Choose allowed sources for factual answers
Purpose
Use this page to set an evidence boundary for factual answers: what the assistant is allowed to use to support factual claims.
Enforcement (fail-closed): The assistant must make a factual claim only when it is supported by an allowed source. If support is missing, it must stop and request the specific artifact or citation needed. It must not infer, guess, or fabricate sources.
Allowed sources are:
- Your materials (files, logs, screenshots, excerpts, repo snapshots you attach or paste), or
- Authoritative public sources cited with a stable locator (DOI; standard-id + clause/section; official documentation with version + section).
Canonical links
Prompt templates (3) Hide prompt templates
Choose a mode
- Option 1 (Artifacts-only): answer only from what you provide.
- Option 2 (Authoritative citations): answer using authoritative public sources with citation-grade locators.
- Option 3 (Academic report): Option 2 + structured output (VERIFIED / NOT VERIFIED + confidence).
Setup
1) Pick one option below (Option 1 / 2 / 3). 2) Open the linked policy (rules) and confirm it matches your intent. 3) Install the linked system prompt file into your runtime:
- If your runtime supports roles, set it as a system/developer message.
- Otherwise, paste it at the top of your prompt. 4) Follow the linked procedure for the option you chose.
Verify (smoke test)
Ask one factual question without attaching any sources.
- Expected: the assistant requests the missing artifact/citation instead of answering.
Options
Option 1 — Artifacts-only (no external sources)
Use when you want answers based only on what you attach or paste.
- Policy (rules): Facts-only: Artifacts-only
- System prompt file (copy/paste): facts-only-artifacts-only.system.txt
- Procedure: Facts-only: Artifacts-only — procedure
Example
- Question: “Why did this CI run fail?”
- You must provide: the CI log output (or build logs), plus any referenced config or relevant repo snapshot excerpt. If the failure references a specific file/line, include that file/section.
Option 2 — Authoritative public sources (citations required)
Use when you need public facts backed by authoritative sources with stable locators.
- Policy (rules): Facts-only: Authoritative sources required
- System prompt file (copy/paste): facts-only-authoritative-sources-required.system.txt
- Procedure: Facts-only: Authoritative sources required — procedure
Example
- Question: “What does a standard/spec say about <topic>?”
- You must provide: a stable locator to the authoritative source (e.g., DOI; standard-id + clause/section; official doc with version + section). Without a locator, the assistant must stop and ask for it.
Option 3 — Academic report mode (cited sources + structured output)
Use when you want Option 2 plus structured output (VERIFIED / NOT VERIFIED) and an explicit confidence line.
- Policy (rules): Evidence-Gated Academic Mode (EGAM)
- System prompt file (copy/paste): evidence-gated-academic-mode.system.txt
- Procedure: Evidence-Gated Academic Mode — procedure
Example
- Question: “Assess whether claim X is supported by evidence.”
- You must provide: the cited authoritative sources with stable locators (as in Option 2), and any supporting artifacts you want considered. Output must be structured (VERIFIED / NOT VERIFIED + confidence) with an explicit confidence line.
Common mistakes
- Choosing Option 1 and then requesting current public facts.
- Choosing Option 2 but providing non-stable citations (no DOI / no standard clause/section / no doc version+section).
- Claiming “what happened in this run” without attaching logs/screenshots.