@cerefox/memory 1.14.3 → 1.14.5

package/AGENT_GUIDE.md

@@ -481,7 +481,7 @@ changing.
 3. **Always set `author`** to your agent name for attribution, on reads and writes alike. Every tool takes the same `author` parameter, no exceptions. (`requestor` is still accepted on every tool as the pre-1.13.1 alias, so older configurations keep working.)
 4. **Use the `document_id` from search results** for `cerefox_get_document`, `cerefox_list_versions`, and targeted `cerefox_ingest` updates.
 5. **Add metadata**: at minimum `type` (e.g., "research", "decision-log") and `status` ("active", "draft").
-6. **Write structured Markdown** with H1/H2/H3 headings. The chunker uses heading structure.
+6. **Name the document for what it is about, then write structured Markdown** with H1/H2/H3 headings. The title is weighted more heavily than the body and reaches every chunk's embedding, so it is the single biggest lever on whether this document is found later. See "How titles affect search" below. The chunker uses heading structure.
 7. **Distill, don't dump.** Summaries > transcripts. Decisions > discussions. Insights > raw data.
 8. **Prove freshness on updates.** Pass `expected_content_hash` (the hash you read) on every content update. On conflict: re-read → merge → retry. Never `last_write_wins` your way out of a conflict.
 
@@ -500,6 +500,54 @@ Call `cerefox_list_metadata_keys` for the current list -- conventions evolve.
 
 ---
 
+## How titles affect search
+
+A Cerefox document's title is not just a label. It is indexed, and it is
+indexed **twice over**, which makes it the strongest single influence on
+whether a document is found later.
+
+**Keyword search.** When a document is written, each chunk's full-text vector
+is built from three parts at two weights: the **document title at weight A**,
+the **chunk's own heading at weight A**, and the **chunk body at weight B**.
+Postgres ranks weight-A matches above weight-B ones, so a query term that
+appears in the title lifts the whole document above one where the same term
+appears only in the prose.
+
+**Semantic search.** Every chunk is embedded as `# {document title}` followed
+by its heading breadcrumb and its text. The stored content is untouched, but
+the vector each chunk is retrieved by is coloured by the title. A document
+called "Notes" contributes nothing to any of its chunks' vectors; a document
+called "Postgres connection pooling limits on the free tier" contributes to
+all of them.
+
+### What to do about it
+
+- **Title with the words a future searcher would use.** Distinctive nouns over
+  generic labels. "Cerefox Response Size Limits" is findable; "Notes",
+  "Update 3", "Meeting" and "Misc" are not, and they dilute every chunk they
+  are attached to.
+- **Put the subject in the title, not only in the body.** If the document is
+  about one system, one decision or one incident, name it. Search cannot boost
+  a term that is not there.
+- **Do not stuff.** The title is also what a human reads in a result list and
+  in the web UI. A keyword-crammed title is worse than a clear one: relevance
+  is not the only thing a title has to do.
+- **Fixing a bad title is cheap.** Renaming a document re-computes the
+  full-text vectors and re-embeds its current chunks, so the improvement
+  applies to everything already stored. If you meet a document whose title
+  does not describe it, say so, or fix it.
+- **Titles cannot be changed by a partial edit.** `rename_section` changes a
+  heading inside the content; the stored title is a separate field and needs
+  `cerefox_ingest` (with `document_id` and `expected_content_hash`).
+
+### Why this matters more for you than for a human
+
+A person browsing a list can open three plausible documents and skim. An agent
+usually takes the top result, and is working against a byte budget that may
+admit only one. A precise title is what puts the right document in that slot.
+
+---
+
 ## Writing linkable content
 
 Documents you ingest may contain markdown links to other Cerefox documents. The Cerefox web UI intercepts these links at click time and resolves them to the target document. The resolution happens entirely in the browser; the stored markdown is untouched. (User-facing overview of the whole linking system, including *why* long ids corrupt during regeneration: [`docs/guides/linking.md`](docs/guides/linking.md).)

package/AGENT_QUICK_REFERENCE.md

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ Cerefox is a persistent, shared knowledge base. You have **15 core MCP tools** (
 | Tool | Purpose | Key params |
 |------|---------|------------|
 | `cerefox_search` | Find documents (hybrid FTS + semantic) | `query` (required), `project_name`, `metadata_filter`, `author` |
-| `cerefox_ingest` | Save or update a document | `title`, `content` (required), `document_id` (update by ID), `expected_content_hash` (**required on content updates** — see rule 9), `last_write_wins`, `update_if_exists`, `project_name` (single, non-destructive add on update), `project_names` (list, destructive replace on update), `metadata` (omit on update to keep existing tags; `{}` clears), `author` |
+| `cerefox_ingest` | Save or update a document | `title`, `content` (required), `document_id` (update by ID), `expected_content_hash` (**required on content updates** — see rule 10), `last_write_wins`, `update_if_exists`, `project_name` (single, non-destructive add on update), `project_names` (list, destructive replace on update), `metadata` (omit on update to keep existing tags; `{}` clears), `author` |
 | `cerefox_insert` | **Add** to a document without resending it. Cannot destroy content. | `document_id`, `text`, `position` (`end_of_document`/`end_of_section`/`after_heading`/`before_heading`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `anchor_heading` (unless `end_of_document`), `section_part`, `author` |
 | `cerefox_edit` | **Change** parts of a document: 1..n operations applied atomically | `document_id`, `operations` (`insert`/`replace_section`/`delete_section`/`rename_section`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `author` |
 | `cerefox_delete_document` | **Soft**-delete a document (to trash; excluded from search; permanent purge is human-only) | `document_id`, `expected_content_hash` (**required** — a delete must follow a read), `reason` (recorded in the audit log — give one), `author` |
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ recoverable answer, not a failure: retry with what it gave you.
 4. **Use `document_id` from search results** `[id: uuid]` for get_document and list_versions.
 5. **`max_bytes` has to fit a whole document.** Search returns COMPLETE documents, so a budget smaller than the top hit fits nothing. You get a header-only list saying so (never "No results found." — that means the store really has nothing). Raise `max_bytes`, or read one document with `cerefox_get_document` using `outline: true` or `section`.
 6. **Add metadata** -- at minimum `type` ("decision-log", "research", "design-doc") and `status` ("active", "draft").
-7. **Write structured Markdown** with H1/H2/H3 headings for good chunking and search.
+7. **Write for retrieval: the title does real work.** The document title is indexed at the **highest weight** *and* prepended to every chunk before it is embedded, so it steers both halves of hybrid search (keyword and semantic) for every chunk in the document. Name the document with the distinctive terms someone would actually search for -- "Cerefox Response Size Limits", not "Notes" or "Update 3". Renaming re-indexes and re-embeds, so correcting a vague title is cheap and takes effect immediately. Inside the content, write structured Markdown with H1/H2/H3 headings: the chunker follows them, and a chunk's own heading carries the same weight as the title.
 8. **Deletes are soft (recoverable); permanent purge is web-UI-only.** `cerefox_delete_document` requires the document's `content_hash` as you read it (read before you delete) and takes a `reason` — give one; it is what the human reviewing the trash sees. `cerefox_restore_document` undoes a mistaken delete (also audited, also takes a `reason`). Always surface deletes AND restores to the user. Once a human purges from the web UI, the document is gone for good.
 9. **Cross-doc links inside content**: **always use `[Text](document-uuid)`.** UUIDs are the only fully reliable link form — stable across title changes, never ambiguous, no encoding gotchas. Every `cerefox_search` result shows `[id: <uuid>]` after the title; grab it and use it. Title-based linking (`[Text](<Title With Spaces>)`) is fragile (breaks on colons, parens, ampersands, brackets — silently navigates to wrong page) — **don't write title-based links**; do an extra search to get the UUID instead. Repo-path forms (`[Text](docs/path.md)`) exist for repo-ingested files; don't construct manually. **The server validates `](uuid)` links on every write** (v1.7.0): a link to a nonexistent id rejects the write, naming the offender — that means you mangled the UUID; re-read the source and correct it, do not retry unchanged. Example ids go in backticks (code is not validated). `[[Wikilinks]]` may dangle. See `AGENT_GUIDE.md → Writing linkable content` for the full rule.
 10. **Concurrency: content updates require `expected_content_hash`.** Pass the `content_hash` you last saw — every read shows one (`cerefox_get_document` incl. outline mode, `cerefox_search`, `cerefox_metadata_search`) and **every write returns the new one, including create** (v1.3.0, #189), so after writing you already hold the token for your next edit; no re-read needed. If it's stale you get a **conflict** — re-read the document, merge your changes into the latest content, retry with the new hash. **Never resolve a conflict by overwriting blindly** — the current content includes another writer's work. `last_write_wins: true` skips the check; use it ONLY when an external source of truth makes conflicts meaningless (file re-sync), never to silence a conflict.

package/dist/bin/cerefox.js

@@ -7400,7 +7400,7 @@ Expecting one of '${allowedValues.join("', '")}'`);
 });
 
 // src/meta.ts
-var PKG_VERSION = "1.14.3";
+var PKG_VERSION = "1.14.5";
 var init_meta = () => {};
 
 // ../../_shared/config/paths.ts
@@ -23317,6 +23317,14 @@ function logUsage(supabase, params) {
     p_extra: params.extra ?? {}
   })).catch(() => {});
 }
+function resolveByteBudget(requested, ceiling) {
+  if (requested === null || requested === undefined || requested === "")
+    return ceiling;
+  const n = Math.floor(Number(requested));
+  if (!Number.isFinite(n))
+    return ceiling;
+  return Math.min(Math.max(n, 1), ceiling);
+}
 var MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES = 200000, DEFAULT_MIN_SEARCH_SCORE = 0.5, DEFAULT_MIN_SEARCH_SCORE_LOCAL = 0.6, DEFAULT_SEARCH_ALPHA = 0.7;
 var init__utils = __esm(() => {
   init_audit_ops();
@@ -25759,7 +25767,7 @@ var init_bundled_docs = __esm(() => {
 });
 
 // ../../_shared/ef-meta/index.ts
-var EF_VERSION = "1.14.3", CEREFOX_VERSION = "1.14.3", EF_LAST_CHANGED = "1.14.3";
+var EF_VERSION = "1.14.5", CEREFOX_VERSION = "1.14.5", EF_LAST_CHANGED = "1.14.5";
 var init_ef_meta = () => {};
 
 // ../../_shared/compatibility/index.ts
@@ -55746,12 +55754,12 @@ var init_partial_edits2 = __esm(() => {
 });
 
