# Find the right reference

Navigate portable models, runtime execution, adapters and generated contract records by responsibility.

Source context: Source-guided
Source: https://github.com/lssm-tech/contractspec/blob/d58fa5b7de53a947811e5cc68346be028ce18528/packages/bundles/library/src/components/docs/generated/loader.ts

## Choose the reference that answers your question

Guides explain how to accomplish a task; reference records explain a particular surface. Start with the layer that owns your question so a package catalogue does not become your learning path.

The inspected generated manifest contains 1,300 records. The public explorer shows eligible public reference metadata; internal, mixed or unspecified records stay out of its default results. Reference records describe source surfaces, not independently verified tutorials.

| Question | Owner to inspect | Useful source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What does an operation declare? | Portable contracts | contracts-spec operation model |
| What runs before a handler? | Runtime kernel | operations/prepare and registry |
| How does HTTP or MCP expose a call? | Delivery adapter | REST handler or MCP registration |
| How are role surfaces selected? | Surface runtime | RoleMorph resolver |
| What does this specific contract contain? | Generated reference | Key, version and declaration source |
| Where is a public import supported? | Package export map | The selected version's package.json |

## Read a reference record

Use the contract key as its identity, then inspect the version, kind, ownership and stability where available. Follow the declaration source for the full model and the relevant handler or runtime for execution behavior.

A stability field describes the contract's declared status. It does not establish that an integration was exercised against a live provider or that a package has been installed outside the monorepo.

## Understand generated lineage

The existing docs loader reads a manifest, loads metadata chunks and resolves each record's Markdown content from the generated docs tree. Update the owning declaration or DocBlock, then regenerate; do not make permanent edits to the generated JSON.

The inspected manifest uses a deterministic generatedAt value and has no release version. Treat that as a reproducibility mechanism with missing release provenance, not as a meaningful freshness date.

## Move between explanation and exact detail

Use a concept page to understand a boundary, a guide to configure it, and a reference record to inspect the exact symbol or operation involved. Return to the guide for the next action instead of reading the entire reference inventory sequentially.

When a lookup gives no result, check aliases, exact operation key, the selected version and whether the relevant package was included in generation.