diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 4091229..74b1ff8 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -23,6 +23,21 @@ Use Node LTS and npm from the repository root. Install dependencies with `npm in
 
 Use TypeScript with two-space indentation, semicolons, and double-quoted strings. Let Vite+ format and lint enforce style. Use kebab-case for filenames, descriptive `*.test.ts` names, and keep tests near their domain (integration tests under `tests/integration/`). Prefer small, typed helpers and explicit error messages.
 
+## Askr North Star
+
+Keep every command narratable from explicit arguments and project files through
+one visible operation and result. Reject invalid configuration, ambiguous
+ownership, and unsupported project state at the boundary with errors that name
+the file or option and the corrective action. Test distinguishable parse,
+analysis, generation, update, and packaging failure paths. Keep CLI commands,
+analyzer rules, generators, SSG, and shipped skills independently legible.
+Prefer explicit command options and registries over discovery or auto-wiring,
+and add commands or flags only for demonstrated application needs.
+
+Performance work must preserve this causal model. A change is ready only when
+its behavior has a one-sentence explanation, misuse is caught where it occurs,
+and docs match the verified command and installed-package behavior.
+
 ## Testing Guidelines
 
 Add regression tests with every behavior change. Use Vitest’s `test`/`describe` APIs and deterministic fixtures; avoid sleeps and network-dependent assumptions outside packaging integration tests. Run focused tests first, then `npm test`, `npm run typecheck`, and relevant integration or benchmark commands.
@@ -34,3 +49,23 @@ Use imperative, conventional commit subjects such as `fix: ...`, `test: ...`, `c
 ## Configuration and Security
 
 Do not commit credentials, generated `dist/` output, temporary tarballs, or local `node_modules/`. Preserve `package-lock.json` whenever dependency manifests change. Prefer `npm ci` for reproducible CI installs and review npm script-install warnings before approving new dependencies.
+
+## Optimization Gate
+
+A benchmark number is only half of an optimization's success criterion. The
+change must also preserve a causal path that a human or agent can narrate in one
+sentence.
+
+Every benchmark-driven change must include:
+
+1. the one-sentence causal description of the optimized path;
+2. the exact fallback trigger and proof that optimized and fallback paths have
+   identical observable behavior and error surfaces;
+3. an explicit legibility-cost statement, including `none` when no new path or
+   concept is introduced; and
+4. evidence that a measured bottleneck in a real application justifies the
+   optimization now.
+
+Prefer making the existing single path faster. New caches, inference,
+memoization, shortcuts, fast paths, or scheduler states require an explicit
+legibility decision; a speedup alone does not justify them.