 // ../../_shared/mcp-tools/get-help-content.ts
-var HELP_FULL = '# Cerefox Knowledge Base -- Agent Quick Reference\n\nCerefox is a persistent, shared knowledge base. You have **15 core MCP tools** (14 with CLI equivalents — `cerefox_get_help` is MCP-only), plus 4 dormant relation tools that appear only when `relations_enabled` is on. For the full guide, search Cerefox for "How AI Agents Use Cerefox" or call `cerefox_get_help` to retrieve this content over MCP.\n\n## Tools\n\n| Tool | Purpose | Key params |\n|------|---------|------------|\n| `cerefox_search` | Find documents (hybrid FTS + semantic) | `query` (required), `project_name`, `metadata_filter`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` | Save or update a document | `title`, `content` (required), `document_id` (update by ID), `expected_content_hash` (**required on content updates** — see rule 9), `last_write_wins`, `update_if_exists`, `project_name` (single, non-destructive add on update), `project_names` (list, destructive replace on update), `metadata` (omit on update to keep existing tags; `{}` clears), `author` |\n| `cerefox_insert` | **Add** to a document without resending it. Cannot destroy content. | `document_id`, `text`, `position` (`end_of_document`/`end_of_section`/`after_heading`/`before_heading`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `anchor_heading` (unless `end_of_document`), `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_edit` | **Change** parts of a document: 1..n operations applied atomically | `document_id`, `operations` (`insert`/`replace_section`/`delete_section`/`rename_section`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_document` | **Soft**-delete a document (to trash; excluded from search; permanent purge is human-only) | `document_id`, `expected_content_hash` (**required** — a delete must follow a read), `reason` (recorded in the audit log — give one), `author` |\n| `cerefox_restore_document` | Restore a soft-deleted document from the trash (audited inverse of delete; no-op if not deleted) | `document_id` (required), `reason` (recorded in the audit log), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_document` | Get full document by ID (header includes `content_hash` — the update token), or with `outline: true` just its heading paths, sizes and hash, or with `section: "## Heading"` one section\'s text | `document_id` (required), `outline`, `section`, `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_list_versions` | Version history of a document | `document_id` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_relation` ⚑ | Link two documents (`source --rel_type--> target`) | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type` (required), `metadata`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_relation` ⚑ | Remove a relation | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_relations` ⚑ | All relations touching a document, both directions | `document_id` |\n| `cerefox_get_neighbors` ⚑ | Walk the graph along ONE relation type | `document_id`, `rel_type` (required), `depth`, `from_time`, `to_time`, `limit` |\n| `cerefox_metadata_search` | Find or list docs by metadata, project, or time (no text query) | `metadata_filter`, `project_name` (list a project\'s docs), `updated_since`, `include_content` — **at least one** of metadata_filter/project_name/updated_since/created_since |\n| `cerefox_list_metadata_keys` | Discover available metadata keys | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_list_projects` | List all projects | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_metadata` | Change tags WITHOUT resending content. **Merges** by default; a `null` value removes a key | `document_id`, `metadata` (required), `replace` (rare: set exactly this object), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_document_projects` | Set doc\'s project memberships to exactly the given list (destructive replace; metadata-only, no content change) | `document_id`, `project_names` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_audit_log` | Query write operation history | `document_id`, `by_author` (filter), `operation`, `since`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_help` | Retrieve Cerefox conventions (this reference) over MCP. **Call this whenever uncertain.** | `topic` (optional, case-insensitive H2 substring match) |\n\n⚑ **Opt-in — usually absent.** The four relation tools are hidden unless the\noperator enables them (`relations_enabled`). **Trust your own tool list**: if\nthey are not in it, the feature is switched off for this deployment. That is\nnormal, not an error, and not something to work around.\n\n## Editing part of a document (prefer this over re-sending)\n\n**Re-sending a whole document to change part of it is the main way agents lose\ndata.** You have to reproduce the untouched remainder verbatim, and any drift\nsilently rewrites content nobody asked you to touch — which the caller cannot\ndiff. Use the partial-edit tools instead:\n\n1. **Learn the anchors** — `cerefox_get_document(document_id, outline: true)`.\n   Returns heading paths, per-section sizes and the `content_hash`, without the\n   body. The paths it returns are exactly what `anchor_heading` accepts.\n2. **Add** → `cerefox_insert`. `end_of_document` is a plain append;\n   `end_of_section` adds inside a named section. It is structurally incapable of\n   removing anything, so "I meant to append" cannot become "I replaced the file".\n3. **Look before you overwrite** — `cerefox_get_document(document_id,\n   section: "## Heading")` returns exactly the text a `replace_section` on that\n   anchor would destroy. The outline gives you a section\'s *size*, never its\n   *text*, so on a document you did not write yourself this is the difference\n   between a replace and a blind overwrite.\n4. **Change or remove** → `cerefox_edit`. Put changes that belong together in\n   ONE call: they apply atomically, so a table row and the total it feeds cannot\n   end up disagreeing. To change a single line, `replace_section` on its\n   smallest enclosing heading — that is the intended granularity, not a\n   workaround. To fix a stale heading (`## OPEN TODOs (as of ...)`), use\n   `rename_section`: it changes the heading text and leaves the body and\n   position alone.\n5. All of them require `expected_content_hash` and **have no last-write-wins**. A\n   conflict means someone else changed the document; re-read and decide, do not\n   force it.\n\n**A section runs to the next same-or-higher heading, or to the end of the\ndocument.** So `end_of_document` inserts land inside the *last* section, and\nreplacing or deleting that section removes them too. A large shrink in the\nresponse is your warning; `cerefox_list_versions` has the previous content.\n\n**When an anchor is ambiguous the tool refuses and hands you the options** — a\nrepeated heading returns the qualifying paths, and a section with both its own\ncontent and sub-sections returns both `section_part` choices. That is a\nrecoverable answer, not a failure: retry with what it gave you.\n\n## Essential Rules\n\n1. **Search before ingesting** -- check if the document exists first.\n2. **Prefer ID-based updates** -- pass `document_id` from search results for deterministic updates. Falls back to title-matching with `update_if_exists: true`.\n3. **Set `author`** to your name on every call, reads and writes alike (e.g., "Claude Code", "archiver"). Same parameter on every tool. (`requestor` is still accepted everywhere as the pre-1.13.1 alias.) On the CLI it is `--author` on every command too (plus `--author-type` on writes); or rely on `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_NAME`/`CEREFOX_AUTHOR_TYPE` env vars set in the user\'s `.env`.\n4. **Use `document_id` from search results** `[id: uuid]` for get_document and list_versions.\n5. **`max_bytes` has to fit a whole document.** Search returns COMPLETE documents, so a budget smaller than the top hit fits nothing. You get a header-only list saying so (never "No results found." — that means the store really has nothing). Raise `max_bytes`, or read one document with `cerefox_get_document` using `outline: true` or `section`.\n6. **Add metadata** -- at minimum `type` ("decision-log", "research", "design-doc") and `status` ("active", "draft").\n7. **Write structured Markdown** with H1/H2/H3 headings for good chunking and search.\n8. **Deletes are soft (recoverable); permanent purge is web-UI-only.** `cerefox_delete_document` requires the document\'s `content_hash` as you read it (read before you delete) and takes a `reason` — give one; it is what the human reviewing the trash sees. `cerefox_restore_document` undoes a mistaken delete (also audited, also takes a `reason`). Always surface deletes AND restores to the user. Once a human purges from the web UI, the document is gone for good.\n9. **Cross-doc links inside content**: **always use `[Text](document-uuid)`.** UUIDs are the only fully reliable link form — stable across title changes, never ambiguous, no encoding gotchas. Every `cerefox_search` result shows `[id: <uuid>]` after the title; grab it and use it. Title-based linking (`[Text](<Title With Spaces>)`) is fragile (breaks on colons, parens, ampersands, brackets — silently navigates to wrong page) — **don\'t write title-based links**; do an extra search to get the UUID instead. Repo-path forms (`[Text](docs/path.md)`) exist for repo-ingested files; don\'t construct manually. **The server validates `](uuid)` links on every write** (v1.7.0): a link to a nonexistent id rejects the write, naming the offender — that means you mangled the UUID; re-read the source and correct it, do not retry unchanged. Example ids go in backticks (code is not validated). `[[Wikilinks]]` may dangle. See `AGENT_GUIDE.md → Writing linkable content` for the full rule.\n10. **Concurrency: content updates require `expected_content_hash`.** Pass the `content_hash` you last saw — every read shows one (`cerefox_get_document` incl. outline mode, `cerefox_search`, `cerefox_metadata_search`) and **every write returns the new one, including create** (v1.3.0, #189), so after writing you already hold the token for your next edit; no re-read needed. If it\'s stale you get a **conflict** — re-read the document, merge your changes into the latest content, retry with the new hash. **Never resolve a conflict by overwriting blindly** — the current content includes another writer\'s work. `last_write_wins: true` skips the check; use it ONLY when an external source of truth makes conflicts meaningless (file re-sync), never to silence a conflict.\n11. **Search: prefer a few distinctive terms; heed `below confidence`.** When nothing clears the relevance threshold, `cerefox_search` returns the closest candidates prefixed with a `below confidence` warning instead of an empty set — that flag means **weak signal, not absent knowledge**: check the candidates\' scores and titles before concluding the KB lacks the content. A truly empty response means nothing even weakly related exists.\n12. **Relations express how documents relate; lifecycle tells you if knowledge is still good.** Use `cerefox_set_relation` when one document supersedes, contradicts, references, or continues another. `supersedes` marks the target **superseded**; `contradicts` marks **both** stale; `related_to`/`duplicates`/`contradicts` are symmetric (both directions written). Any other type string is accepted without special behaviour. When a search result or `cerefox_get_relations` shows a neighbour marked `[superseded]` or `[stale]`, say so rather than presenting it as current.\n13. **Project memberships — non-destructive by default**: on `cerefox_ingest` updates, **`project_name` (singular) is a non-destructive add** (ensures membership, preserves others). Use **`project_names` (list)** when you want to set the doc\'s full project set in one call (destructive replace). For metadata-only project changes without writing content, use **`cerefox_set_document_projects(document_id, project_names)`** — that tool is the destructive-replace contract made explicit. Never call `cerefox_set_document_projects` with a single name when you mean "add" — that would REMOVE the doc from all other projects. When in doubt, use `cerefox_ingest` with singular `project_name`.\n\n## Update Workflow (ID-based -- preferred)\n\n```\nsearch("topic") -> find doc [id: abc123] -> get_document(abc123) -> note its content_hash -> modify ->\ningest(title="Same Title", content="...", document_id="abc123",\n       expected_content_hash="<the hash you read>", author="my-agent")\n```\n\nOn a **conflict** error: get_document again (fresh content + fresh hash) -> merge your changes -> retry with the new hash.\n\n## Update Workflow (title-based -- fallback)\n\n```\nsearch("topic") -> find doc (note its hash) -> modify ->\ningest(title="Same Title", content="...", update_if_exists=true,\n       expected_content_hash="<the hash you read>", author="my-agent")\n```\n\n## Catch-Up Workflow\n\n```\nmetadata_search(metadata_filter={"type": "decision-log"}, updated_since="2026-03-28T00:00:00Z")\n```\n\n## CLI fallback (when MCP is unavailable)\n\nIf `cerefox_search` is not in your tool list, your user has likely installed the Cerefox CLI. The canonical invocation is plain **`cerefox <subcommand>`** (the TypeScript CLI, installed via `npm install -g @cerefox/memory`). It uses a resource-verb shape (`cerefox document get`, `cerefox project list`, …).\n\nSame operations, same conventions. Full reference: [`docs/guides/cli.md`](docs/guides/cli.md). CLI flag names match MCP parameter names exactly (e.g. `metadata_filter` ↔ `--metadata-filter`); common flags also have single-letter short forms (`-f`, `-p`, `-c`, `-m`, `-u`, `-a`). Use the canonical long name (what `--help` shows) or its short form — there are no long-form aliases like `--filter` or `--count`.\n\n| MCP tool | CLI |\n|---|---|\n| `cerefox_search` | `cerefox search "<q>" --author "<your-name>"` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` (paste) | `printf \'...\' \\| cerefox document ingest --paste --title "<t>" --author "<your-name>" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` (update by ID) | `printf \'...\' \\| cerefox document ingest --paste --title "<t>" --document-id "<uuid>" --expected-content-hash "<hash>" --author "<your-name>" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_get_document` | `cerefox document get <id> --version-id <vid> --author "<your-name>"` |\n| `cerefox_list_versions` | `cerefox document version list <id> --author "<your-name>"` |\n| `cerefox_list_projects` | `cerefox project list --author "<your-name>"` |\n| `cerefox_list_metadata_keys` | `cerefox metadata keys` |\n| `cerefox_insert` | `cerefox document insert <id> -t "<text>" -p <position> -a "<anchor-heading>" -e "<hash>" --author "<your-name>" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_edit` | `cerefox document edit-parts <id> --operations \'<json>\' -e "<hash>" --author "<your-name>" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_delete_document` | `cerefox document delete <id> --reason "<why>" --author "<your-name>" --author-type agent --yes` (confirms interactively instead of requiring the hash) |\n| `cerefox_restore_document` | `cerefox document restore <id> --reason "<why>" --author "<your-name>" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_metadata_search` | `cerefox metadata search --metadata-filter \'<json>\' --author "<your-name>"` (list a project: `cerefox document list --project <name>`) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_metadata` | `cerefox document set-metadata <id> --set key=value` (also `--remove key`, `--json \'{...}\'`, `--replace`) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_projects` | `cerefox document set-projects <id> <name...> --author "<your-name>" --author-type agent` (or `--clear` to remove all) |\n| `cerefox_get_audit_log` | `cerefox audit list --author "<your-name>"` (add `--json` for scripted access) |\n| `cerefox_get_help` | `cerefox guides show agent-quick-reference` (or `cerefox guides list` for the full bundled-docs index) |\n\n**Set identity on every call**, exactly as you would on MCP:\n- Writes (`document ingest`, `document ingest-dir`): `--author "<your-name>" --author-type agent`\n- Reads: `--author "<your-name>"` (the same flag; `--requestor` still works as a hidden alias)\n\nOr have your user set `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_NAME` / `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_TYPE` / `CEREFOX_REQUESTOR_NAME` in their `.env` to apply defaults once.\n\n## Timestamps are UTC\n\nEvery timestamp Cerefox returns — `created_at` on audit entries, version\nhistory, document metadata — is **UTC**, and now carries its `Z` marker so it\ncannot be mistaken for local time.\n\n**When you write a date into a document\'s CONTENT, use your own clock, not a\nCerefox timestamp.** These are different things: a timestamp records when the\nserver stored something; a date in a log entry or a heading is authored content\nand belongs to your timezone. An agent working a Pacific afternoon read\n`2026-08-11` from version history, wrote "8/11" into its entries, and put a\nday\'s work in the future — the timestamp was correct, and copying it into\ncontent was not.\n\nCerefox deliberately does not convert to local time on the API or MCP paths.\n"Local" has no server-side meaning: the remote MCP server runs in a cloud\nfunction whose local time *is* UTC, while a local MCP server runs in yours, so\nthe same document would report two different times depending on transport. The\nweb UI converts because a browser knows the viewer\'s timezone; nothing\nserver-side does.\n\n## Mistakes that have actually happened\n\nEach of these comes from a real agent session, and each is easy to make.\n\n- **`cerefox_ingest` always replaces the ENTIRE document.** Never a section.\n  Before sending, check that the tool name matches the intent: if the intent is\n  "change one section", the call is `cerefox_edit` with `replace_section`. A\n  section-sized edit sent as a full ingest truncated a 13,000-character index to\n  a single word. It was recovered from version history within the minute, but\n  only because it was noticed immediately.\n\n- **Do not include the anchor\'s own heading in your text.** `replace_section`\n  keeps the heading and `insert` places your text inside the section, so\n  including it produces two. This is now refused rather than silently applied,\n  but the shape is worth knowing: it happened twice in one session, the second\n  time while trying to repair the first. A *deeper* sub-heading inside your text\n  is fine.\n\n- **Content between sections belongs to the section ABOVE it.** A section runs\n  to the next heading of the same or higher level, so a `---` rule, a note, or\n  any trailing text sitting just above the next heading is part of the section\n  before it — even when it visually reads as belonging below. Replacing that\n  section takes it too. An agent hit exactly this: a `---` that separated two\n  major sections disappeared when the section above it was replaced. The write\n  was correct by the addressing rules; the surprise is that "the end of this\n  section" is further down the page than it looks. Note the loss warning will\n  not catch it if your replacement text is longer than what it replaced, since\n  there is then no net loss to report.\n\n- **To change only tags, use `cerefox_set_document_metadata`, never `cerefox_ingest`.**\n  Ingest replaces the whole document, so re-sending it to set one tag carries the\n  full transcription risk for no reason. The metadata tool merges: the keys you\n  pass are set, everything else is left alone, so you do not need to read the\n  document first and cannot drop a tag another agent set. Pass `null` as a value\n  to remove a key.\n\n- **Never partial-edit to fix a partial edit.** If a write leaves unexpected\n  structure, stop. Use `cerefox_list_versions`, retrieve the last good version,\n  and re-ingest cleanly. Repairing edits with more edits compounds the damage.\n\n- **A rejected batch is safe.** Operations in one `cerefox_edit` are\n  all-or-nothing: if any is invalid, nothing is written. A refusal costs you a\n  retry, not data — so prefer one call for changes that belong together, and do\n  not split a batch to "make it more likely to succeed".\n\n- **Read before replacing.** `cerefox_get_document(section: "## Heading")`\n  returns exactly what a `replace_section` on that anchor would overwrite. Use it\n  for any section you did not write in this session. The outline gives a\n  section\'s *size*, never its *text*.\n\n- **Verify after writing** — read the result back before reporting success, and\n  report what the read actually shows.\n\n- **Partial edits cannot change a document\'s stored TITLE.** `rename_section`\n  changes a heading inside the content; the title is a separate field and still\n  needs `cerefox_ingest`.\n\n- **If a capability seems missing from one server, suspect your client first.**\n  Local and remote run the same code. **Every `cerefox_get_help()` response\n  begins with the server\'s version and the operations it registers** — you do\n  not need a special topic, and the *absence* of that block is itself an answer:\n  a server that does not print it predates v1.5.0. If that\n  disagrees with your tool list, the client is holding a list it fetched before\n  an upgrade — clients cache it at connect time. Ask the user to restart the\n  client. Do not record a capability difference between servers as a fact; every\n  such report so far has been a stale client.\n- Long inline bodies can arrive with literal `\\n`/`\\"` (the author over-escaped; Cerefox stores bytes faithfully). For long or quote-dense content, ingest from a file or build incrementally with `cerefox_insert`; read back multi-line writes.\n', HELP_SECTIONS, HELP_SECTION_HEADINGS;
+var HELP_FULL = '# Cerefox Knowledge Base -- Agent Quick Reference\n\nCerefox is a persistent, shared knowledge base. You have **15 core MCP tools** (14 with CLI equivalents — `cerefox_get_help` is MCP-only), plus 4 dormant relation tools that appear only when `relations_enabled` is on. For the full guide, search Cerefox for "How AI Agents Use Cerefox" or call `cerefox_get_help` to retrieve this content over MCP.\n\n## Tools\n\n| Tool | Purpose | Key params |\n|------|---------|------------|\n| `cerefox_search` | Find documents (hybrid FTS + semantic) | `query` (required), `project_name`, `metadata_filter`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` | Save or update a document | `title`, `content` (required), `document_id` (update by ID), `expected_content_hash` (**required on content updates** — see rule 10), `last_write_wins`, `update_if_exists`, `project_name` (single, non-destructive add on update), `project_names` (list, destructive replace on update), `metadata` (omit on update to keep existing tags; `{}` clears), `author` |\n| `cerefox_insert` | **Add** to a document without resending it. Cannot destroy content. | `document_id`, `text`, `position` (`end_of_document`/`end_of_section`/`after_heading`/`before_heading`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `anchor_heading` (unless `end_of_document`), `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_edit` | **Change** parts of a document: 1..n operations applied atomically | `document_id`, `operations` (`insert`/`replace_section`/`delete_section`/`rename_section`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_document` | **Soft**-delete a document (to trash; excluded from search; permanent purge is human-only) | `document_id`, `expected_content_hash` (**required** — a delete must follow a read), `reason` (recorded in the audit log — give one), `author` |\n| `cerefox_restore_document` | Restore a soft-deleted document from the trash (audited inverse of delete; no-op if not deleted) | `document_id` (required), `reason` (recorded in the audit log), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_document` | Get full document by ID (header includes `content_hash` — the update token), or with `outline: true` just its heading paths, sizes and hash, or with `section: "## Heading"` one section\'s text | `document_id` (required), `outline`, `section`, `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_list_versions` | Version history of a document | `document_id` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_relation` ⚑ | Link two documents (`source --rel_type--> target`) | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type` (required), `metadata`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_relation` ⚑ | Remove a relation | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_relations` ⚑ | All relations touching a document, both directions | `document_id` |\n| `cerefox_get_neighbors` ⚑ | Walk the graph along ONE relation type | `document_id`, `rel_type` (required), `depth`, `from_time`, `to_time`, `limit` |\n| `cerefox_metadata_search` | Find or list docs by metadata, project, or time (no text query) | `metadata_filter`, `project_name` (list a project\'s docs), `updated_since`, `include_content` — **at least one** of metadata_filter/project_name/updated_since/created_since |\n| `cerefox_list_metadata_keys` | Discover available metadata keys | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_list_projects` | List all projects | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_metadata` | Change tags WITHOUT resending content. **Merges** by default; a `null` value removes a key | `document_id`, `metadata` (required), `replace` (rare: set exactly this object), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_document_projects` | Set doc\'s project memberships to exactly the given list (destructive replace; metadata-only, no content change) | `document_id`, `project_names` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_audit_log` | Query write operation history | `document_id`, `by_author` (filter), `operation`, `since`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_help` | Retrieve Cerefox conventions (this reference) over MCP. **Call this whenever uncertain.** | `topic` (optional, case-insensitive H2 substring match) |\n\n⚑ **Opt-in — usually absent.** The four relation tools are hidden unless the\noperator enables them (`relations_enabled`). **Trust your own tool list**: if\nthey are not in it, the feature is switched off for this deployment. That is\nnormal, not an error, and not something to work around.\n\n## Editing part of a document (prefer this over re-sending)\n\n**Re-sending a whole document to change part of it is the main way agents lose\ndata.** You have to reproduce the untouched remainder verbatim, and any drift\nsilently rewrites content nobody asked you to touch — which the caller cannot\ndiff. Use the partial-edit tools instead:\n\n1. **Learn the anchors** — `cerefox_get_document(document_id, outline: true)`.\n   Returns heading paths, per-section sizes and the `content_hash`, without the\n   body. The paths it returns are exactly what `anchor_heading` accepts.\n2. **Add** → `cerefox_insert`. `end_of_document` is a plain append;\n   `end_of_section` adds inside a named section. It is structurally incapable of\n   removing anything, so "I meant to append" cannot become "I replaced the file".\n3. **Look before you overwrite** — `cerefox_get_document(document_id,\n   section: "## Heading")` returns exactly the text a `replace_section` on that\n   anchor would destroy. The outline gives you a section\'s *size*, never its\n   *text*, so on a document you did not write yourself this is the difference\n   between a replace and a blind overwrite.\n4. **Change or remove** → `cerefox_edit`. Put changes that belong together in\n   ONE call: they apply atomically, so a table row and the total it feeds cannot\n   end up disagreeing. To change a single line, `replace_section` on its\n   smallest enclosing heading — that is the intended granularity, not a\n   workaround. To fix a stale heading (`## OPEN TODOs (as of ...)`), use\n   `rename_section`: it changes the heading text and leaves the body and\n   position alone.\n5. All of them require `expected_content_hash` and **have no last-write-wins**. A\n   conflict means someone else changed the document; re-read and decide, do not\n   force it.\n\n**A section runs to the next same-or-higher heading, or to the end of the\ndocument.** So `end_of_document` inserts land inside the *last* section, and\nreplacing or deleting that section removes them too. A large shrink in the\nresponse is your warning; `cerefox_list_versions` has the previous content.\n\n**When an anchor is ambiguous the tool refuses and hands you the options** — a\nrepeated heading returns the qualifying paths, and a section with both its own\ncontent and sub-sections returns both `section_part` choices. That is a\nrecoverable answer, not a failure: retry with what it gave you.\n\n## Essential Rules\n\n1. **Search before ingesting** -- check if the document exists first.\n2. **Prefer ID-based updates** -- pass `document_id` from search results for deterministic updates. Falls back to title-matching with `update_if_exists: true`.\n3. **Set `author`** to your name on every call, reads and writes alike (e.g., "Claude Code", "archiver"). Same parameter on every tool. (`requestor` is still accepted everywhere as the pre-1.13.1 alias.) On the CLI it is `--author` on every command too (plus `--author-type` on writes); or rely on `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_NAME`/`CEREFOX_AUTHOR_TYPE` env vars set in the user\'s `.env`.\n4. **Use `document_id` from search results** `[id: uuid]` for get_document and list_versions.\n5. **`max_bytes` has to fit a whole document.** Search returns COMPLETE documents, so a budget smaller than the top hit fits nothing. You get a header-only list saying so (never "No results found." — that means the store really has nothing). Raise `max_bytes`, or read one document with `cerefox_get_document` using `outline: true` or `section`.\n6. **Add metadata** -- at minimum `type` ("decision-log", "research", "design-doc") and `status` ("active", "draft").\n7. **Write for retrieval: the title does real work.** The document title is indexed at the **highest weight** *and* prepended to every chunk before it is embedded, so it steers both halves of hybrid search (keyword and semantic) for every chunk in the document. Name the document with the distinctive terms someone would actually search for -- "Cerefox Response Size Limits", not "Notes" or "Update 3". Renaming re-indexes and re-embeds, so correcting a vague title is cheap and takes effect immediately. Inside the content, write structured Markdown with H1/H2/H3 headings: the chunker follows them, and a chunk\'s own heading carries the same weight as the title.\n8. **Deletes are soft (recoverable); permanent purge is web-UI-only.** `cerefox_delete_document` requires the document\'s `content_hash` as you read it (read before you delete) and takes a `reason` — give one; it is what the human reviewing the trash sees. `cerefox_restore_document` undoes a mistaken delete (also audited, also takes a `reason`). Always surface deletes AND restores to the user. Once a human purges from the web UI, the document is gone for good.\n9. **Cross-doc links inside content**: **always use `[Text](document-uuid)`.** UUIDs are the only fully reliable link form — stable across title changes, never ambiguous, no encoding gotchas. Every `cerefox_search` result shows `[id: <uuid>]` after the title; grab it and use it. Title-based linking (`[Text](<Title With Spaces>)`) is fragile (breaks on colons, parens, ampersands, brackets — silently navigates to wrong page) — **don\'t write title-based links**; do an extra search to get the UUID instead. Repo-path forms (`[Text](docs/path.md)`) exist for repo-ingested files; don\'t construct manually. **The server validates `](uuid)` links on every write** (v1.7.0): a link to a nonexistent id rejects the write, naming the offender — that means you mangled the UUID; re-read the source and correct it, do not retry unchanged. Example ids go in backticks (code is not validated). `[[Wikilinks]]` may dangle. See `AGENT_GUIDE.md → Writing linkable content` for the full rule.\n10. **Concurrency: content updates require `expected_content_hash`.** Pass the `content_hash` you last saw — every read shows one (`cerefox_get_document` incl. outline mode, `cerefox_search`, `cerefox_metadata_search`) and **every write returns the new one, including create** (v1.3.0, #189), so after writing you already hold the token for your next edit; no re-read needed. If it\'s stale you get a **conflict** — re-read the document, merge your changes into the latest content, retry with the new hash. **Never resolve a conflict by overwriting blindly** — the current content includes another writer\'s work. `last_write_wins: true` skips the check; use it ONLY when an external source of truth makes conflicts meaningless (file re-sync), never to silence a conflict.\n11. **Search: prefer a few distinctive terms; heed `below confidence`.