diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 889c0be..2653b4a 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -15,6 +15,15 @@ Derived from `config/harness.json`. Policy lives in config, not in vibes.
 - Live review / Action dogfood: **at most one** Anthropic key. Never require two keys to run the stack. Never put real keys in git.
 - CI self-review (`.github/workflows/self-review.yml`) uses a **key-gate** job (GitHub forbids `secrets` in `jobs.<id>.if`) so an empty secret skips the review job; keeps `fail-on: never`. Action soft-skips auth/billing/rate-limit as `SKIPPED` (no ERROR sticky) when advisory. `anthropic-api-key` input is `required: false`.
 
+## Learnings (encode + reuse)
+
+See [`LEARNINGS.md`](LEARNINGS.md). Short form:
+
+- **SPEC → PLAN → OK → smallest unit → prove with command → merge → clean tree.**
+- Gate (agent-action-gate) = auth thesis; lazycoder = trailer; LLM ≠ auth engine.
+- Never leave a half PR. Offline proves without keys. No fake precision.
+- Adversarial audit after every "fix"; close gaps with regression fixtures.
+
 ## Hard rules (non-negotiable)
 
 1. Never modify code outside the reviewed diff.
@@ -28,9 +37,9 @@ Derived from `config/harness.json`. Policy lives in config, not in vibes.
 
 1. **Specify** — load diff, harness, guardrails, review_rules; scope the review.
 2. **Plan** — which files/blocks, which subagents; human OK if scope exceeds limits.
-3. **Execute** — run rubric via subagents; findings cite rule_id + location.
-4. **Verify** — real linter/typecheck/test output in sandbox; no self-reported green.
-5. **Decide** — aggregate verdict; human confirms consequential changes.
+3. **Execute (smallest unit)** — one concern; findings cite rule_id + location.
+4. **Prove** — real pytest / lint / mypy / `corpus_cli.py prove` (no-key path); no self-reported green.
+5. **Merge → clean tree** — finish the PR; leave no half-open branch. Verdict for consequential product changes still needs human OK.
 
 ## Build order (inside → out)
 
@@ -65,6 +74,6 @@ mypy src
 
 ## Agent process in this repo
 
-**Plan → you approve → small change → verify (pytest/lint/mypy) → you decide.**
+**SPEC → PLAN → OK → smallest unit → prove (pytest/lint/mypy/prove) → merge → clean tree.**
 
 No 200-line unreviewed dumps. One concern per change.
diff --git a/LEARNINGS.md b/LEARNINGS.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..523f646
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LEARNINGS.md
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# lazycoder — delivery learnings
+
+Short, hard-won rules from the aisona-lab harness loop. Do not invent numbers
+to make a stage look done.
+
+## Delivery loop (non-negotiable)
+
+**SPEC → PLAN → OK → smallest unit → prove with a command → merge → clean tree.**
+
+1. Write the spec / claim that must become true.
+2. Plan the smallest change that makes that claim true.
+3. Get human OK when scope is unclear or consequential.
+4. Ship one concern per PR — no half-open branches left behind.
+5. Prove offline with a real command (see below); paste exit 0, not vibes.
+6. Merge only when CI is green and the working tree is clean.
+
+## Architecture thesis
+
+| Role | Repo | Keys |
+|------|------|------|
+| **Auth engine** | [agent-action-gate](https://github.com/aisona-lab/agent-action-gate) | **Zero** LLM keys. Deterministic allow / deny / approval. |
+| **Trailer** | this repo (lazycoder) | Optional **one** Anthropic key for live review / Action. |
+| Deterministic half | verdict, replay, corpus `prove`, pytest | **No** key. |
+
+LLM is never the authorization engine. Never claim the stack needs two keys.
+Never put real keys in git.
+
+## Offline proof (definition of done without credits)
+
+```bash
+env -u ANTHROPIC_API_KEY uv run pytest -q
+env -u ANTHROPIC_API_KEY uv run python scripts/corpus_cli.py prove corpus/seed.jsonl
+```
+
+Live corpus scoring / Action dogfood with a real model stays **BLOCKED** until
+Anthropic credits exist. Do not invent precision; do not flip `fail-on` without
+Stage 2 live numbers (`docs/hardening-plan.md`).
+
+## After every "fix"
+
+Run an adversarial audit: missing key, billing soft-skip, injection-in-args as
+data, sticky ERROR vs SKIPPED. Close gaps with **regression fixtures / tests**,
+not prose. Soft-skip auth/billing **before** posting an ERROR sticky when
+advisory (`fail-on: never`).
+
+## Honesty
+
+- No fake precision. Publish measured numbers even when bad.
+- Offline proves without keys. Live paths soft-skip cleanly when the key is
+  absent or billing fails.
+- Prefer harness (docs, fixtures, FEATURE_MAP, CI) over semantic refactors
+  unless the task explicitly asks for a semantic change.
diff --git a/docs/FEATURE_MAP.md b/docs/FEATURE_MAP.md
index 4e80ab3..49a91d3 100644
--- a/docs/FEATURE_MAP.md
+++ b/docs/FEATURE_MAP.md
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ Stage 2 corpus.
 key. [agent-action-gate](https://github.com/aisona-lab/agent-action-gate) is the
 auth engine (zero LLM); lazycoder is optional analysis. Never claim two keys.
 
+Process lessons: [`LEARNINGS.md`](../LEARNINGS.md) (SPEC→PLAN→OK→prove→merge; gate=auth, lazycoder=trailer).
+
 ## Deterministic core
 
 | Feature | Unit tests | Fixtures | Notes |