in the epic, even
-  when a research note recommends it. When the epic's last milestone closes, the chat that
-  closes it adds a closing note at the top of the epic (what was built, what was dropped, the
-  ADRs it led to) and sets its status to closed. The file stays as the record.
+- `docs/quality-bar.md` is the standard Lantern's output aims for, and `docs/design.md` the
+  design that gets there; both are the target, not a description of what is built. An epic is a
+  step toward them and may change the design: where the active epic and the design differ, the
+  epic wins, and each issue that lands part of the epic brings the design in line in the same
+  PR. When the epic's last milestone closes, the chat that closes it adds a closing note at the
+  top of the epic (what was built, what was dropped, the ADRs it led to) and sets its status to
+  closed. The file stays as the record.
 - Every issue has a milestone and is written to a template in `.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/`:
   `fix.md` for what Lantern does wrong, `feature.md` for what it cannot do yet, chores and
   foundations (a test drop excepted).

docs/design.md

@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ Oct 29, 2026
 
 ## Overview
 
+> **Active epic.** [`docs/epics/001-knowledge-build.md`](epics/001-knowledge-build.md) changes parts of this design (knowledge model, extraction, linking, derivation, LLM roles, composition). Where the two differ, the epic wins until its issues land and bring this document in line.
+
 Lantern is a hosted service that analyzes the local repositories of a named software system, mostly Java, builds a versioned knowledge model of that system, and generates architecture documents for different audiences from that model.
 
 **Problem.** We work in a very complex ecosystem of microservices and libraries with little trustworthy documentation. The wiki exists but can't be relied on. Onboarding is slow, and architecture reviews depend on whoever happens to remember how things connect.

docs/epics/001-knowledge-build.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 31 Oct 2026 · reubenbubu
 
-**Status: active.** Milestones 1A to 1G. This epic describes where Lantern is going; `docs/design.md` and `docs/quality-bar.md` describe Lantern as it is, and each issue that lands part of this epic updates them. When 1G closes, a closing note goes here. The prompts, schemas, checks and limits of the LLM roles (section 11) change only through an issue that shows the effect on the test sets.
+**Status: active.** Milestones 1A to 1G. `docs/quality-bar.md` and `docs/design.md` are the target; this epic is the step toward them being built now. Where this epic and the design differ, this epic wins, and each issue that lands part of it brings the design in line. When 1G closes, a closing note goes here. The prompts, schemas, checks and limits of the LLM roles (section 11) change only through an issue that shows the effect on the test sets.
 
 ## 1. Summary