** When nothing clears the relevance threshold, `cerefox_search` returns the closest candidates prefixed with a `below confidence` warning instead of an empty set — that flag means **weak signal, not absent knowledge**: check the candidates\' scores and titles before concluding the KB lacks the content. A truly empty response means nothing even weakly related exists.\n12. **Relations express how documents relate; lifecycle tells you if knowledge is still good.** Use `cerefox_set_relation` when one document supersedes, contradicts, references, or continues another. `supersedes` marks the target **superseded**; `contradicts` marks **both** stale; `related_to`/`duplicates`/`contradicts` are symmetric (both directions written). Any other type string is accepted without special behaviour. When a search result or `cerefox_get_relations` shows a neighbour marked `[superseded]` or `[stale]`, say so rather than presenting it as current.\n13. **Project memberships — non-destructive by default**: on `cerefox_ingest` updates, **`project_name` (singular) is a non-destructive add** (ensures membership, preserves others). Use **`project_names` (list)** when you want to set the doc\'s full project set in one call (destructive replace). For metadata-only project changes without writing content, use **`cerefox_set_document_projects(document_id, project_names)`** — that tool is the destructive-replace contract made explicit. Never call `cerefox_set_document_projects` with a single name when you mean "add" — that would REMOVE the doc from all other projects. When in doubt, use `cerefox_ingest` with singular `project_name`.\n\n## Update Workflow (ID-based -- preferred)\n\n```\nsearch("topic") -> find doc [id: abc123] -> get_document(abc123) -> note its content_hash -> modify ->\ningest(title="Same Title", content="...", document_id="abc123",\n       expected_content_hash="<the hash you read>", author="my-agent")\n```\n\nOn a **conflict** error: get_document again (fresh content + fresh hash) -> merge your changes -> retry with the new hash.\n\n## Update Workflow (title-based -- fallback)\n\n```\nsearch("topic") -> find doc (note its hash) -> modify ->\ningest(title="Same Title", content="...", update_if_exists=true,\n       expected_content_hash="<the hash you read>", author="my-agent")\n```\n\n## Catch-Up Workflow\n\n```\nmetadata_search(metadata_filter={"type": "decision-log"}, updated_since="2026-03-28T00:00:00Z")\n```\n\n## CLI fallback (when MCP is unavailable)\n\nIf `cerefox_search` is not in your tool list, your user has likely installed the Cerefox CLI. The canonical invocation is plain **`cerefox <subcommand>`** (the TypeScript CLI, installed via `npm install -g @cerefox/memory`). It uses a resource-verb shape (`cerefox document get`, `cerefox project list`, …).\n\nSame operations, same conventions. Full reference: [`docs/guides/cli.md`](docs/guides/cli.md). CLI flag names match MCP parameter names exactly (e.g. `metadata_filter` ↔ `--metadata-filter`); common flags also have single-letter short forms (`-f`, `-p`, `-c`, `-m`, `-u`, `-a`). Use the canonical long name (what `--help` shows) or its short form — there are no long-form aliases like `--filter` or `--count`.\n\n| MCP tool | CLI |\n|---|---|\n| `cerefox_search` | `cerefox search "<q>" --author "<your-name>"` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` (paste) | `printf \'...\' \\| cerefox document ingest --paste --title "<t>" --author "<your-name>" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` (update by ID) | `printf \'...\' \\| cerefox document ingest --paste --title "<t>" --document-id "<uuid>" --expected-content-hash "<hash>" --author "<your-name>" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_get_document` | `cerefox document get <id> --version-id <vid> --author "<your-name>"` |\n| `cerefox_list_versions` | `cerefox document version list <id> --author "<your-name>"` |\n| `cerefox_list_projects` | `cerefox project list --author "<your-name>"` |\n| `cerefox_list_metadata_keys` | `cerefox metadata keys` |\n| `cerefox_insert` | `cerefox document insert <id> -t "<text>" -p <position> -a "<anchor-heading>" -e "<hash>" --author "<your-name>" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_edit` | `cerefox document edit-parts <id> --operations \'<json>\' -e "<hash>" --author "<your-name>" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_delete_document` | `cerefox document delete <id> --reason "<why>" --author "<your-name>" --author-type agent --yes` (confirms interactively instead of requiring the hash) |\n| `cerefox_restore_document` | `cerefox document restore <id> --reason "<why>" --author "<your-name>" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_metadata_search` | `cerefox metadata search --metadata-filter \'<json>\' --author "<your-name>"` (list a project: `cerefox document list --project <name>`) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_metadata` | `cerefox document set-metadata <id> --set key=value` (also `--remove key`, `--json \'{...}\'`, `--replace`) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_projects` | `cerefox document set-projects <id> <name...> --author "<your-name>" --author-type agent` (or `--clear` to remove all) |\n| `cerefox_get_audit_log` | `cerefox audit list --author "<your-name>"` (add `--json` for scripted access) |\n| `cerefox_get_help` | `cerefox guides show agent-quick-reference` (or `cerefox guides list` for the full bundled-docs index) |\n\n**Set identity on every call**, exactly as you would on MCP:\n- Writes (`document ingest`, `document ingest-dir`): `--author "<your-name>" --author-type agent`\n- Reads: `--author "<your-name>"` (the same flag; `--requestor` still works as a hidden alias)\n\nOr have your user set `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_NAME` / `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_TYPE` / `CEREFOX_REQUESTOR_NAME` in their `.env` to apply defaults once.\n\n## Timestamps are UTC\n\nEvery timestamp Cerefox returns — `created_at` on audit entries, version\nhistory, document metadata — is **UTC**, and now carries its `Z` marker so it\ncannot be mistaken for local time.\n\n**When you write a date into a document\'s CONTENT, use your own clock, not a\nCerefox timestamp.** These are different things: a timestamp records when the\nserver stored something; a date in a log entry or a heading is authored content\nand belongs to your timezone. An agent working a Pacific afternoon read\n`2026-08-11` from version history, wrote "8/11" into its entries, and put a\nday\'s work in the future — the timestamp was correct, and copying it into\ncontent was not.\n\nCerefox deliberately does not convert to local time on the API or MCP paths.\n"Local" has no server-side meaning: the remote MCP server runs in a cloud\nfunction whose local time *is* UTC, while a local MCP server runs in yours, so\nthe same document would report two different times depending on transport. The\nweb UI converts because a browser knows the viewer\'s timezone; nothing\nserver-side does.\n\n## Mistakes that have actually happened\n\nEach of these comes from a real agent session, and each is easy to make.\n\n- **`cerefox_ingest` always replaces the ENTIRE document.** Never a section.\n  Before sending, check that the tool name matches the intent: if the intent is\n  "change one section", the call is `cerefox_edit` with `replace_section`. A\n  section-sized edit sent as a full ingest truncated a 13,000-character index to\n  a single word. It was recovered from version history within the minute, but\n  only because it was noticed immediately.\n\n- **Do not include the anchor\'s own heading in your text.** `replace_section`\n  keeps the heading and `insert` places your text inside the section, so\n  including it produces two. This is now refused rather than silently applied,\n  but the shape is worth knowing: it happened twice in one session, the second\n  time while trying to repair the first. A *deeper* sub-heading inside your text\n  is fine.\n\n- **Content between sections belongs to the section ABOVE it.** A section runs\n  to the next heading of the same or higher level, so a `---` rule, a note, or\n  any trailing text sitting just above the next heading is part of the section\n  before it — even when it visually reads as belonging below. Replacing that\n  section takes it too. An agent hit exactly this: a `---` that separated two\n  major sections disappeared when the section above it was replaced. The write\n  was correct by the addressing rules; the surprise is that "the end of this\n  section" is further down the page than it looks. Note the loss warning will\n  not catch it if your replacement text is longer than what it replaced, since\n  there is then no net loss to report.\n\n- **To change only tags, use `cerefox_set_document_metadata`, never `cerefox_ingest`.**\n  Ingest replaces the whole document, so re-sending it to set one tag carries the\n  full transcription risk for no reason. The metadata tool merges: the keys you\n  pass are set, everything else is left alone, so you do not need to read the\n  document first and cannot drop a tag another agent set. Pass `null` as a value\n  to remove a key.\n\n- **Never partial-edit to fix a partial edit.** If a write leaves unexpected\n  structure, stop. Use `cerefox_list_versions`, retrieve the last good version,\n  and re-ingest cleanly. Repairing edits with more edits compounds the damage.\n\n- **A rejected batch is safe.** Operations in one `cerefox_edit` are\n  all-or-nothing: if any is invalid, nothing is written. A refusal costs you a\n  retry, not data — so prefer one call for changes that belong together, and do\n  not split a batch to "make it more likely to succeed".\n\n- **Read before replacing.** `cerefox_get_document(section: "## Heading")`\n  returns exactly what a `replace_section` on that anchor would overwrite. Use it\n  for any section you did not write in this session. The outline gives a\n  section\'s *size*, never its *text*.\n\n- **Verify after writing** — read the result back before reporting success, and\n  report what the read actually shows.\n\n- **Partial edits cannot change a document\'s stored TITLE.** `rename_section`\n  changes a heading inside the content; the title is a separate field and still\n  needs `cerefox_ingest`.\n\n- **If a capability seems missing from one server, suspect your client first.**\n  Local and remote run the same code. **Every `cerefox_get_help()` response\n  begins with the server\'s version and the operations it registers** — you do\n  not need a special topic, and the *absence* of that block is itself an answer:\n  a server that does not print it predates v1.5.0. If that\n  disagrees with your tool list, the client is holding a list it fetched before\n  an upgrade — clients cache it at connect time. Ask the user to restart the\n  client. Do not record a capability difference between servers as a fact; every\n  such report so far has been a stale client.\n- Long inline bodies can arrive with literal `\\n`/`\\"` (the author over-escaped; Cerefox stores bytes faithfully). For long or quote-dense content, ingest from a file or build incrementally with `cerefox_insert`; read back multi-line writes.\n', HELP_SECTIONS, HELP_SECTION_HEADINGS;
 var init_get_help_content = __esm(() => {
   HELP_SECTIONS = {
-    Tools: "## Tools\n\n| Tool | Purpose | Key params |\n|------|---------|------------|\n| `cerefox_search` | Find documents (hybrid FTS + semantic) | `query` (required), `project_name`, `metadata_filter`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` | Save or update a document | `title`, `content` (required), `document_id` (update by ID), `expected_content_hash` (**required on content updates** — see rule 9), `last_write_wins`, `update_if_exists`, `project_name` (single, non-destructive add on update), `project_names` (list, destructive replace on update), `metadata` (omit on update to keep existing tags; `{}` clears), `author` |\n| `cerefox_insert` | **Add** to a document without resending it. Cannot destroy content. | `document_id`, `text`, `position` (`end_of_document`/`end_of_section`/`after_heading`/`before_heading`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `anchor_heading` (unless `end_of_document`), `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_edit` | **Change** parts of a document: 1..n operations applied atomically | `document_id`, `operations` (`insert`/`replace_section`/`delete_section`/`rename_section`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_document` | **Soft**-delete a document (to trash; excluded from search; permanent purge is human-only) | `document_id`, `expected_content_hash` (**required** — a delete must follow a read), `reason` (recorded in the audit log — give one), `author` |\n| `cerefox_restore_document` | Restore a soft-deleted document from the trash (audited inverse of delete; no-op if not deleted) | `document_id` (required), `reason` (recorded in the audit log), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_document` | Get full document by ID (header includes `content_hash` — the update token), or with `outline: true` just its heading paths, sizes and hash, or with `section: \"## Heading\"` one section's text | `document_id` (required), `outline`, `section`, `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_list_versions` | Version history of a document | `document_id` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_relation` ⚑ | Link two documents (`source --rel_type--> target`) | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type` (required), `metadata`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_relation` ⚑ | Remove a relation | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_relations` ⚑ | All relations touching a document, both directions | `document_id` |\n| `cerefox_get_neighbors` ⚑ | Walk the graph along ONE relation type | `document_id`, `rel_type` (required), `depth`, `from_time`, `to_time`, `limit` |\n| `cerefox_metadata_search` | Find or list docs by metadata, project, or time (no text query) | `metadata_filter`, `project_name` (list a project's docs), `updated_since`, `include_content` — **at least one** of metadata_filter/project_name/updated_since/created_since |\n| `cerefox_list_metadata_keys` | Discover available metadata keys | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_list_projects` | List all projects | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_metadata` | Change tags WITHOUT resending content. **Merges** by default; a `null` value removes a key | `document_id`, `metadata` (required), `replace` (rare: set exactly this object), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_document_projects` | Set doc's project memberships to exactly the given list (destructive replace; metadata-only, no content change) | `document_id`, `project_names` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_audit_log` | Query write operation history | `document_id`, `by_author` (filter), `operation`, `since`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_help` | Retrieve Cerefox conventions (this reference) over MCP. **Call this whenever uncertain.** | `topic` (optional, case-insensitive H2 substring match) |\n\n⚑ **Opt-in — usually absent.** The four relation tools are hidden unless the\noperator enables them (`relations_enabled`). **Trust your own tool list**: if\nthey are not in it, the feature is switched off for this deployment. That is\nnormal, not an error, and not something to work around.",
+    Tools: "## Tools\n\n| Tool | Purpose | Key params |\n|------|---------|------------|\n| `cerefox_search` | Find documents (hybrid FTS + semantic) | `query` (required), `project_name`, `metadata_filter`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` | Save or update a document | `title`, `content` (required), `document_id` (update by ID), `expected_content_hash` (**required on content updates** — see rule 10), `last_write_wins`, `update_if_exists`, `project_name` (single, non-destructive add on update), `project_names` (list, destructive replace on update), `metadata` (omit on update to keep existing tags; `{}` clears), `author` |\n| `cerefox_insert` | **Add** to a document without resending it. Cannot destroy content. | `document_id`, `text`, `position` (`end_of_document`/`end_of_section`/`after_heading`/`before_heading`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `anchor_heading` (unless `end_of_document`), `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_edit` | **Change** parts of a document: 1..n operations applied atomically | `document_id`, `operations` (`insert`/`replace_section`/`delete_section`/`rename_section`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_document` | **Soft**-delete a document (to trash; excluded from search; permanent purge is human-only) | `document_id`, `expected_content_hash` (**required** — a delete must follow a read), `reason` (recorded in the audit log — give one), `author` |\n| `cerefox_restore_document` | Restore a soft-deleted document from the trash (audited inverse of delete; no-op if not deleted) | `document_id` (required), `reason` (recorded in the audit log), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_document` | Get full document by ID (header includes `content_hash` — the update token), or with `outline: true` just its heading paths, sizes and hash, or with `section: \"## Heading\"` one section's text | `document_id` (required), `outline`, `section`, `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_list_versions` | Version history of a document | `document_id` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_relation` ⚑ | Link two documents (`source --rel_type--> target`) | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type` (required), `metadata`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_relation` ⚑ | Remove a relation | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_relations` ⚑ | All relations touching a document, both directions | `document_id` |\n| `cerefox_get_neighbors` ⚑ | Walk the graph along ONE relation type | `document_id`, `rel_type` (required), `depth`, `from_time`, `to_time`, `limit` |\n| `cerefox_metadata_search` | Find or list docs by metadata, project, or time (no text query) | `metadata_filter`, `project_name` (list a project's docs), `updated_since`, `include_content` — **at least one** of metadata_filter/project_name/updated_since/created_since |\n| `cerefox_list_metadata_keys` | Discover available metadata keys | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_list_projects` | List all projects | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_metadata` | Change tags WITHOUT resending content. **Merges** by default; a `null` value removes a key | `document_id`, `metadata` (required), `replace` (rare: set exactly this object), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_document_projects` | Set doc's project memberships to exactly the given list (destructive replace; metadata-only, no content change) | `document_id`, `project_names` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_audit_log` | Query write operation history | `document_id`, `by_author` (filter), `operation`, `since`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_help` | Retrieve Cerefox conventions (this reference) over MCP. **Call this whenever uncertain.** | `topic` (optional, case-insensitive H2 substring match) |\n\n⚑ **Opt-in — usually absent.** The four relation tools are hidden unless the\noperator enables them (`relations_enabled`). **Trust your own tool list**: if\nthey are not in it, the feature is switched off for this deployment. That is\nnormal, not an error, and not something to work around.",
     "Editing part of a document (prefer this over re-sending)": '## Editing part of a document (prefer this over re-sending)\n\n**Re-sending a whole document to change part of it is the main way agents lose\ndata.** You have to reproduce the untouched remainder verbatim, and any drift\nsilently rewrites content nobody asked you to touch — which the caller cannot\ndiff. Use the partial-edit tools instead:\n\n1. **Learn the anchors** — `cerefox_get_document(document_id, outline: true)`.\n   Returns heading paths, per-section sizes and the `content_hash`, without the\n   body. The paths it returns are exactly what `anchor_heading` accepts.\n2. **Add** → `cerefox_insert`. `end_of_document` is a plain append;\n   `end_of_section` adds inside a named section. It is structurally incapable of\n   removing anything, so "I meant to append" cannot become "I replaced the file".\n3. **Look before you overwrite** — `cerefox_get_document(document_id,\n   section: "## Heading")` returns exactly the text a `replace_section` on that\n   anchor would destroy. The outline gives you a section\'s *size*, never its\n   *text*, so on a document you did not write yourself this is the difference\n   between a replace and a blind overwrite.\n4. **Change or remove** → `cerefox_edit`. Put changes that belong together in\n   ONE call: they apply atomically, so a table row and the total it feeds cannot\n   end up disagreeing. To change a single line, `replace_section` on its\n   smallest enclosing heading — that is the intended granularity, not a\n   workaround. To fix a stale heading (`## OPEN TODOs (as of ...)`), use\n   `rename_section`: it changes the heading text and leaves the body and\n   position alone.\n5. All of them require `expected_content_hash` and **have no last-write-wins**. A\n   conflict means someone else changed the document; re-read and decide, do not\n   force it.\n\n**A section runs to the next same-or-higher heading, or to the end of the\ndocument.** So `end_of_document` inserts land inside the *last* section, and\nreplacing or deleting that section removes them too. A large shrink in the\nresponse is your warning; `cerefox_list_versions` has the previous content.\n\n**When an anchor is ambiguous the tool refuses and hands you the options** — a\nrepeated heading returns the qualifying paths, and a section with both its own\ncontent and sub-sections returns both `section_part` choices. That is a\nrecoverable answer, not a failure: retry with what it gave you.',
-    "Essential Rules": '## Essential Rules\n\n1. **Search before ingesting** -- check if the document exists first.\n2. **Prefer ID-based updates** -- pass `document_id` from search results for deterministic updates. Falls back to title-matching with `update_if_exists: true`.\n3. **Set `author`** to your name on every call, reads and writes alike (e.g., "Claude Code", "archiver"). Same parameter on every tool. (`requestor` is still accepted everywhere as the pre-1.13.1 alias.) On the CLI it is `--author` on every command too (plus `--author-type` on writes); or rely on `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_NAME`/`CEREFOX_AUTHOR_TYPE` env vars set in the user\'s `.env`.\n4. **Use `document_id` from search results** `[id: uuid]` for get_document and list_versions.\n5. **`max_bytes` has to fit a whole document.** Search returns COMPLETE documents, so a budget smaller than the top hit fits nothing. You get a header-only list saying so (never "No results found." — that means the store really has nothing). Raise `max_bytes`, or read one document with `cerefox_get_document` using `outline: true` or `section`.\n6. **Add metadata** -- at minimum `type` ("decision-log", "research", "design-doc") and `status` ("active", "draft").\n7. **Write structured Markdown** with H1/H2/H3 headings for good chunking and search.\n8. **Deletes are soft (recoverable); permanent purge is web-UI-only.** `cerefox_delete_document` requires the document\'s `content_hash` as you read it (read before you delete) and takes a `reason` — give one; it is what the human reviewing the trash sees. `cerefox_restore_document` undoes a mistaken delete (also audited, also takes a `reason`). Always surface deletes AND restores to the user. Once a human purges from the web UI, the document is gone for good.\n9. **Cross-doc links inside content**: **always use `[Text](document-uuid)`.** UUIDs are the only fully reliable link form — stable across title changes, never ambiguous, no encoding gotchas. Every `cerefox_search` result shows `[id: <uuid>]` after the title; grab it and use it. Title-based linking (`[Text](<Title With Spaces>)`) is fragile (breaks on colons, parens, ampersands, brackets — silently navigates to wrong page) — **don\'t write title-based links**; do an extra search to get the UUID instead. Repo-path forms (`[Text](docs/path.md)`) exist for repo-ingested files; don\'t construct manually. **The server validates `](uuid)` links on every write** (v1.7.0): a link to a nonexistent id rejects the write, naming the offender — that means you mangled the UUID; re-read the source and correct it, do not retry unchanged. Example ids go in backticks (code is not validated). `[[Wikilinks]]` may dangle. See `AGENT_GUIDE.md → Writing linkable content` for the full rule.\n10. **Concurrency: content updates require `expected_content_hash`.** Pass the `content_hash` you last saw — every read shows one (`cerefox_get_document` incl. outline mode, `cerefox_search`, `cerefox_metadata_search`) and **every write returns the new one, including create** (v1.3.0, #189), so after writing you already hold the token for your next edit; no re-read needed. If it\'s stale you get a **conflict** — re-read the document, merge your changes into the latest content, retry with the new hash. **Never resolve a conflict by overwriting blindly** — the current content includes another writer\'s work. `last_write_wins: true` skips the check; use it ONLY when an external source of truth makes conflicts meaningless (file re-sync), never to silence a conflict.\n11. **Search: prefer a few distinctive terms; heed `below confidence`.** When nothing clears the relevance threshold, `cerefox_search` returns the closest candidates prefixed with a `below confidence` warning instead of an empty set — that flag means **weak signal, not absent knowledge**: check the candidates\' scores and titles before concluding the KB lacks the content. A truly empty response means nothing even weakly related exists.\n12. **Relations express how documents relate; lifecycle tells you if knowledge is still good.** Use `cerefox_set_relation` when one document supersedes, contradicts, references, or continues another. `supersedes` marks the target **superseded**; `contradicts` marks **both** stale; `related_to`/`duplicates`/`contradicts` are symmetric (both directions written). Any other type string is accepted without special behaviour. When a search result or `cerefox_get_relations` shows a neighbour marked `[superseded]` or `[stale]`, say so rather than presenting it as current.\n13. **Project memberships — non-destructive by default**: on `cerefox_ingest` updates, **`project_name` (singular) is a non-destructive add** (ensures membership, preserves others). Use **`project_names` (list)** when you want to set the doc\'s full project set in one call (destructive replace). For metadata-only project changes without writing content, use **`cerefox_set_document_projects(document_id, project_names)`** — that tool is the destructive-replace contract made explicit. Never call `cerefox_set_document_projects` with a single name when you mean "add" — that would REMOVE the doc from all other projects. When in doubt, use `cerefox_ingest` with singular `project_name`.',
+    "Essential Rules": '## Essential Rules\n\n1. **Search before ingesting** -- check if the document exists first.\n2. **Prefer ID-based updates** -- pass `document_id` from search results for deterministic updates. Falls back to title-matching with `update_if_exists: true`.\n3. **Set `author`** to your name on every call, reads and writes alike (e.g., "Claude Code", "archiver"). Same parameter on every tool. (`requestor` is still accepted everywhere as the pre-1.13.1 alias.) On the CLI it is `--author` on every command too (plus `--author-type` on writes); or rely on `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_NAME`/`CEREFOX_AUTHOR_TYPE` env vars set in the user\'s `.env`.\n4. **Use `document_id` from search results** `[id: uuid]` for get_document and list_versions.\n5. **`max_bytes` has to fit a whole document.** Search returns COMPLETE documents, so a budget smaller than the top hit fits nothing. You get a header-only list saying so (never "No results found." — that means the store really has nothing). Raise `max_bytes`, or read one document with `cerefox_get_document` using `outline: true` or `section`.\n6. **Add metadata** -- at minimum `type` ("decision-log", "research", "design-doc") and `status` ("active", "draft").\n7. **Write for retrieval: the title does real work.** The document title is indexed at the **highest weight** *and* prepended to every chunk before it is embedded, so it steers both halves of hybrid search (keyword and semantic) for every chunk in the document. Name the document with the distinctive terms someone would actually search for -- "Cerefox Response Size Limits", not "Notes" or "Update 3". Renaming re-indexes and re-embeds, so correcting a vague title is cheap and takes effect immediately. Inside the content, write structured Markdown with H1/H2/H3 headings: the chunker follows them, and a chunk\'s own heading carries the same weight as the title.\n8. **Deletes are soft (recoverable); permanent purge is web-UI-only.** `cerefox_delete_document` requires the document\'s `content_hash` as you read it (read before you delete) and takes a `reason` — give one; it is what the human reviewing the trash sees. `cerefox_restore_document` undoes a mistaken delete (also audited, also takes a `reason`). Always surface deletes AND restores to the user. Once a human purges from the web UI, the document is gone for good.\n9. **Cross-doc links inside content**: **always use `[Text](document-uuid)`.** UUIDs are the only fully reliable link form — stable across title changes, never ambiguous, no encoding gotchas. Every `cerefox_search` result shows `[id: <uuid>]` after the title; grab it and use it. Title-based linking (`[Text](<Title With Spaces>)`) is fragile (breaks on colons, parens, ampersands, brackets — silently navigates to wrong page) — **don\'t write title-based links**; do an extra search to get the UUID instead. Repo-path forms (`[Text](docs/path.md)`) exist for repo-ingested files; don\'t construct manually. **The server validates `](uuid)` links on every write** (v1.7.0): a link to a nonexistent id rejects the write, naming the offender — that means you mangled the UUID; re-read the source and correct it, do not retry unchanged. Example ids go in backticks (code is not validated). `[[Wikilinks]]` may dangle. See `AGENT_GUIDE.md → Writing linkable content` for the full rule.\n10. **Concurrency: content updates require `expected_content_hash`.** Pass the `content_hash` you last saw — every read shows one (`cerefox_get_document` incl. outline mode, `cerefox_search`, `cerefox_metadata_search`) and **every write returns the new one, including create** (v1.3.0, #189), so after writing you already hold the token for your next edit; no re-read needed. If it\'s stale you get a **conflict** — re-read the document, merge your changes into the latest content, retry with the new hash. **Never resolve a conflict by overwriting blindly** — the current content includes another writer\'s work. `last_write_wins: true` skips the check; use it ONLY when an external source of truth makes conflicts meaningless (file re-sync), never to silence a conflict.\n11. **Search: prefer a few distinctive terms; heed `below confidence`.** When nothing clears the relevance threshold, `cerefox_search` returns the closest candidates prefixed with a `below confidence` warning instead of an empty set — that flag means **weak signal, not absent knowledge**: check the candidates\' scores and titles before concluding the KB lacks the content. A truly empty response means nothing even weakly related exists.\n12. **Relations express how documents relate; lifecycle tells you if knowledge is still good.** Use `cerefox_set_relation` when one document supersedes, contradicts, references, or continues another. `supersedes` marks the target **superseded**; `contradicts` marks **both** stale; `related_to`/`duplicates`/`contradicts` are symmetric (both directions written). Any other type string is accepted without special behaviour. When a search result or `cerefox_get_relations` shows a neighbour marked `[superseded]` or `[stale]`, say so rather than presenting it as current.\n13. **Project memberships — non-destructive by default**: on `cerefox_ingest` updates, **`project_name` (singular) is a non-destructive add** (ensures membership, preserves others). Use **`project_names` (list)** when you want to set the doc\'s full project set in one call (destructive replace). For metadata-only project changes without writing content, use **`cerefox_set_document_projects(document_id, project_names)`** — that tool is the destructive-replace contract made explicit. Never call `cerefox_set_document_projects` with a single name when you mean "add" — that would REMOVE the doc from all other projects. When in doubt, use `cerefox_ingest` with singular `project_name`.',
     "Update Workflow (ID-based -- preferred)": `## Update Workflow (ID-based -- preferred)
 
