> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.usealmanac.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> This handbook preview targets personal CLI 0.11.1. Check installed command help and the matching backend schema before using examples with another release. Examples with named people and placeholder IDs are fictional.

# Following a claim to its source

> A citation is a route from a maintained claim to its evidence.

A citation is a route from a maintained claim to its evidence. Following it requires identifying the cited source and then reading the original that source locates. Reading source metadata alone does not verify the claim.

Suppose a person article says that Sam joined Meridian Labs and ends the sentence with `[@new-role]`. In that record's `citations` map, `new-role` names a binding whose `source.id` identifies a saved source. A structured field can refer to the same citation key through `field_citations`. Read the complete record to see those bindings and the current revision:

```sh theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
almanac read PERSON_ID
almanac read SOURCE_ID
```

Replace these placeholders with returned identities. A citation key belongs to the article containing it; `new-role` by itself is not a globally identifiable source. [Originals and evidence](/almanac/originals-and-evidence) describes the separate roles of articles, source locators and originals.

## Reading the original

A provider source locator identifies an account, resource kind and native object. For an email thread, pass the account and thread identity from that locator to the email reader:

```sh theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
almanac email read THREAD_ID --account ACCOUNT_ID
```

The source ID and thread ID are different identities. Keep the resolved account when following the thread; another account with a similar name is not an interchangeable source. Follow continuation cursors when relevant and check whether the returned message body is complete. Reaching the last page of a thread does not establish that every individual body was returned in full.

A web source leads to a URL, which can be read with the public reader. An uploaded source leads to its stored file through the upload/source interface. Use the locator kind to choose the route rather than guessing from the source title. A quote anchor helps locate the passage, but the saved quote still needs comparison with the original when verification matters.

## What the evidence establishes

An email announcing a new role can support the historical statement that Sam joined Meridian at that time. It may not establish Sam's current role months later. Checking currentness can require later messages or another current source. A later correction should change the article's account while preserving history that remains supported.

Sometimes the source exists but access to its original has gone away. An account may be disconnected or a public page removed. An expired uploaded-file URL is different: request a fresh link with `almanac sources file SOURCE_ID` before concluding that the original is unavailable. [Uploaded sources](/guides/upload-sources) explains that access path. Report that limit precisely. It does not prove the original claim false, and the surviving locator does not prove the claim true. Almanac can retain the existing supported history while explaining what it could not verify now.

If the checked evidence warrants a change, read the target record's latest revision before editing. [Writing and tending pages](/almanac/writing-and-tending-pages) explains how to update understanding without losing other information. The citation should make the resulting claim easier to inspect, not make it appear more certain than the original permits.