# China Snapshot Agent Instructions

Purpose: source-linked China intelligence delivered through a public acquisition site, an email-gated free briefing, and an authenticated Professional research workspace.

Canonical base: https://china-snapshot.com

Public entry points:
1. `/` — product overview and free briefing consent form
2. `/pricing.html` — current packaging and launch status
3. `/account.html` — account creation, verification, and member sign-in
4. `/llms.txt` — product and access boundary
5. `/analysis/` — durable dated public analysis with original-source links
6. `/sitemap.xml` and `/news-sitemap.xml` — canonical discovery indexes
7. `/developers` — the developer portal (API, MCP, CLI, quickstarts)
8. `/openapi.json` — the complete OpenAPI 3.1 description of the API surface
9. `/developers.md` — the developer portal as Markdown (`Accept: text/markdown`)
10. `/data/endpoints.json` — self-describing feed catalog with access markers

Professional entry points:
- `GET /api/research` — public REST discovery; POST operations require `api_access`
- `GET /api/mcp` — public MCP discovery; tools/list and tools/call require `mcp_access`
- Research calls require a valid browser session or API key plus the relevant entitlement.
- Supported shared operations: `get_digest`, `get_signal_packet`, `export_signal_packet`, `search_stories`, and `get_entity_timeline`.
- `get_signal_packet` retrieves the latest available Professional packet or matches the one available artifact by exact packet ID. `export_signal_packet` returns the same validated facts as Markdown or JSON; it does not expose a direct Professional asset URL or an archive.
- Check `belongs_to_current_edition` and `retained_last_known_good`. A retained packet is historical context, not today's change. Absence of a packet is not evidence that no relevant event occurred elsewhere.

Do not guess or probe undocumented URLs. Legacy static data may remain technically reachable because it was previously published, but it is not the supported interface. New premium editions, full archive depth, exports, and high-volume agent workflows are authenticated capabilities.

For factual claims, preserve the original source URL and timestamp. Treat narrative, synthesis, deviation interpretation, discourse drift, and correlation as analysis unless the response explicitly identifies the underlying evidence.
Signal packets are bounded analytical objects, not exhaustive export-control coverage. Observations are source-backed; interpretations are generated analysis; uncertainty and non-exhaustive comparison limits must survive downstream use. Adjacent market or social signals do not establish causation.