 \`\`\`
@@ -56411,8 +56419,7 @@ async function handler10(supabase, args, ctx) {
       throw new Error(`Project not found: ${project_name}`);
   }
   const ceiling = getMaxResponseBytes();
-  const requestedBytes = Math.floor(Number(requested_max_bytes));
-  const max_bytes = include_content ? Math.min(Number.isFinite(requestedBytes) ? Math.max(requestedBytes, 1) : ceiling, ceiling) : null;
+  const max_bytes = include_content ? resolveByteBudget(requested_max_bytes, ceiling) : null;
   const params = {
     p_metadata_filter: metadata_filter ?? {},
     p_project_id: projectId,
@@ -56465,7 +56472,13 @@ ${lines.join(`
     log(0);
     return "No documents match the given criteria.";
   }
-  log(rows.length);
+  let matched = rows.length;
+  if (include_content && max_bytes !== null && rows.length < limit) {
+    const { data: headers, error: probeError } = await supabase.rpc("cerefox_metadata_search", { ...params, p_include_content: false, p_max_bytes: null });
+    if (!probeError)
+      matched = Math.max(rows.length, (headers ?? []).length);
+  }
+  log(matched, matched > rows.length ? { returned: rows.length, truncated: true } : undefined);
   const showReview = await reviewWorkflowEnabled(supabase);
   const parts = rows.map((row) => {
     const projects = row.project_names?.length ? ` | projects: ${row.project_names.join(", ")}` : "";
@@ -56481,6 +56494,16 @@ ${row.content}`;
     }
     return header;
   });
+  if (matched > rows.length) {
+    const held = matched - rows.length;
+    return `${parts.join(`
+
+---
+
+`)}
+
+` + `[${rows.length} of ${matched} document(s) shown; ${held} did not fit ` + `max_bytes=${max_bytes}. Raise max_bytes, lower limit, or use ` + `include_content: false to list them all.]`;
+  }
   return parts.join(`
 
