Version Reconciliation

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Version Reconciliation — the auto-detect update flow

When a target has both a web-latest and a locally installed version, LiveDocs detects the gap and offers an upgrade. The rule that governs every branch:

Answer from your local installed version. The web-latest is used only to detect that you're behind and to offer the upgrade, never as the answer itself.

flowchart TD
    Q["Docs query"] --> C{"Classify per-question:<br/>is there a local,<br/>version-matched source?"}
    C -->|"web-only<br/>(Claude Code, SaaS, hosted docs)"| W["Fetch web-latest<br/>(no reconciliation,<br/>no upgrade prompt)"]
    C -->|"has-local<br/>(installed package / CLI)"| T{"Context-aware trigger?<br/>in a consuming project, OR<br/>version / upgrade / debug question"}
    T -->|"no"| W
    T -->|"yes"| L["introspect: installed version<br/>(READ-ONLY, cwd-scoped)"]
    L --> V["latest_version: web-latest"]
    V --> CMP{"installed vs latest"}
    CMP -->|"equal"| LOCAL["Answer from LOCAL<br/>installed docs"]
    CMP -->|"web newer"| U{"Upgrade?<br/>(explicit user confirm)"}
    U -->|"decline"| LOCAL
    U -->|"confirm"| INS["skill runs the install<br/>(MCP stays read-only)"]
    INS --> LOCAL

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Notes

• Classification is per-question. The same tool can be both: "how do I configure Claude Code" is web-only; "what flags does the installed claude take" is has-local.
• The context-aware trigger fires only when reconciliation is warranted (inside a consuming project, or a version / upgrade / debug question), to bound latency.
• Installed resolution is cwd-scoped: npm node_modules, a Python venv, or R .libPaths() of the current project, never a misleading global assumption.
• Install is a confirmed mutation, run by the skill after explicit confirmation. The MCP itself stays read-only; it introspects, it never installs.

See also the boundary: Primary-source spectrum.