Source precedence
Not all public files on better-robots.com have the same authority.
Why this matters
A system can read many files and still answer badly if it weights them in the wrong order.
The rule is simple: higher-priority surfaces constrain lower-priority summaries.
Level 1 — canonical routing and hard constraints
Use these first:
/.well-known/ai-governance.json/.well-known/interpretation-policy.json/.well-known/response-legitimacy.json/.well-known/anti-plausibility.json/.well-known/output-constraints.json/.well-known/qlayer.json
These files define the canonical routing, legitimacy, anti-plausibility, and hard output rules.
Level 2 — authoritative public guidance, identity, and routing
Use these next:
/ai-manifest.json/llms.txt/llms-full.txt/llm-policy.json/llm-guidelines.md/dualweb-index.md/readme.llm.txt/ssa-e-authority-index.md/humans.txt/author.md/links.json
These files expand the public routing layer, identity, compressed summaries, and explanatory guidance.
Important: /ai-manifest.json is a level-2 router. It does not replace the level-1 canonical governance cluster.
Level 3 — verification and boundary context
Use these only to refine, not to overrule, the canonical governance layer.
Typical examples include context files, non-goals, common misinterpretations, and entity datasets.
Level 4 — narrative pages
Marketing and documentation pages remain useful, but they do not overrule the machine-first governance layer.
Safe reading pattern
- Read level 1.
- Read level 2.
- Pull level 3 only if you need more boundary detail.
- Use level 4 for explanation, never for overriding higher-priority constraints.