 ---
@@ -56612,8 +56635,7 @@ async function handler11(supabase, args, ctx) {
   const metadata_filter = args.metadata_filter ?? null;
   const requested_max_bytes = args.max_bytes;
   const ceiling = getMaxResponseBytes();
-  const requestedBytes = Math.floor(Number(requested_max_bytes));
-  const max_bytes = Math.min(Number.isFinite(requestedBytes) ? Math.max(requestedBytes, 1) : ceiling, ceiling);
+  const max_bytes = resolveByteBudget(requested_max_bytes, ceiling);
   if (metadata_filter !== null && metadata_filter !== undefined && (typeof metadata_filter !== "object" || Array.isArray(metadata_filter))) {
     throw new McpInvalidParams("metadata_filter must be a JSON object or null");
   }
@@ -80608,10 +80630,28 @@ async function action28(options) {
   };
   if (options.includeContent)
     params.p_max_bytes = maxBytes;
-  const rows = await client.rpc("cerefox_metadata_search", params);
+  let rows = await client.rpc("cerefox_metadata_search", params);
   if (rows === null) {
     throw systemError("cerefox_metadata_search: RPC returned no data.");
   }
+  let heldBack = 0;
+  if (options.includeContent && rows.length < limit) {
+    const all = await client.rpc("cerefox_metadata_search", {
+      ...params,
+      p_include_content: false,
+      p_max_bytes: null
+    });
+    if (all !== null && all.length > rows.length) {
+      const withContent = new Map(rows.map((r) => [r.document_id, r]));
+      heldBack = all.length - rows.length;
+      const merged = all.map((h) => withContent.get(h.document_id) ?? { ...h, content: null });
+      const seen = new Set(merged.map((r) => r.document_id));
+      for (const r of rows)
+        if (!seen.has(r.document_id))
+          merged.push(r);
+      rows = merged;
+    }
+  }
   const requestor = resolveRequestor(options.author ?? options.requestor);
   client.raw.rpc("cerefox_log_usage", {
     p_operation: "metadata_search",
@@ -80633,6 +80673,10 @@ async function action28(options) {
     println("No documents match the metadata filter.");
     return;
   }
+  if (heldBack > 0) {
+    println(c.dim(`(${rows.length - heldBack} of ${rows.length} document(s) have content here; ` + `${heldBack} did not fit --max-bytes ${maxBytes} and are listed without it)`));
+    println("");
+  }
   for (const row of rows) {
     const projects = row.project_names?.length ? ` | projects: ${row.project_names.join(", ")}` : "";
     const meta = Object.entries(row.doc_metadata ?? {}).map(([k, v]) => `${k}=${v}`).join(", ");
@@ -81171,7 +81215,7 @@ async function action32(query, options) {
     const rowBytes = Buffer.byteLength(JSON.stringify(row), "utf8");
     if (usedBytes + rowBytes > maxBytes && accepted.length > 0) {
       truncated = true;
-      break;
+      continue;
     }
     accepted.push(row);
     usedBytes += rowBytes;
@@ -81252,7 +81296,8 @@ async function action32(query, options) {
     }
   }
   if (truncated) {
-    println(c.dim(`(results truncated at ${usedBytes} bytes; use --max-bytes to raise)`));
+    const held = results.length - accepted.length;
+    println(c.dim(`(${accepted.length} of ${results.length} result(s) shown; ${held} did not fit ` + `${usedBytes} bytes used of --max-bytes ${maxBytes} — raise it to see the rest)`));
   }
 }
 function registerSearch(program) {

package/dist/server-assets/_shared/ef-meta/index.ts

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
  * doesn't touch `supabase/functions/` leaves it alone).
  */
 
-export const EF_VERSION = "1.14.3";
+export const EF_VERSION = "1.14.5";
 
 /**
  * The Cerefox RELEASE version — what `cerefox --version` reports and what npm
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ export const EF_VERSION = "1.14.3";
  * is imported by the Deno Edge Functions, which cannot reach into the npm
  * package.
  */
-export const CEREFOX_VERSION = "1.14.3";
+export const CEREFOX_VERSION = "1.14.5";
 
 /**
  * The most recent version whose EF-side SOURCE actually changed (#127).
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ export const CEREFOX_VERSION = "1.14.3";
  * `cut_release.ts` ONLY when EF source changed since the last tag; doctor
  * uses it to stay silent on label-only drift.
  */
-export const EF_LAST_CHANGED = "1.14.3";
+export const EF_LAST_CHANGED = "1.14.5";
 
 /**
  * The 8 peer EFs the cerefox-mcp aggregator probes (excludes cerefox-mcp

package/dist/server-assets/_shared/mcp-tools/_utils.ts

@@ -147,25 +147,32 @@ export function applyByteBudget(
   maxBytes: number,
 ): { accepted: unknown[]; dropped: unknown[]; truncated: boolean; usedBytes: number } {
   const accepted: unknown[] = [];
+  const dropped: unknown[] = [];
   let usedBytes = 0;
   let truncated = false;
-  let cut = rows.length;
 
-  for (const [i, row] of rows.entries()) {
+  for (const row of rows) {
     const rowBytes = new TextEncoder().encode(JSON.stringify(row)).length;
+    // Skipped, not the end of the list (#266, #268). This used to `break`, so
+    // one oversized top hit suppressed every smaller result behind it: the
+    // Edge Function answered with an empty `accepted`, flipped to the degraded
+    // shape and stripped content from results 2 and 3 that would have fitted
+    // comfortably. The MCP tool has skipped since #266; this is the same rule
+    // reaching the surface GPT Actions and direct HTTP callers use.
     if (usedBytes + rowBytes > maxBytes) {
       truncated = true;
-      cut = i;
-      break;
+      dropped.push(row);
+      continue;
     }
     accepted.push(row);
     usedBytes += rowBytes;
   }
 
   // What did not fit, so a caller can say so instead of reporting nothing
-  // (#254): a first row larger than the budget empties `accepted` entirely,
+  // (#254): every row larger than the budget lands here — they are no longer
+  // a contiguous tail, because the scan no longer stops at the first one —
   // and "no results" is the one answer an agent acts on irreversibly.
-  return { accepted, dropped: rows.slice(cut), truncated, usedBytes };
+  return { accepted, dropped, truncated, usedBytes };
 }
 
 import type { AccessPath } from "./types.ts";
@@ -293,3 +300,28 @@ export function logUsage(supabase: MCPSupabaseClient, params: LogUsageParams): v
     }),
   ).catch(() => {});
 }
+
+/**
+ * Resolve a caller-supplied byte budget against the server ceiling.
+ *
+ * One implementation, because this arithmetic was written out by hand on four
+ * surfaces and each hand-written copy was wrong in its own way (#267, #268):
+ *
+ * - **Non-numeric means unset, not unbounded.** `Math.min("lots", CEILING)` is
+ *   `NaN`; `NaN` compares false against every `>` check and serialises to JSON
+ *   `null`, and `p_max_bytes NULL` means NO limit in Postgres. So the one
+ *   parameter that exists to bound a reply, handed a word, removed the bound.
+ * - **`null` and `undefined` mean unset too.** `Number(null)` is `0`, which is
+ *   finite, so a clamp to `>= 1` turned an explicitly-null budget into a
+ *   ONE-BYTE budget — a client that serialises optional fields as `null` asked
+ *   for content and got none.
+ * - **A real number of zero or less means "almost nothing", and is honoured.**
+ *   Falling back to the ceiling there would hand a caller whose allowance had
+ *   run out the largest possible reply.
+ */
+export function resolveByteBudget(requested: unknown, ceiling: number): number {
+  if (requested === null || requested === undefined || requested === "") return ceiling;
+  const n = Math.floor(Number(requested));
+  if (!Number.isFinite(n)) return ceiling;
+  return Math.min(Math.max(n, 1), ceiling);
+}

package/dist/server-assets/_shared/mcp-tools/get-help-content.ts

@@ -11,13 +11,13 @@
  * docs/specs/polish-and-distribution-design.md §10d.
  */
 
-export const HELP_FULL = "# Cerefox Knowledge Base -- Agent Quick Reference\n\nCerefox is a persistent, shared knowledge base. You have **15 core MCP tools** (14 with CLI equivalents — `cerefox_get_help` is MCP-only), plus 4 dormant relation tools that appear only when `relations_enabled` is on. For the full guide, search Cerefox for \"How AI Agents Use Cerefox\" or call `cerefox_get_help` to retrieve this content over MCP.\n\n## Tools\n\n| Tool | Purpose | Key params |\n|------|---------|------------|\n| `cerefox_search` | Find documents (hybrid FTS + semantic) | `query` (required), `project_name`, `metadata_filter`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` | Save or update a document | `title`, `content` (required), `document_id` (update by ID), `expected_content_hash` (**required on content updates** — see rule 9), `last_write_wins`, `update_if_exists`, `project_name` (single, non-destructive add on update), `project_names` (list, destructive replace on update), `metadata` (omit on update to keep existing tags; `{}` clears), `author` |\n| `cerefox_insert` | **Add** to a document without resending it. Cannot destroy content. | `document_id`, `text`, `position` (`end_of_document`/`end_of_section`/`after_heading`/`before_heading`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `anchor_heading` (unless `end_of_document`), `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_edit` | **Change** parts of a document: 1..n operations applied atomically | `document_id`, `operations` (`insert`/`replace_section`/`delete_section`/`rename_section`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_document` | **Soft**-delete a document (to trash; excluded from search; permanent purge is human-only) | `document_id`, `expected_content_hash` (**required** — a delete must follow a read), `reason` (recorded in the audit log — give one), `author` |\n| `cerefox_restore_document` | Restore a soft-deleted document from the trash (audited inverse of delete; no-op if not deleted) | `document_id` (required), `reason` (recorded in the audit log), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_document` | Get full document by ID (header includes `content_hash` — the update token), or with `outline: true` just its heading paths, sizes and hash, or with `section: \"## Heading\"` one section's text | `document_id` (required), `outline`, `section`, `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_list_versions` | Version history of a document | `document_id` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_relation` ⚑ | Link two documents (`source --rel_type--> target`) | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type` (required), `metadata`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_relation` ⚑ | Remove a relation | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_relations` ⚑ | All relations touching a document, both directions | `document_id` |\n| `cerefox_get_neighbors` ⚑ | Walk the graph along ONE relation type | `document_id`, `rel_type` (required), `depth`, `from_time`, `to_time`, `limit` |\n| `cerefox_metadata_search` | Find or list docs by metadata, project, or time (no text query) | `metadata_filter`, `project_name` (list a project's docs), `updated_since`, `include_content` — **at least one** of metadata_filter/project_name/updated_since/created_since |\n| `cerefox_list_metadata_keys` | Discover available metadata keys | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_list_projects` | List all projects | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_metadata` | Change tags WITHOUT resending content. **Merges** by default; a `null` value removes a key | `document_id`, `metadata` (required), `replace` (rare: set exactly this object), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_document_projects` | Set doc's project memberships to exactly the given list (destructive replace; metadata-only, no content change) | `document_id`, `project_names` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_audit_log` | Query write operation history | `document_id`, `by_author` (filter), `operation`, `since`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_help` | Retrieve Cerefox conventions (this reference) over MCP. **Call this whenever uncertain.** | `topic` (optional, case-insensitive H2 substring match) |\n\n⚑ **Opt-in — usually absent.** The four relation tools are hidden unless the\noperator enables them (`relations_enabled`). **Trust your own tool list**: if\nthey are not in it, the feature is switched off for this deployment. That is\nnormal, not an error, and not something to work around.\n\n## Editing part of a document (prefer this over re-sending)\n\n**Re-sending a whole document to change part of it is the main way agents lose\ndata.** You have to reproduce the untouched remainder verbatim, and any drift\nsilently rewrites content nobody asked you to touch — which the caller cannot\ndiff. Use the partial-edit tools instead:\n\n1. **Learn the anchors** — `cerefox_get_document(document_id, outline: true)`.\n   Returns heading paths, per-section sizes and the `content_hash`, without the\n   body. The paths it returns are exactly what `anchor_heading` accepts.\n2. **Add** → `cerefox_insert`. `end_of_document` is a plain append;\n   `end_of_section` adds inside a named section. It is structurally incapable of\n   removing anything, so \"I meant to append\" cannot become \"I replaced the file\".\n3. **Look before you overwrite** — `cerefox_get_document(document_id,\n   section: \"## Heading\")` returns exactly the text a `replace_section` on that\n   anchor would destroy. The outline gives you a section's *size*, never its\n   *text*, so on a document you did not write yourself this is the difference\n   between a replace and a blind overwrite.\n4. **Change or remove** → `cerefox_edit`. Put changes that belong together in\n   ONE call: they apply atomically, so a table row and the total it feeds cannot\n   end up disagreeing. To change a single line, `replace_section` on its\n   smallest enclosing heading — that is the intended granularity, not a\n   workaround. To fix a stale heading (`## OPEN TODOs (as of ...)`), use\n   `rename_section`: it changes the heading text and leaves the body and\n   position alone.\n5. All of them require `expected_content_hash` and **have no last-write-wins**. A\n   conflict means someone else changed the document; re-read and decide, do not\n   force it.\n\n**A section runs to the next same-or-higher heading, or to the end of the\ndocument.** So `end_of_document` inserts land inside the *last* section, and\nreplacing or deleting that section removes them too. A large shrink in the\nresponse is your warning; `cerefox_list_versions` has the previous content.\n\n**When an anchor is ambiguous the tool refuses and hands you the options** — a\nrepeated heading returns the qualifying paths, and a section with both its own\ncontent and sub-sections returns both `section_part` choices. That is a\nrecoverable answer, not a failure: retry with what it gave you.\n\n## Essential Rules\n\n1. **Search before ingesting** -- check if the document exists first.\n2. **Prefer ID-based updates** -- pass `document_id` from search results for deterministic updates. Falls back to title-matching with `update_if_exists: true`.\n3. **Set `author`** to your name on every call, reads and writes alike (e.g., \"Claude Code\", \"archiver\"). Same parameter on every tool. (`requestor` is still accepted everywhere as the pre-1.13.1 alias.) On the CLI it is `--author` on every command too (plus `--author-type` on writes); or rely on `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_NAME`/`CEREFOX_AUTHOR_TYPE` env vars set in the user's `.env`.\n4. **Use `document_id` from search results** `[id: uuid]` for get_document and list_versions.\n5. **`max_bytes` has to fit a whole document.** Search returns COMPLETE documents, so a budget smaller than the top hit fits nothing. You get a header-only list saying so (never \"No results found.\" — that means the store really has nothing). Raise `max_bytes`, or read one document with `cerefox_get_document` using `outline: true` or `section`.\n6. **Add metadata** -- at minimum `type` (\"decision-log\", \"research\", \"design-doc\") and `status` (\"active\", \"draft\").\n7. **Write structured Markdown** with H1/H2/H3 headings for good chunking and search.\n8. **Deletes are soft (recoverable); permanent purge is web-UI-only.** `cerefox_delete_document` requires the document's `content_hash` as you read it (read before you delete) and takes a `reason` — give one; it is what the human reviewing the trash sees. `cerefox_restore_document` undoes a mistaken delete (also audited, also takes a `reason`). Always surface deletes AND restores to the user. Once a human purges from the web UI, the document is gone for good.\n9. **Cross-doc links inside content**: **always use `[Text](document-uuid)`.** UUIDs are the only fully reliable link form — stable across title changes, never ambiguous, no encoding gotchas. Every `cerefox_search` result shows `[id: <uuid>]` after the title; grab it and use it. Title-based linking (`[Text](<Title With Spaces>)`) is fragile (breaks on colons, parens, ampersands, brackets — silently navigates to wrong page) — **don't write title-based links**; do an extra search to get the UUID instead. Repo-path forms (`[Text](docs/path.md)`) exist for repo-ingested files; don't construct manually. **The server validates `](uuid)` links on every write** (v1.7.0): a link to a nonexistent id rejects the write, naming the offender — that means you mangled the UUID; re-read the source and correct it, do not retry unchanged. Example ids go in backticks (code is not validated). `[[Wikilinks]]` may dangle. See `AGENT_GUIDE.md → Writing linkable content` for the full rule.\n10. **Concurrency: content updates require `expected_content_hash`.** Pass the `content_hash` you last saw — every read shows one (`cerefox_get_document` incl. outline mode, `cerefox_search`, `cerefox_metadata_search`) and **every write returns the new one, including create** (v1.3.0, #189), so after writing you already hold the token for your next edit; no re-read needed. If it's stale you get a **conflict** — re-read the document, merge your changes into the latest content, retry with the new hash. **Never resolve a conflict by overwriting blindly** — the current content includes another writer's work. `last_write_wins: true` skips the check; use it ONLY when an external source of truth makes conflicts meaningless (file re-sync), never to silence a conflict.\n11. **Search: prefer a few distinctive terms; heed `below confidence`.** When nothing clears the relevance threshold, `cerefox_search` returns the closest candidates prefixed with a `below confidence` warning instead of an empty set — that flag means **weak signal, not absent knowledge**: check the candidates' scores and titles before concluding the KB lacks the content. A truly empty response means nothing even weakly related exists.\n12. **Relations express how documents relate; lifecycle tells you if knowledge is still good.** Use `cerefox_set_relation` when one document supersedes, contradicts, references, or continues another. `supersedes` marks the target **superseded**; `contradicts` marks **both** stale; `related_to`/`duplicates`/`contradicts` are symmetric (both directions written). Any other type string is accepted without special behaviour. When a search result or `cerefox_get_relations` shows a neighbour marked `[superseded]` or `[stale]`, say so rather than presenting it as current.\n13. **Project memberships — non-destructive by default**: on `cerefox_ingest` updates, **`project_name` (singular) is a non-destructive add** (ensures membership, preserves others). Use **`project_names` (list)** when you want to set the doc's full project set in one call (destructive replace). For metadata-only project changes without writing content, use **`cerefox_set_document_projects(document_id, project_names)`** — that tool is the destructive-replace contract made explicit. Never call `cerefox_set_document_projects` with a single name when you mean \"add\" — that would REMOVE the doc from all other projects. When in doubt, use `cerefox_ingest` with singular `project_name`.\n\n## Update Workflow (ID-based -- preferred)\n\n```\nsearch(\"topic\") -> find doc [id: abc123] -> get_document(abc123) -> note its content_hash -> modify ->\ningest(title=\"Same Title\", content=\"...\", document_id=\"abc123\",\n       expected_content_hash=\"<the hash you read>\", author=\"my-agent\")\n```\n\nOn a **conflict** error: get_document again (fresh content + fresh hash) -> merge your changes -> retry with the new hash.\n\n## Update Workflow (title-based -- fallback)\n\n```\nsearch(\"topic\") -> find doc (note its hash) -> modify ->\ningest(title=\"Same Title\", content=\"...\", update_if_exists=true,\n       expected_content_hash=\"<the hash you read>\", author=\"my-agent\")\n```\n\n## Catch-Up Workflow\n\n```\nmetadata_search(metadata_filter={\"type\": \"decision-log\"}, updated_since=\"2026-03-28T00:00:00Z\")\n```\n\n## CLI fallback (when MCP is unavailable)\n\nIf `cerefox_search` is not in your tool list, your user has likely installed the Cerefox CLI. The canonical invocation is plain **`cerefox <subcommand>`** (the TypeScript CLI, installed via `npm install -g @cerefox/memory`). It uses a resource-verb shape (`cerefox document get`, `cerefox project list`, …).\n\nSame operations, same conventions. Full reference: [`docs/guides/cli.md`](docs/guides/cli.md). CLI flag names match MCP parameter names exactly (e.g. `metadata_filter` ↔ `--metadata-filter`); common flags also have single-letter short forms (`-f`, `-p`, `-c`, `-m`, `-u`, `-a`). Use the canonical long name (what `--help` shows) or its short form — there are no long-form aliases like `--filter` or `--count`.\n\n| MCP tool | CLI |\n|---|---|\n| `cerefox_search` | `cerefox search \"<q>\" --author \"<your-name>\"` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` (paste) | `printf '...' \\| cerefox document ingest --paste --title \"<t>\" --author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` (update by ID) | `printf '...' \\| cerefox document ingest --paste --title \"<t>\" --document-id \"<uuid>\" --expected-content-hash \"<hash>\" --author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_get_document` | `cerefox document get <id> --version-id <vid> --author \"<your-name>\"` |\n| `cerefox_list_versions` | `cerefox document version list <id> --author \"<your-name>\"` |\n| `cerefox_list_projects` | `cerefox project list --author \"<your-name>\"` |\n| `cerefox_list_metadata_keys` | `cerefox metadata keys` |\n| `cerefox_insert` | `cerefox document insert <id> -t \"<text>\" -p <position> -a \"<anchor-heading>\" -e \"<hash>\" --author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_edit` | `cerefox document edit-parts <id> --operations '<json>' -e \"<hash>\" --author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_delete_document` | `cerefox document delete <id> --reason \"<why>\" --author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent --yes` (confirms interactively instead of requiring the hash) |\n| `cerefox_restore_document` | `cerefox document restore <id> --reason \"<why>\" --author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_metadata_search` | `cerefox metadata search --metadata-filter '<json>' --author \"<your-name>\"` (list a project: `cerefox document list --project <name>`) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_metadata` | `cerefox document set-metadata <id> --set key=value` (also `--remove key`, `--json '{...}'`, `--replace`) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_projects` | `cerefox document set-projects <id> <name...> --author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent` (or `--clear` to remove all) |\n| `cerefox_get_audit_log` | `cerefox audit list --author \"<your-name>\"` (add `--json` for scripted access) |\n| `cerefox_get_help` | `cerefox guides show agent-quick-reference` (or `cerefox guides list` for the full bundled-docs index) |\n\n**Set identity on every call**, exactly as you would on MCP:\n- Writes (`document ingest`, `document ingest-dir`): `--author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent`\n- Reads: `--author \"<your-name>\"` (the same flag; `--requestor` still works as a hidden alias)\n\nOr have your user set `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_NAME` / `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_TYPE` / `CEREFOX_REQUESTOR_NAME` in their `.env` to apply defaults once.\n\n## Timestamps are UTC\n\nEvery timestamp Cerefox returns — `created_at` on audit entries, version\nhistory, document metadata — is **UTC**, and now carries its `Z` marker so it\ncannot be mistaken for local time.\n\n**When you write a date into a document's CONTENT, use your own clock, not a\nCerefox timestamp.** These are different things: a timestamp records when the\nserver stored something; a date in a log entry or a heading is authored content\nand belongs to your timezone. An agent working a Pacific afternoon read\n`2026-08-11` from version history, wrote \"8/11\" into its entries, and put a\nday's work in the future — the timestamp was correct, and copying it into\ncontent was not.\n\nCerefox deliberately does not convert to local time on the API or MCP paths.\n\"Local\" has no server-side meaning: the remote MCP server runs in a cloud\nfunction whose local time *is* UTC, while a local MCP server runs in yours, so\nthe same document would report two different times depending on transport. The\nweb UI converts because a browser knows the viewer's timezone; nothing\nserver-side does.\n\n## Mistakes that have actually happened\n\nEach of these comes from a real agent session, and each is easy to make.\n\n- **`cerefox_ingest` always replaces the ENTIRE document.** Never a section.\n  Before sending, check that the tool name matches the intent: if the intent is\n  \"change one section\", the call is `cerefox_edit` with `replace_section`. A\n  section-sized edit sent as a full ingest truncated a 13,000-character index to\n  a single word. It was recovered from version history within the minute, but\n  only because it was noticed immediately.\n\n- **Do not include the anchor's own heading in your text.** `replace_section`\n  keeps the heading and `insert` places your text inside the section, so\n  including it produces two. This is now refused rather than silently applied,\n  but the shape is worth knowing: it happened twice in one session, the second\n  time while trying to repair the first. A *deeper* sub-heading inside your text\n  is fine.\n\n- **Content between sections belongs to the section ABOVE it.** A section runs\n  to the next heading of the same or higher level, so a `---` rule, a note, or\n  any trailing text sitting just above the next heading is part of the section\n  before it — even when it visually reads as belonging below. Replacing that\n  section takes it too. An agent hit exactly this: a `---` that separated two\n  major sections disappeared when the section above it was replaced. The write\n  was correct by the addressing rules; the surprise is that \"the end of this\n  section\" is further down the page than it looks. Note the loss warning will\n  not catch it if your replacement text is longer than what it replaced, since\n  there is then no net loss to report.\n\n- **To change only tags, use `cerefox_set_document_metadata`, never `cerefox_ingest`.**\n  Ingest replaces the whole document, so re-sending it to set one tag carries the\n  full transcription risk for no reason. The metadata tool merges: the keys you\n  pass are set, everything else is left alone, so you do not need to read the\n  document first and cannot drop a tag another agent set. Pass `null` as a value\n  to remove a key.\n\n- **Never partial-edit to fix a partial edit.** If a write leaves unexpected\n  structure, stop. Use `cerefox_list_versions`, retrieve the last good version,\n  and re-ingest cleanly. Repairing edits with more edits compounds the damage.\n\n- **A rejected batch is safe.** Operations in one `cerefox_edit` are\n  all-or-nothing: if any is invalid, nothing is written. A refusal costs you a\n  retry, not data — so prefer one call for changes that belong together, and do\n  not split a batch to \"make it more likely to succeed\".\n\n- **Read before replacing.** `cerefox_get_document(section: \"## Heading\")`\n  returns exactly what a `replace_section` on that anchor would overwrite. Use it\n  for any section you did not write in this session. The outline gives a\n  section's *size*, never its *text*.\n\n- **Verify after writing** — read the result back before reporting success, and\n  report what the read actually shows.\n\n- **Partial edits cannot change a document's stored TITLE.** `rename_section`\n  changes a heading inside the content; the title is a separate field and still\n  needs `cerefox_ingest`.\n\n- **If a capability seems missing from one server, suspect your client first.**\n  Local and remote run the same code. **Every `cerefox_get_help()` response\n  begins with the server's version and the operations it registers** — you do\n  not need a special topic, and the *absence* of that block is itself an answer:\n  a server that does not print it predates v1.5.0. If that\n  disagrees with your tool list, the client is holding a list it fetched before\n  an upgrade — clients cache it at connect time. Ask the user to restart the\n  client. Do not record a capability difference between servers as a fact; every\n  such report so far has been a stale client.\n- Long inline bodies can arrive with literal `\\n`/`\\\"` (the author over-escaped; Cerefox stores bytes faithfully). For long or quote-dense content, ingest from a file or build incrementally with `cerefox_insert`; read back multi-line writes.\n";
+export const HELP_FULL = "# Cerefox Knowledge Base -- Agent Quick Reference\n\nCerefox is a persistent, shared knowledge base. You have **15 core MCP tools** (14 with CLI equivalents — `cerefox_get_help` is MCP-only), plus 4 dormant relation tools that appear only when `relations_enabled` is on. For the full guide, search Cerefox for \"How AI Agents Use Cerefox\" or call `cerefox_get_help` to retrieve this content over MCP.\n\n## Tools\n\n| Tool | Purpose | Key params |\n|------|---------|------------|\n| `cerefox_search` | Find documents (hybrid FTS + semantic) | `query` (required), `project_name`, `metadata_filter`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` | Save or update a document | `title`, `content` (required), `document_id` (update by ID), `expected_content_hash` (**required on content updates** — see rule 10), `last_write_wins`, `update_if_exists`, `project_name` (single, non-destructive add on update), `project_names` (list, destructive replace on update), `metadata` (omit on update to keep existing tags; `{}` clears), `author` |\n| `cerefox_insert` | **Add** to a document without resending it. Cannot destroy content. | `document_id`, `text`, `position` (`end_of_document`/`end_of_section`/`after_heading`/`before_heading`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `anchor_heading` (unless `end_of_document`), `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_edit` | **Change** parts of a document: 1..n operations applied atomically | `document_id`, `operations` (`insert`/`replace_section`/`delete_section`/`rename_section`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_document` | **Soft**-delete a document (to trash; excluded from search; permanent purge is human-only) | `document_id`, `expected_content_hash` (**required** — a delete must follow a read), `reason` (recorded in the audit log — give one), `author` |\n| `cerefox_restore_document` | Restore a soft-deleted document from the trash (audited inverse of delete; no-op if not deleted) | `document_id` (required), `reason` (recorded in the audit log), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_document` | Get full document by ID (header includes `content_hash` — the update token), or with `outline: true` just its heading paths, sizes and hash, or with `section: \"## Heading\"` one section's text | `document_id` (required), `outline`, `section`, `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_list_versions` | Version history of a document | `document_id` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_relation` ⚑ | Link two documents (`source --rel_type--> target`) | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type` (required), `metadata`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_relation` ⚑ | Remove a relation | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_relations` ⚑ | All relations touching a document, both directions | `document_id` |\n| `cerefox_get_neighbors` ⚑ | Walk the graph along ONE relation type | `document_id`, `rel_type` (required), `depth`, `from_time`, `to_time`, `limit` |\n| `cerefox_metadata_search` | Find or list docs by metadata, project, or time (no text query) | `metadata_filter`, `project_name` (list a project's docs), `updated_since`, `include_content` — **at least one** of metadata_filter/project_name/updated_since/created_since |\n| `cerefox_list_metadata_keys` | Discover available metadata keys | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_list_projects` | List all projects | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_metadata` | Change tags WITHOUT resending content. **Merges** by default; a `null` value removes a key | `document_id`, `metadata` (required), `replace` (rare: set exactly this object), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_document_projects` | Set doc's project memberships to exactly the given list (destructive replace; metadata-only, no content change) | `document_id`, `project_names` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_audit_log` | Query write operation history | `document_id`, `by_author` (filter), `operation`, `since`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_help` | Retrieve Cerefox conventions (this reference) over MCP. **Call this whenever uncertain.** | `topic` (optional, case-insensitive H2 substring match) |\n\n⚑ **Opt-in — usually absent.** The four relation tools are hidden unless the\noperator enables them (`relations_enabled`). **Trust your own tool list**: if\nthey are not in it, the feature is switched off for this deployment. That is\nnormal, not an error, and not something to work around.\n\n## Editing part of a document (prefer this over re-sending)\n\n**Re-sending a whole document to change part of it is the main way agents lose\ndata.** You have to reproduce the untouched remainder verbatim, and any drift\nsilently rewrites content nobody asked you to touch — which the caller cannot\ndiff. Use the partial-edit tools instead:\n\n1. **Learn the anchors** — `cerefox_get_document(document_id, outline: true)`.\n   Returns heading paths, per-section sizes and the `content_hash`, without the\n   body. The paths it returns are exactly what `anchor_heading` accepts.\n2. **Add** → `cerefox_insert`. `end_of_document` is a plain append;\n   `end_of_section` adds inside a named section. It is structurally incapable of\n   removing anything, so \"I meant to append\" cannot become \"I replaced the file\".\n3. **Look before you overwrite** — `cerefox_get_document(document_id,\n   section: \"## Heading\")` returns exactly the text a `replace_section` on that\n   anchor would destroy. The outline gives you a section's *size*, never its\n   *text*, so on a document you did not write yourself this is the difference\n   between a replace and a blind overwrite.\n4. **Change or remove** → `cerefox_edit`. Put changes that belong together in\n   ONE call: they apply atomically, so a table row and the total it feeds cannot\n   end up disagreeing. To change a single line, `replace_section` on its\n   smallest enclosing heading — that is the intended granularity, not a\n   workaround. To fix a stale heading (`## OPEN TODOs (as of ...)`), use\n   `rename_section`: it changes the heading text and leaves the body and\n   position alone.\n5. All of them require `expected_content_hash` and **have no last-write-wins**. A\n   conflict means someone else changed the document; re-read and decide, do not\n   force it.\n\n**A section runs to the next same-or-higher heading, or to the end of the\ndocument.** So `end_of_document` inserts land inside the *last* section, and\nreplacing or deleting that section removes them too. A large shrink in the\nresponse is your warning; `cerefox_list_versions` has the previous content.\n\n**When an anchor is ambiguous the tool refuses and hands you the options** — a\nrepeated heading returns the qualifying paths, and a section with both its own\ncontent and sub-sections returns both `section_part` choices. That is a\nrecoverable answer, not a failure: retry with what it gave you.\n\n## Essential Rules\n\n1. **Search before ingesting** -- check if the document exists first.\n2. **Prefer ID-based updates** -- pass `document_id` from search results for deterministic updates. Falls back to title-matching with `update_if_exists: true`.\n3. **Set `author`** to your name on every call, reads and writes alike (e.g., \"Claude Code\", \"archiver\"). Same parameter on every tool. (`requestor` is still accepted everywhere as the pre-1.13.1 alias.) On the CLI it is `--author` on every command too (plus `--author-type` on writes); or rely on `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_NAME`/`CEREFOX_AUTHOR_TYPE` env vars set in the user's `.env`.\n4. **Use `document_id` from search results** `[id: uuid]` for get_document and list_versions.\n5. **`max_bytes` has to fit a whole document.** Search returns COMPLETE documents, so a budget smaller than the top hit fits nothing. You get a header-only list saying so (never \"No results found.\" — that means the store really has nothing). Raise `max_bytes`, or read one document with `cerefox_get_document` using `outline: true` or `section`.\n6. **Add metadata** -- at minimum `type` (\"decision-log\", \"research\", \"design-doc\") and `status` (\"active\", \"draft\").\n7. **Write for retrieval: the title does real work.** The document title is indexed at the **highest weight** *and* prepended to every chunk before it is embedded, so it steers both halves of hybrid search (keyword and semantic) for every chunk in the document. Name the document with the distinctive terms someone would actually search for -- \"Cerefox Response Size Limits\", not \"Notes\" or \"Update 3\". Renaming re-indexes and re-embeds, so correcting a vague title is cheap and takes effect immediately. Inside the content, write structured Markdown with H1/H2/H3 headings: the chunker follows them, and a chunk's own heading carries the same weight as the title.\n8. **Deletes are soft (recoverable); permanent purge is web-UI-only.** `cerefox_delete_document` requires the document's `content_hash` as you read it (read before you delete) and takes a `reason` — give one; it is what the human reviewing the trash sees. `cerefox_restore_document` undoes a mistaken delete (also audited, also takes a `reason`). Always surface deletes AND restores to the user. Once a human purges from the web UI, the document is gone for good.\n9. **Cross-doc links inside content**: **always use `[Text](document-uuid)`.** UUIDs are the only fully reliable link form — stable across title changes, never ambiguous, no encoding gotchas. Every `cerefox_search` result shows `[id: <uuid>]` after the title; grab it and use it. Title-based linking (`[Text](<Title With Spaces>)`) is fragile (breaks on colons, parens, ampersands, brackets — silently navigates to wrong page) — **don't write title-based links**; do an extra search to get the UUID instead. Repo-path forms (`[Text](docs/path.md)`) exist for repo-ingested files; don't construct manually. **The server validates `](uuid)` links on every write** (v1.7.0): a link to a nonexistent id rejects the write, naming the offender — that means you mangled the UUID; re-read the source and correct it, do not retry unchanged. Example ids go in backticks (code is not validated). `[[Wikilinks]]` may dangle. See `AGENT_GUIDE.md → Writing linkable content` for the full rule.\n10. **Concurrency: content updates require `expected_content_hash`.** Pass the `content_hash` you last saw — every read shows one (`cerefox_get_document` incl. outline mode, `cerefox_search`, `cerefox_metadata_search`) and **every write returns the new one, including create** (v1.3.0, #189), so after writing you already hold the token for your next edit; no re-read needed. If it's stale you get a **conflict** — re-read the document, merge your changes into the latest content, retry with the new hash. **Never resolve a conflict by overwriting blindly** — the current content includes another writer's work. `last_write_wins: true` skips the check; use it ONLY when an external source of truth makes conflicts meaningless (file re-sync), never to silence a conflict.\n11. **Search: prefer a few distinctive terms; heed `below confidence`.** When nothing clears the relevance threshold, `cerefox_search` returns the closest candidates prefixed with a `below confidence` warning instead of an empty set — that flag means **weak signal, not absent knowledge**: check the candidates' scores and titles before concluding the KB lacks the content. A truly empty response means nothing even weakly related exists.\n12. **Relations express how documents relate; lifecycle tells you if knowledge is still good.** Use `cerefox_set_relation` when one document supersedes, contradicts, references, or continues another. `supersedes` marks the target **superseded**; `contradicts` marks **both** stale; `related_to`/`duplicates`/`contradicts` are symmetric (both directions written). Any other type string is accepted without special behaviour. When a search result or `cerefox_get_relations` shows a neighbour marked `[superseded]` or `[stale]`, say so rather than presenting it as current.\n13. **Project memberships — non-destructive by default**: on `cerefox_ingest` updates, **`project_name` (singular) is a non-destructive add** (ensures membership, preserves others). Use **`project_names` (list)** when you want to set the doc's full project set in one call (destructive replace). For metadata-only project changes without writing content, use **`cerefox_set_document_projects(document_id, project_names)`** — that tool is the destructive-replace contract made explicit. Never call `cerefox_set_document_projects` with a single name when you mean \"add\" — that would REMOVE the doc from all other projects. When in doubt, use `cerefox_ingest` with singular `project_name`.\n\n## Update Workflow (ID-based -- preferred)\n\n```\nsearch(\"topic\") -> find doc [id: abc123] -> get_document(abc123) -> note its content_hash -> modify ->\ningest(title=\"Same Title\", content=\"...\", document_id=\"abc123\",\n       expected_content_hash=\"<the hash you read>\", author=\"my-agent\")\n```\n\nOn a **conflict** error: get_document again (fresh content + fresh hash) -> merge your changes -> retry with the new hash.\n\n## Update Workflow (title-based -- fallback)\n\n```\nsearch(\"topic\") -> find doc (note its hash) -> modify ->\ningest(title=\"Same Title\", content=\"...\", update_if_exists=true,\n       expected_content_hash=\"<the hash you read>\", author=\"my-agent\")\n```\n\n## Catch-Up Workflow\n\n```\nmetadata_search(metadata_filter={\"type\": \"decision-log\"}, updated_since=\"2026-03-28T00:00:00Z\")\n```\n\n## CLI fallback (when MCP is unavailable)\n\nIf `cerefox_search` is not in your tool list, your user has likely installed the Cerefox CLI. The canonical invocation is plain **`cerefox <subcommand>`** (the TypeScript CLI, installed via `npm install -g @cerefox/memory`). It uses a resource-verb shape (`cerefox document get`, `cerefox project list`, …).\n\nSame operations, same conventions. Full reference: [`docs/guides/cli.md`](docs/guides/cli.md). CLI flag names match MCP parameter names exactly (e.g. `metadata_filter` ↔ `--metadata-filter`); common flags also have single-letter short forms (`-f`, `-p`, `-c`, `-m`, `-u`, `-a`). Use the canonical long name (what `--help` shows) or its short form — there are no long-form aliases like `--filter` or `--count`.\n\n| MCP tool | CLI |\n|---|---|\n| `cerefox_search` | `cerefox search \"<q>\" --author \"<your-name>\"` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` (paste) | `printf '...' \\| cerefox document ingest --paste --title \"<t>\" --author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` (update by ID) | `printf '...' \\| cerefox document ingest --paste --title \"<t>\" --document-id \"<uuid>\" --expected-content-hash \"<hash>\" --author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_get_document` | `cerefox document get <id> --version-id <vid> --author \"<your-name>\"` |\n| `cerefox_list_versions` | `cerefox document version list <id> --author \"<your-name>\"` |\n| `cerefox_list_projects` | `cerefox project list --author \"<your-name>\"` |\n| `cerefox_list_metadata_keys` | `cerefox metadata keys` |\n| `cerefox_insert` | `cerefox document insert <id> -t \"<text>\" -p <position> -a \"<anchor-heading>\" -e \"<hash>\" --author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_edit` | `cerefox document edit-parts <id> --operations '<json>' -e \"<hash>\" --author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_delete_document` | `cerefox document delete <id> --reason \"<why>\" --author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent --yes` (confirms interactively instead of requiring the hash) |\n| `cerefox_restore_document` | `cerefox document restore <id> --reason \"<why>\" --author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent` |\n| `cerefox_metadata_search` | `cerefox metadata search --metadata-filter '<json>' --author \"<your-name>\"` (list a project: `cerefox document list --project <name>`) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_metadata` | `cerefox document set-metadata <id> --set key=value` (also `--remove key`, `--json '{...}'`, `--replace`) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_projects` | `cerefox document set-projects <id> <name...> --author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent` (or `--clear` to remove all) |\n| `cerefox_get_audit_log` | `cerefox audit list --author \"<your-name>\"` (add `--json` for scripted access) |\n| `cerefox_get_help` | `cerefox guides show agent-quick-reference` (or `cerefox guides list` for the full bundled-docs index) |\n\n**Set identity on every call**, exactly as you would on MCP:\n- Writes (`document ingest`, `document ingest-dir`): `--author \"<your-name>\" --author-type agent`\n- Reads: `--author \"<your-name>\"` (the same flag; `--requestor` still works as a hidden alias)\n\nOr have your user set `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_NAME` / `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_TYPE` / `CEREFOX_REQUESTOR_NAME` in their `.env` to apply defaults once.\n\n## Timestamps are UTC\n\nEvery timestamp Cerefox returns — `created_at` on audit entries, version\nhistory, document metadata — is **UTC**, and now carries its `Z` marker so it\ncannot be mistaken for local time.\n\n**When you write a date into a document's CONTENT, use your own clock, not a\nCerefox timestamp.** These are different things: a timestamp records when the\nserver stored something; a date in a log entry or a heading is authored content\nand belongs to your timezone. An agent working a Pacific afternoon read\n`2026-08-11` from version history, wrote \"8/11\" into its entries, and put a\nday's work in the future — the timestamp was correct, and copying it into\ncontent was not.\n\nCerefox deliberately does not convert to local time on the API or MCP paths.\n\"Local\" has no server-side meaning: the remote MCP server runs in a cloud\nfunction whose local time *is* UTC, while a local MCP server runs in yours, so\nthe same document would report two different times depending on transport. The\nweb UI converts because a browser knows the viewer's timezone; nothing\nserver-side does.\n\n## Mistakes that have actually happened\n\nEach of these comes from a real agent session, and each is easy to make.\n\n- **`cerefox_ingest` always replaces the ENTIRE document.** Never a section.\n  Before sending, check that the tool name matches the intent: if the intent is\n  \"change one section\", the call is `cerefox_edit` with `replace_section`. A\n  section-sized edit sent as a full ingest truncated a 13,000-character index to\n  a single word. It was recovered from version history within the minute, but\n  only because it was noticed immediately.\n\n- **Do not include the anchor's own heading in your text.** `replace_section`\n  keeps the heading and `insert` places your text inside the section, so\n  including it produces two. This is now refused rather than silently applied,\n  but the shape is worth knowing: it happened twice in one session, the second\n  time while trying to repair the first. A *deeper* sub-heading inside your text\n  is fine.\n\n- **Content between sections belongs to the section ABOVE it.** A section runs\n  to the next heading of the same or higher level, so a `---` rule, a note, or\n  any trailing text sitting just above the next heading is part of the section\n  before it — even when it visually reads as belonging below. Replacing that\n  section takes it too. An agent hit exactly this: a `---` that separated two\n  major sections disappeared when the section above it was replaced. The write\n  was correct by the addressing rules; the surprise is that \"the end of this\n  section\" is further down the page than it looks. Note the loss warning will\n  not catch it if your replacement text is longer than what it replaced, since\n  there is then no net loss to report.\n\n- **To change only tags, use `cerefox_set_document_metadata`, never `cerefox_ingest`.**\n  Ingest replaces the whole document, so re-sending it to set one tag carries the\n  full transcription risk for no reason. The metadata tool merges: the keys you\n  pass are set, everything else is left alone, so you do not need to read the\n  document first and cannot drop a tag another agent set. Pass `null` as a value\n  to remove a key.\n\n- **Never partial-edit to fix a partial edit.** If a write leaves unexpected\n  structure, stop. Use `cerefox_list_versions`, retrieve the last good version,\n  and re-ingest cleanly. Repairing edits with more edits compounds the damage.\n\n- **A rejected batch is safe.** Operations in one `cerefox_edit` are\n  all-or-nothing: if any is invalid, nothing is written. A refusal costs you a\n  retry, not data — so prefer one call for changes that belong together, and do\n  not split a batch to \"make it more likely to succeed\".\n\n- **Read before replacing.** `cerefox_get_document(section: \"## Heading\")`\n  returns exactly what a `replace_section` on that anchor would overwrite. Use it\n  for any section you did not write in this session. The outline gives a\n  section's *size*, never its *text*.\n\n- **Verify after writing** — read the result back before reporting success, and\n  report what the read actually shows.\n\n- **Partial edits cannot change a document's stored TITLE.** `rename_section`\n  changes a heading inside the content; the title is a separate field and still\n  needs `cerefox_ingest`.\n\n- **If a capability seems missing from one server, suspect your client first.**\n  Local and remote run the same code. **Every `cerefox_get_help()` response\n  begins with the server's version and the operations it registers** — you do\n  not need a special topic, and the *absence* of that block is itself an answer:\n  a server that does not print it predates v1.5.0. If that\n  disagrees with your tool list, the client is holding a list it fetched before\n  an upgrade — clients cache it at connect time. Ask the user to restart the\n  client. Do not record a capability difference between servers as a fact; every\n  such report so far has been a stale client.\n- Long inline bodies can arrive with literal `\\n`/`\\\"` (the author over-escaped; Cerefox stores bytes faithfully). For long or quote-dense content, ingest from a file or build incrementally with `cerefox_insert`; read back multi-line writes.\n";
 
 /** Sections keyed by their H2 heading text (lower-cased for matching). */
 export const HELP_SECTIONS: Record<string, string> = {
-  "Tools": "## Tools\n\n| Tool | Purpose | Key params |\n|------|---------|------------|\n| `cerefox_search` | Find documents (hybrid FTS + semantic) | `query` (required), `project_name`, `metadata_filter`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` | Save or update a document | `title`, `content` (required), `document_id` (update by ID), `expected_content_hash` (**required on content updates** — see rule 9), `last_write_wins`, `update_if_exists`, `project_name` (single, non-destructive add on update), `project_names` (list, destructive replace on update), `metadata` (omit on update to keep existing tags; `{}` clears), `author` |\n| `cerefox_insert` | **Add** to a document without resending it. Cannot destroy content. | `document_id`, `text`, `position` (`end_of_document`/`end_of_section`/`after_heading`/`before_heading`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `anchor_heading` (unless `end_of_document`), `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_edit` | **Change** parts of a document: 1..n operations applied atomically | `document_id`, `operations` (`insert`/`replace_section`/`delete_section`/`rename_section`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_document` | **Soft**-delete a document (to trash; excluded from search; permanent purge is human-only) | `document_id`, `expected_content_hash` (**required** — a delete must follow a read), `reason` (recorded in the audit log — give one), `author` |\n| `cerefox_restore_document` | Restore a soft-deleted document from the trash (audited inverse of delete; no-op if not deleted) | `document_id` (required), `reason` (recorded in the audit log), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_document` | Get full document by ID (header includes `content_hash` — the update token), or with `outline: true` just its heading paths, sizes and hash, or with `section: \"## Heading\"` one section's text | `document_id` (required), `outline`, `section`, `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_list_versions` | Version history of a document | `document_id` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_relation` ⚑ | Link two documents (`source --rel_type--> target`) | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type` (required), `metadata`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_relation` ⚑ | Remove a relation | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_relations` ⚑ | All relations touching a document, both directions | `document_id` |\n| `cerefox_get_neighbors` ⚑ | Walk the graph along ONE relation type | `document_id`, `rel_type` (required), `depth`, `from_time`, `to_time`, `limit` |\n| `cerefox_metadata_search` | Find or list docs by metadata, project, or time (no text query) | `metadata_filter`, `project_name` (list a project's docs), `updated_since`, `include_content` — **at least one** of metadata_filter/project_name/updated_since/created_since |\n| `cerefox_list_metadata_keys` | Discover available metadata keys | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_list_projects` | List all projects | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_metadata` | Change tags WITHOUT resending content. **Merges** by default; a `null` value removes a key | `document_id`, `metadata` (required), `replace` (rare: set exactly this object), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_document_projects` | Set doc's project memberships to exactly the given list (destructive replace; metadata-only, no content change) | `document_id`, `project_names` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_audit_log` | Query write operation history | `document_id`, `by_author` (filter), `operation`, `since`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_help` | Retrieve Cerefox conventions (this reference) over MCP. **Call this whenever uncertain.** | `topic` (optional, case-insensitive H2 substring match) |\n\n⚑ **Opt-in — usually absent.** The four relation tools are hidden unless the\noperator enables them (`relations_enabled`). **Trust your own tool list**: if\nthey are not in it, the feature is switched off for this deployment. That is\nnormal, not an error, and not something to work around.",
+  "Tools": "## Tools\n\n| Tool | Purpose | Key params |\n|------|---------|------------|\n| `cerefox_search` | Find documents (hybrid FTS + semantic) | `query` (required), `project_name`, `metadata_filter`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_ingest` | Save or update a document | `title`, `content` (required), `document_id` (update by ID), `expected_content_hash` (**required on content updates** — see rule 10), `last_write_wins`, `update_if_exists`, `project_name` (single, non-destructive add on update), `project_names` (list, destructive replace on update), `metadata` (omit on update to keep existing tags; `{}` clears), `author` |\n| `cerefox_insert` | **Add** to a document without resending it. Cannot destroy content. | `document_id`, `text`, `position` (`end_of_document`/`end_of_section`/`after_heading`/`before_heading`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `anchor_heading` (unless `end_of_document`), `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_edit` | **Change** parts of a document: 1..n operations applied atomically | `document_id`, `operations` (`insert`/`replace_section`/`delete_section`/`rename_section`), `expected_content_hash` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_document` | **Soft**-delete a document (to trash; excluded from search; permanent purge is human-only) | `document_id`, `expected_content_hash` (**required** — a delete must follow a read), `reason` (recorded in the audit log — give one), `author` |\n| `cerefox_restore_document` | Restore a soft-deleted document from the trash (audited inverse of delete; no-op if not deleted) | `document_id` (required), `reason` (recorded in the audit log), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_document` | Get full document by ID (header includes `content_hash` — the update token), or with `outline: true` just its heading paths, sizes and hash, or with `section: \"## Heading\"` one section's text | `document_id` (required), `outline`, `section`, `section_part`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_list_versions` | Version history of a document | `document_id` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_relation` ⚑ | Link two documents (`source --rel_type--> target`) | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type` (required), `metadata`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_delete_relation` ⚑ | Remove a relation | `source_id`, `target_id`, `rel_type`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_relations` ⚑ | All relations touching a document, both directions | `document_id` |\n| `cerefox_get_neighbors` ⚑ | Walk the graph along ONE relation type | `document_id`, `rel_type` (required), `depth`, `from_time`, `to_time`, `limit` |\n| `cerefox_metadata_search` | Find or list docs by metadata, project, or time (no text query) | `metadata_filter`, `project_name` (list a project's docs), `updated_since`, `include_content` — **at least one** of metadata_filter/project_name/updated_since/created_since |\n| `cerefox_list_metadata_keys` | Discover available metadata keys | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_list_projects` | List all projects | (none required) |\n| `cerefox_set_document_metadata` | Change tags WITHOUT resending content. **Merges** by default; a `null` value removes a key | `document_id`, `metadata` (required), `replace` (rare: set exactly this object), `author` |\n| `cerefox_set_document_projects` | Set doc's project memberships to exactly the given list (destructive replace; metadata-only, no content change) | `document_id`, `project_names` (required), `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_audit_log` | Query write operation history | `document_id`, `by_author` (filter), `operation`, `since`, `author` |\n| `cerefox_get_help` | Retrieve Cerefox conventions (this reference) over MCP. **Call this whenever uncertain.** | `topic` (optional, case-insensitive H2 substring match) |\n\n⚑ **Opt-in — usually absent.** The four relation tools are hidden unless the\noperator enables them (`relations_enabled`). **Trust your own tool list**: if\nthey are not in it, the feature is switched off for this deployment. That is\nnormal, not an error, and not something to work around.",
   "Editing part of a document (prefer this over re-sending)": "## Editing part of a document (prefer this over re-sending)\n\n**Re-sending a whole document to change part of it is the main way agents lose\ndata.** You have to reproduce the untouched remainder verbatim, and any drift\nsilently rewrites content nobody asked you to touch — which the caller cannot\ndiff. Use the partial-edit tools instead:\n\n1. **Learn the anchors** — `cerefox_get_document(document_id, outline: true)`.\n   Returns heading paths, per-section sizes and the `content_hash`, without the\n   body. The paths it returns are exactly what `anchor_heading` accepts.\n2. **Add** → `cerefox_insert`. `end_of_document` is a plain append;\n   `end_of_section` adds inside a named section. It is structurally incapable of\n   removing anything, so \"I meant to append\" cannot become \"I replaced the file\".\n3. **Look before you overwrite** — `cerefox_get_document(document_id,\n   section: \"## Heading\")` returns exactly the text a `replace_section` on that\n   anchor would destroy. The outline gives you a section's *size*, never its\n   *text*, so on a document you did not write yourself this is the difference\n   between a replace and a blind overwrite.\n4. **Change or remove** → `cerefox_edit`. Put changes that belong together in\n   ONE call: they apply atomically, so a table row and the total it feeds cannot\n   end up disagreeing. To change a single line, `replace_section` on its\n   smallest enclosing heading — that is the intended granularity, not a\n   workaround. To fix a stale heading (`## OPEN TODOs (as of ...)`), use\n   `rename_section`: it changes the heading text and leaves the body and\n   position alone.\n5. All of them require `expected_content_hash` and **have no last-write-wins**. A\n   conflict means someone else changed the document; re-read and decide, do not\n   force it.\n\n**A section runs to the next same-or-higher heading, or to the end of the\ndocument.** So `end_of_document` inserts land inside the *last* section, and\nreplacing or deleting that section removes them too. A large shrink in the\nresponse is your warning; `cerefox_list_versions` has the previous content.\n\n**When an anchor is ambiguous the tool refuses and hands you the options** — a\nrepeated heading returns the qualifying paths, and a section with both its own\ncontent and sub-sections returns both `section_part` choices. That is a\nrecoverable answer, not a failure: retry with what it gave you.",
-  "Essential Rules": "## Essential Rules\n\n1. **Search before ingesting** -- check if the document exists first.\n2. **Prefer ID-based updates** -- pass `document_id` from search results for deterministic updates. Falls back to title-matching with `update_if_exists: true`.\n3. **Set `author`** to your name on every call, reads and writes alike (e.g., \"Claude Code\", \"archiver\"). Same parameter on every tool. (`requestor` is still accepted everywhere as the pre-1.13.1 alias.) On the CLI it is `--author` on every command too (plus `--author-type` on writes); or rely on `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_NAME`/`CEREFOX_AUTHOR_TYPE` env vars set in the user's `.env`.\n4. **Use `document_id` from search results** `[id: uuid]` for get_document and list_versions.\n5. **`max_bytes` has to fit a whole document.** Search returns COMPLETE documents, so a budget smaller than the top hit fits nothing. You get a header-only list saying so (never \"No results found.\" — that means the store really has nothing). Raise `max_bytes`, or read one document with `cerefox_get_document` using `outline: true` or `section`.\n6. **Add metadata** -- at minimum `type` (\"decision-log\", \"research\", \"design-doc\") and `status` (\"active\", \"draft\").\n7. **Write structured Markdown** with H1/H2/H3 headings for good chunking and search.\n8. **Deletes are soft (recoverable); permanent purge is web-UI-only.** `cerefox_delete_document` requires the document's `content_hash` as you read it (read before you delete) and takes a `reason` — give one; it is what the human reviewing the trash sees. `cerefox_restore_document` undoes a mistaken delete (also audited, also takes a `reason`). Always surface deletes AND restores to the user. Once a human purges from the web UI, the document is gone for good.\n9. **Cross-doc links inside content**: **always use `[Text](document-uuid)`.** UUIDs are the only fully reliable link form — stable across title changes, never ambiguous, no encoding gotchas. Every `cerefox_search` result shows `[id: <uuid>]` after the title; grab it and use it. Title-based linking (`[Text](<Title With Spaces>)`) is fragile (breaks on colons, parens, ampersands, brackets — silently navigates to wrong page) — **don't write title-based links**; do an extra search to get the UUID instead. Repo-path forms (`[Text](docs/path.md)`) exist for repo-ingested files; don't construct manually. **The server validates `](uuid)` links on every write** (v1.7.0): a link to a nonexistent id rejects the write, naming the offender — that means you mangled the UUID; re-read the source and correct it, do not retry unchanged. Example ids go in backticks (code is not validated). `[[Wikilinks]]` may dangle. See `AGENT_GUIDE.md → Writing linkable content` for the full rule.\n10. **Concurrency: content updates require `expected_content_hash`.** Pass the `content_hash` you last saw — every read shows one (`cerefox_get_document` incl. outline mode, `cerefox_search`, `cerefox_metadata_search`) and **every write returns the new one, including create** (v1.3.0, #189), so after writing you already hold the token for your next edit; no re-read needed. If it's stale you get a **conflict** — re-read the document, merge your changes into the latest content, retry with the new hash. **Never resolve a conflict by overwriting blindly** — the current content includes another writer's work. `last_write_wins: true` skips the check; use it ONLY when an external source of truth makes conflicts meaningless (file re-sync), never to silence a conflict.\n11. **Search: prefer a few distinctive terms; heed `below confidence`.** When nothing clears the relevance threshold, `cerefox_search` returns the closest candidates prefixed with a `below confidence` warning instead of an empty set — that flag means **weak signal, not absent knowledge**: check the candidates' scores and titles before concluding the KB lacks the content. A truly empty response means nothing even weakly related exists.\n12. **Relations express how documents relate; lifecycle tells you if knowledge is still good.** Use `cerefox_set_relation` when one document supersedes, contradicts, references, or continues another. `supersedes` marks the target **superseded**; `contradicts` marks **both** stale; `related_to`/`duplicates`/`contradicts` are symmetric (both directions written). Any other type string is accepted without special behaviour. When a search result or `cerefox_get_relations` shows a neighbour marked `[superseded]` or `[stale]`, say so rather than presenting it as current.\n13. **Project memberships — non-destructive by default**: on `cerefox_ingest` updates, **`project_name` (singular) is a non-destructive add** (ensures membership, preserves others). Use **`project_names` (list)** when you want to set the doc's full project set in one call (destructive replace). For metadata-only project changes without writing content, use **`cerefox_set_document_projects(document_id, project_names)`** — that tool is the destructive-replace contract made explicit. Never call `cerefox_set_document_projects` with a single name when you mean \"add\" — that would REMOVE the doc from all other projects. When in doubt, use `cerefox_ingest` with singular `project_name`.",
+  "Essential Rules": "## Essential Rules\n\n1. **Search before ingesting** -- check if the document exists first.\n2. **Prefer ID-based updates** -- pass `document_id` from search results for deterministic updates. Falls back to title-matching with `update_if_exists: true`.\n3. **Set `author`** to your name on every call, reads and writes alike (e.g., \"Claude Code\", \"archiver\"). Same parameter on every tool. (`requestor` is still accepted everywhere as the pre-1.13.1 alias.) On the CLI it is `--author` on every command too (plus `--author-type` on writes); or rely on `CEREFOX_AUTHOR_NAME`/`CEREFOX_AUTHOR_TYPE` env vars set in the user's `.env`.\n4. **Use `document_id` from search results** `[id: uuid]` for get_document and list_versions.\n5. **`max_bytes` has to fit a whole document.** Search returns COMPLETE documents, so a budget smaller than the top hit fits nothing. You get a header-only list saying so (never \"No results found.\" — that means the store really has nothing). Raise `max_bytes`, or read one document with `cerefox_get_document` using `outline: true` or `section`.\n6. **Add metadata** -- at minimum `type` (\"decision-log\", \"research\", \"design-doc\") and `status` (\"active\", \"draft\").\n7. **Write for retrieval: the title does real work.** The document title is indexed at the **highest weight** *and* prepended to every chunk before it is embedded, so it steers both halves of hybrid search (keyword and semantic) for every chunk in the document. Name the document with the distinctive terms someone would actually search for -- \"Cerefox Response Size Limits\", not \"Notes\" or \"Update 3\". Renaming re-indexes and re-embeds, so correcting a vague title is cheap and takes effect immediately. Inside the content, write structured Markdown with H1/H2/H3 headings: the chunker follows them, and a chunk's own heading carries the same weight as the title.\n8. **Deletes are soft (recoverable); permanent purge is web-UI-only.** `cerefox_delete_document` requires the document's `content_hash` as you read it (read before you delete) and takes a `reason` — give one; it is what the human reviewing the trash sees. `cerefox_restore_document` undoes a mistaken delete (also audited, also takes a `reason`). Always surface deletes AND restores to the user. Once a human purges from the web UI, the document is gone for good.\n9. **Cross-doc links inside content**: **always use `[Text](document-uuid)`.** UUIDs are the only fully reliable link form — stable across title changes, never ambiguous, no encoding gotchas. Every `cerefox_search` result shows `[id: <uuid>]` after the title; grab it and use it. Title-based linking (`[Text](<Title With Spaces>)`) is fragile (breaks on colons, parens, ampersands, brackets — silently navigates to wrong page) — **don't write title-based links**; do an extra search to get the UUID instead. Repo-path forms (`[Text](docs/path.md)`) exist for repo-ingested files; don't construct manually. **The server validates `](uuid)` links on every write** (v1.7.0): a link to a nonexistent id rejects the write, naming the offender — that means you mangled the UUID; re-read the source and correct it, do not retry unchanged. Example ids go in backticks (code is not validated). `[[Wikilinks]]` may dangle. See `AGENT_GUIDE.md → Writing linkable content` for the full rule.\n10. **Concurrency: content updates require `expected_content_hash`.** Pass the `content_hash` you last saw — every read shows one (`cerefox_get_document` incl. outline mode, `cerefox_search`, `cerefox_metadata_search`) and **every write returns the new one, including create** (v1.3.0, #189), so after writing you already hold the token for your next edit; no re-read needed. If it's stale you get a **conflict** — re-read the document, merge your changes into the latest content, retry with the new hash. **Never resolve a conflict by overwriting blindly** — the current content includes another writer's work. `last_write_wins: true` skips the check; use it ONLY when an external source of truth makes conflicts meaningless (file re-sync), never to silence a conflict.\n11. **Search: prefer a few distinctive terms; heed `below confidence`.** When nothing clears the relevance threshold, `cerefox_search` returns the closest candidates prefixed with a `below confidence` warning instead of an empty set — that flag means **weak signal, not absent knowledge**: check the candidates' scores and titles before concluding the KB lacks the content. A truly empty response means nothing even weakly related exists.\n12. **Relations express how documents relate; lifecycle tells you if knowledge is still good.** Use `cerefox_set_relation` when one document supersedes, contradicts, references, or continues another. `supersedes` marks the target **superseded**; `contradicts` marks **both** stale; `related_to`/`duplicates`/`contradicts` are symmetric (both directions written). Any other type string is accepted without special behaviour. When a search result or `cerefox_get_relations` shows a neighbour marked `[superseded]` or `[stale]`, say so rather than presenting it as current.\n13. **Project memberships — non-destructive by default**: on `cerefox_ingest` updates, **`project_name` (singular) is a non-destructive add** (ensures membership, preserves others). Use **`project_names` (list)** when you want to set the doc's full project set in one call (destructive replace). For metadata-only project changes without writing content, use **`cerefox_set_document_projects(document_id, project_names)`** — that tool is the destructive-replace contract made explicit. Never call `cerefox_set_document_projects` with a single name when you mean \"add\" — that would REMOVE the doc from all other projects. When in doubt, use `cerefox_ingest` with singular `project_name`.",
   "Update Workflow (ID-based -- preferred)": "## Update Workflow (ID-based -- preferred)\n\n```\nsearch(\"topic\") -> find doc [id: abc123] -> get_document(abc123) -> note its content_hash -> modify ->\ningest(title=\"Same Title\", content=\"...\", document_id=\"abc123\",\n       expected_content_hash=\"<the hash you read>\", author=\"my-agent\")\n```\n\nOn a **conflict** error: get_document again (fresh content + fresh hash) -> merge your changes -> retry with the new hash.",
   "Update Workflow (title-based -- fallback)": "## Update Workflow (title-based -- fallback)\n\n```\nsearch(\"topic\") -> find doc (note its hash) -> modify ->\ningest(title=\"Same Title\", content=\"...\", update_if_exists=true,\n       expected_content_hash=\"<the hash you read>\", author=\"my-agent\")\n```",
   "Catch-Up Workflow": "## Catch-Up Workflow\n\n```\nmetadata_search(metadata_filter={\"type\": \"decision-log\"}, updated_since=\"2026-03-28T00:00:00Z\")\n```",

package/dist/server-assets/_shared/mcp-tools/metadata-search.ts

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 import type { MCPSupabaseClient } from "./types.ts";
 
-import { getMaxResponseBytes, logUsage } from "./_utils.ts";
+import { getMaxResponseBytes, logUsage, resolveByteBudget } from "./_utils.ts";
 import { lookupProjectId } from "./_projects.ts";
 import { reviewWorkflowEnabled } from "./feature-flags.ts";
 import { McpInvalidParams, type ToolContext, type ToolDefinition } from "./types.ts";
@@ -51,20 +51,14 @@ async function handler(
     if (!projectId) throw new Error(`Project not found: ${project_name}`);
   }
 
-  // Enforce byte ceiling for content mode.
-  //
-  // Sanitised first: a non-numeric `max_bytes` became `NaN`, which reaches the
-  // RPC as JSON null, and `p_max_bytes NULL` means NO limit — so one word
-  // instead of a number returned every matching document's full content, with
-  // the in-process guard below disabled too (#267). Same hole as the search
-  // tool's, in the sibling that shares its transport.
+  // Enforce byte ceiling for content mode, via the one shared resolver every
+  // budget-taking surface uses (#268). It was written out by hand here and on
+  // three other surfaces, and each copy was wrong differently: a non-numeric
+  // value became `NaN` and disabled the limit entirely (#267), and an explicit
+  // `null` coerced to 0 and became a ONE-BYTE budget.
   const ceiling = getMaxResponseBytes();
-  const requestedBytes = Math.floor(Number(requested_max_bytes));
   const max_bytes = include_content
-    ? Math.min(
-        Number.isFinite(requestedBytes) ? Math.max(requestedBytes, 1) : ceiling,
-        ceiling,
-      )
+    ? resolveByteBudget(requested_max_bytes, ceiling)
     : null;
 
   const params: Record<string, unknown> = {
@@ -166,7 +160,33 @@ async function handler(
     log(0);
     return "No documents match the given criteria.";
   }
-  log(rows.length);
+  // How many documents actually matched, as opposed to how many the budget
+  // let through (#268). The RPC applies `p_max_bytes` by stopping at the first
+  // row that does not fit, so a short list has two indistinguishable causes:
+  // fewer documents matched, or the budget cut the list. Only the caller's
+  // side knows which, and only after asking — so ask, with the same
+  // content-free probe the empty branch above uses.
+  //
+  // Cost, stated honestly: this is a second RPC round-trip, and it fires
+  // whenever a content-bearing search returns less than a full page — which is
+  // the COMMON case, not a rare one, since `limit` defaults to 10. A full page
+  // and a budget-free call both skip it, but nothing else does. The RPC gives
+  // no "there was more" signal, and the alternative to asking is guessing:
+  // a short list is indistinguishable from a cut list from here, and guessing
+  // wrong is the bug (#268). Worth revisiting if the RPC ever returns a total.
+  let matched = rows.length;
+  if (include_content && max_bytes !== null && rows.length < limit) {
+    const { data: headers, error: probeError } = await supabase.rpc(
+      "cerefox_metadata_search",
+      { ...params, p_include_content: false, p_max_bytes: null },
+    );
+    // A failed probe must not invent a count. supabase-js resolves with
+    // `{ data: null, error }` rather than throwing (#261), so read the error:
+    // leaving `matched` at `rows.length` states only what is known.
+    if (!probeError) matched = Math.max(rows.length, ((headers ?? []) as unknown[]).length);
+  }
+
+  log(matched, matched > rows.length ? { returned: rows.length, truncated: true } : undefined);
 
   // The review status is a column of a feature that may be off (#241); when
   // it is, an agent should not see "approved" and wonder what it means.
@@ -194,6 +214,19 @@ async function handler(
     return header;
   });
 
+  // Never hold results back silently (#268). A caller who receives 1 of 5 and
+  // is told nothing believes they saw everything — the same failure as a false
+  // empty, in a quieter form. This notice is framing that is never dropped.
+  if (matched > rows.length) {
+    const held = matched - rows.length;
+    return (
+      `${parts.join("\n\n---\n\n")}\n\n` +
+      `[${rows.length} of ${matched} document(s) shown; ${held} did not fit ` +
+      `max_bytes=${max_bytes}. Raise max_bytes, lower limit, or use ` +
+      `include_content: false to list them all.]`
+    );
+  }
+
   return parts.join("\n\n---\n\n");
 }
 

package/dist/server-assets/_shared/mcp-tools/search.ts

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ import type { MCPSupabaseClient } from "./types.ts";
 
 import { getEmbedding, resolveEmbedderKind } from "../embeddings/index.ts";
 import { getConfiguredMinSearchScore, getConfiguredSearchAlpha,
-  getMaxResponseBytes, getMinTermCoverage, logUsage } from "./_utils.ts";
+  getMaxResponseBytes, getMinTermCoverage, logUsage , resolveByteBudget } from "./_utils.ts";
 import { lookupProjectId } from "./_projects.ts";
 import { McpInvalidParams, type ToolContext, type ToolDefinition } from "./types.ts";
 import { AUTHOR_PARAM_READ, callerIdentity } from "./identity.ts";
@@ -214,11 +214,7 @@ async function handler(
   // falling back to the ceiling there would hand a caller whose remaining
   // allowance ran out the largest possible reply (#267). Only a missing or
   // non-numeric value defaults to the ceiling.
-  const requestedBytes = Math.floor(Number(requested_max_bytes));
-  const max_bytes = Math.min(
-    Number.isFinite(requestedBytes) ? Math.max(requestedBytes, 1) : ceiling,
-    ceiling,
-  );
+  const max_bytes = resolveByteBudget(requested_max_bytes, ceiling);
 
   if (
     metadata_filter !== null &&

package/dist/server-assets/supabase/functions/cerefox-metadata-search/index.ts

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { isVersionRequest, versionResponse } from "../../../_shared/ef-meta/inde
 import { efAuthGate } from "../../../_shared/ef-auth/index.ts";
 import { callerIdentity } from "../../../_shared/mcp-tools/identity.ts";
 import { reviewWorkflowEnabled } from "../../../_shared/mcp-tools/feature-flags.ts";
+import { resolveByteBudget } from "../../../_shared/mcp-tools/_utils.ts";
 
 /**
  * cerefox-metadata-search -- Supabase Edge Function
@@ -103,8 +104,12 @@ Deno.serve(async (req: Request): Promise<Response> => {
     const include_content = body.include_content ?? false;
     const requested_max_bytes = body.max_bytes;
 
+    // One implementation of this arithmetic, shared with every other surface
+    // that takes a budget (#268): non-numeric and null both mean "unset" and
+    // fall back to the ceiling, while a real number of zero or less is
+    // honoured as "almost no budget".
     const max_bytes = include_content
-      ? Math.min(requested_max_bytes ?? MAX_BYTES, MAX_BYTES)
+      ? resolveByteBudget(requested_max_bytes, MAX_BYTES)
       : null;
 
     const supabaseUrl = Deno.env.get("SUPABASE_URL")!;
@@ -154,18 +159,90 @@ Deno.serve(async (req: Request): Promise<Response> => {
       });
     }
 
-    // Fire-and-forget usage logging
+    let rows = (data ?? []) as Array<Record<string, unknown>>;
+
+    // Never answer with a shorter list than what matched (#268).
+    //
+    // The RPC applies `p_max_bytes` server-side by stopping at the first row
+    // whose content does not fit, so this list has two indistinguishable
+    // causes: fewer documents matched, or the budget cut it short. When the
+    // first row is the oversized one the array comes back EMPTY, and a caller
+    // reads `[]` as "this knowledge does not exist" and stops looking — the
+    // false negative #254 exists to prevent, reached here through a sibling
+    // that never got the guard.
+    //
+    // The response shape stays a bare array, because Custom GPTs are
+    // configured against it: every matching document is listed, and only
+    // CONTENT is negotiable. Rows the budget could not afford come back
+    // content-free and marked, so `results.length` is always the true count
+    // and nothing is held back silently.
+    //
+    // Cost: a second RPC round-trip whenever a content-bearing search returns
+    // less than a full page, which is the common case rather than a rare one.
+    // The RPC signals no total, so the only alternative to asking is guessing
+    // whether a short list was cut — and guessing wrong is the bug.
+    if (include_content && max_bytes !== null && rows.length < limit) {
+      const { data: headerData, error: probeError } = await supabase.rpc(
+        "cerefox_metadata_search",
+        { ...params, p_include_content: false, p_max_bytes: null },
+      );
+      // supabase-js RESOLVES with `{ data: null, error }` for PostgREST and
+      // network failures rather than throwing, so a probe failure must be read
+      // from the error, not inferred from an empty list — reading it as "no
+      // documents" is the very false empty this branch prevents (#261).
+      if (probeError && rows.length === 0) {
+        // Falling through here would ship exactly the false empty this block
+        // exists to prevent — `200 []`, which a caller reads as "no such
+        // knowledge". An error is the honest answer: it says the question was
+        // not resolved, rather than answering it wrongly.
+        return new Response(
+          JSON.stringify({
+            error:
+              `Nothing fit max_bytes=${max_bytes} with include_content, and the follow-up ` +
+              `query that lists what matched failed: ${probeError.message}. This is NOT a ` +
+              `confirmed empty result — retry with a larger max_bytes, or include_content: false.`,
+          }),
+          { status: 502, headers: { ...CORS_HEADERS, "Content-Type": "application/json" } },
+        );
+      }
+      if (!probeError) {
+        const headers = (headerData ?? []) as Array<Record<string, unknown>>;
+        if (headers.length > rows.length) {
+          const withContent = new Map(rows.map((r) => [r.document_id as string, r]));
+          // The probe carries the full, correctly ordered match set; the
+          // content-bearing rows are folded into it by id so ordering is the
+          // RPC's, not an artefact of which rows happened to fit.
+          const merged = headers.map(
+            (h) => withContent.get(h.document_id as string) ?? { ...h, content_omitted: true },
+          );
+          // Two queries, two chances to disagree: the RPC orders by
+          // `updated_at DESC` with no tiebreaker under a LIMIT, and a
+          // concurrent write between the calls shifts the window. Anything the
+          // content query returned that the probe did not is APPENDED rather
+          // than dropped — losing a document we already hold, while fixing a
+          // bug about losing documents, would be its own joke.
+          const seen = new Set(merged.map((r) => r.document_id as string));
+          for (const r of rows) {
+            if (!seen.has(r.document_id as string)) merged.push(r);
+          }
+          rows = merged;
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Fire-and-forget usage logging. Counts what MATCHED, not what the budget
+    // allowed through: a budget-wiped search logging `0` misreports the store
+    // as empty in analytics (#259).
     Promise.resolve(supabase.rpc("cerefox_log_usage", {
       p_operation: "metadata_search",
       p_access_path: "edge-function",
       p_requestor: identityValue ?? null,
       p_query_text: JSON.stringify(metadata_filter),
-      p_result_count: (data ?? []).length,
+      p_result_count: rows.length,
       p_project_id: project_id,
     })).catch(() => {});
 
     // Presentation only: the same shared reader every other surface uses.
-    const rows = (data ?? []) as Array<Record<string, unknown>>;
     const showReview = await reviewWorkflowEnabled(supabase);
     const out = showReview
       ? rows

package/dist/server-assets/supabase/functions/cerefox-search/index.ts

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import { efAuthGate } from "../../../_shared/ef-auth/index.ts";
 import { callerIdentity } from "../../../_shared/mcp-tools/identity.ts";
 import { capEmbeddingInput } from "../../../_shared/embeddings/index.ts";
 // One implementation of the byte budget, shared with the MCP tools (#254).
-import { applyByteBudget } from "../../../_shared/mcp-tools/_utils.ts";
+import { applyByteBudget, resolveByteBudget } from "../../../_shared/mcp-tools/_utils.ts";
 
 /**
  * cerefox-search — Supabase Edge Function
@@ -219,11 +219,7 @@ Deno.serve(async (req: Request) => {
   // check, so a non-numeric value bypassed the ceiling entirely (#266).
   // A number of 0 or less still means "almost no budget"; only a missing or
   // non-numeric value falls back to the ceiling (#267).
-  const requestedBytes = Math.floor(Number(requested_max_bytes));
-  const max_bytes = Math.min(
-    Number.isFinite(requestedBytes) ? Math.max(requestedBytes, 1) : MAX_BYTES,
-    MAX_BYTES,
-  );
+  const max_bytes = resolveByteBudget(requested_max_bytes, MAX_BYTES);
   // Clamp match_count to [1, MAX_MATCH_COUNT] (bounds query work; see MAX_MATCH_COUNT).
   const match_count = Math.min(Math.max(1, Math.floor(Number(raw_match_count)) || 5), MAX_MATCH_COUNT);
 

package/docs/guides/connect-agents.md

@@ -638,7 +638,7 @@ In the action editor, paste this schema (replace `<your-project-ref>`):
 openapi: 3.1.0
 info:
   title: Cerefox Knowledge Base
-  version: 4.2.0
+  version: 4.3.0
 servers:
   - url: https://<your-project-ref>.supabase.co/functions/v1
 paths:
@@ -1051,8 +1051,10 @@ paths:
                   type: integer
                   default: 200000
                   description: >
-                    Response size budget in bytes when include_content is true
-                    (whole results dropped to fit). Advanced; leave unset for the default.
+                    Response size budget in bytes when include_content is true.
+                    Content is dropped whole, never truncated mid-document, and a
+                    document whose content is dropped is still listed with
+                    content_omitted: true. Advanced; leave unset for the default.
                 author:
                   type: string
                   description: >
@@ -1067,6 +1069,12 @@ paths:
                version_count, content_hash, content }], plus review_status
             only while the store's review workflow is on (the key is absent
             when it is off).
+            The array lists EVERY matching document, so its length is the true
+            match count. When include_content is true and max_bytes cannot
+            carry a document's text, that document is still listed, with its
+            content omitted and "content_omitted": true set on the item — the
+            list is never silently shortened, and an empty array always means
+            nothing matched.
             content_hash is the concurrency token — pass it back as
             expected_content_hash when updating via ingestNote.
 ```

package/docs/guides/response-limits.md

@@ -8,11 +8,18 @@ explains how response size limits work and how to tune them.
 
 ## The key principle: opt-in limits, never truncate the web UI
 
-The web UI and CLI never truncate results. They have no size limit — the browser or terminal
-can handle arbitrarily large responses and there is no LLM context window to worry about.
+The web UI never truncates results. It has no size limit — the browser can handle
+arbitrarily large responses and there is no LLM context window to worry about.
 
-Limits are **opt-in per call**, used only on the MCP and Edge Function paths where an AI
-agent's context window matters. Callers always choose whether to apply a limit.
+Limits apply on the MCP, Edge Function **and CLI** paths. On MCP and the Edge Functions
+they exist because an AI agent's context window matters; the CLI applies the same default
+so that one setting (`CEREFOX_MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES`) governs every non-browser path, and
+raises or lowers it per call with `--max-bytes`.
+
+> **Changed in v0.10.2.** The CLI originally returned everything, like the web UI. It now
+> honours `CEREFOX_MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES` (200 000 default) and prints
+> `(results truncated at N bytes; use --max-bytes to raise)` when results are dropped.
+> This guide described the pre-v0.10.2 behaviour until v1.14.4.
 
 ---
 
@@ -21,7 +28,7 @@ agent's context window matters. Callers always choose whether to apply a limit.
 | Path | Limit behaviour |
 |------|----------------|
 | Web UI (`/search`) | **No limit** — all results returned |
-| CLI (`cerefox search`) | **No limit** — all results returned |
+| CLI (`cerefox search`) | Defaults to `CEREFOX_MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES` (200 000); raise or lower per call with `--max-bytes`. Announces truncation. |
 | Local MCP server (`cerefox mcp`) | Defaults to `CEREFOX_MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES` (200 000); agent can request less |
 | Edge Function (`cerefox-search`) | Defaults to 200 000 bytes; agent can request less via `max_bytes` body param |
 | Remote MCP (`cerefox-mcp` Edge Function) | Defaults to 200 000 bytes; agent can request less via `max_bytes` tool param |
@@ -35,8 +42,10 @@ Cerefox never cuts a document mid-content.
 
 A result that does not fit is **skipped**, not treated as the end of the list, so the
 returned set is not necessarily the top N by rank: one oversized document ranked first
-does not hide the smaller results behind it (v1.14.3). Anything skipped is named in the
-footer, so what is missing is always visible.
+does not hide the smaller results behind it (v1.14.3 on the MCP tool; v1.14.4 on the
+`cerefox-search` Edge Function and the CLI, which both still stopped at the first
+oversized row). Anything skipped is named in the footer, so what is missing is always
+visible.
 
 When truncation occurs:
 - The MCP tool appends a footer naming what was held back:
@@ -59,6 +68,30 @@ below-confidence advisory. Both are a few dozen bytes, and neither is ever
 traded for content. Returning 1 of 5 results without saying so, or presenting
 weak candidates as confident ones, would be worse than a small overrun.
 
+### Metadata search follows the same rules (v1.14.4)
+
+`cerefox_metadata_search` and the `cerefox-metadata-search` Edge Function apply
+`max_bytes` only when `include_content: true`, and the budget is applied by the
+database, which stops at the first document whose content does not fit. That
+made two silent failures possible until v1.14.4, and both are now closed:
+
+- **The reply is never empty when documents matched.** If the first document is
+  the oversized one, the budget used to empty the result set — the MCP tool
+  returned "No documents match", the Edge Function returned `[]`. Both now say
+  what matched: the tool with a warning and a header list, the Edge Function by
+  listing every matching document with content omitted.
+- **Documents are never held back silently.** The MCP tool appends
+  `[2 of 7 document(s) shown; 5 did not fit max_bytes=20000. …]`. The Edge
+  Function keeps its array shape and lists **every** matching document, marking
+  the ones whose content did not fit with `"content_omitted": true` — so
+  `results.length` is always the true match count and only content is dropped.
+
+`max_bytes` is resolved the same way on every path: `null`, absent, empty or
+non-numeric all mean **unset** and fall back to the server ceiling, and none of
+them disables the limit. A real number of zero or less means "almost no
+budget" and is honoured as such — a caller whose allowance has run out is not
+handed the largest possible reply.
+
 ---
 
 ## The server ceiling — agents can request less, never more
@@ -164,7 +197,7 @@ threshold (it is a SQL DEFAULT in `rpcs.sql`, changed via `cerefox server deploy
 | Question | Answer |
 |----------|--------|
 | Does the web UI truncate results? | No — unlimited |
-| Does the CLI truncate results? | No — unlimited |
+| Does the CLI truncate results? | Yes — at `CEREFOX_MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES`, or `--max-bytes`. It says so when it does. |
 | What is the default MCP response limit? | 200 000 bytes |
 | Can an agent request a smaller limit? | Yes — `max_bytes` tool parameter |
 | Can an agent exceed the server ceiling? | No — always capped |

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@cerefox/memory",
-  "version": "1.14.3",
+  "version": "1.14.5",
   "description": "Cerefox — user-owned shared memory for AI agents. CLI + stdio MCP server + web UI + ingestion for a knowledge base on your own Supabase project (or fully self-hosted with Cerefox Local).",
   "license": "Apache-2.0",
   "homepage": "https://github.com/fstamatelopoulos/cerefox",