---
id: "concept-edit-source-principle"
type: "concept"
source_timestamps: ["§6.3"]
tags: ["source-integrity", "debugging", "future-direction"]
related: ["concept-stage-contracts", "concept-icm-as-compilation", "question-semantic-debugging"]
definition: "Editing a stage's output fixes this run; editing the source (reference material, stage contract, prior stage) that produced it fixes every future run — prefer fixing causes over symptoms."
sources: ["paper"]
sourceVaultSlug: "icm-paper-folder-architecture-2026Jun02"
originDay: 2
---
# The Edit-Source Principle (Source Integrity)

## The principle

> *"Editing the output fixes this run. Editing the source fixes every future run."* — see [[quote-edit-source]].

ICM's review gates ([[concept-stage-contracts]]) currently invite editing **stage output**, which works but treats symptoms. The Edit-Source Principle argues for fixing *causes*.

## Worked example

If a script sounds wrong at stage 2:

- **Patch the symptom**: edit the script directly (fixes this run only).
- **Fix the cause**: ask *why* it sounds wrong and trace to:
  - an underspecified voice guide (Layer 3),
  - a stage contract emphasising the wrong quality (Layer 2),
  - a stage-1 framing that misdirected the script (upstream output).

Editing source fixes every future run.

## Why this matters

Drawn from compiler/software practice and tied to [[concept-icm-as-compilation]]: editing output is patching the binary; editing source is fixing the cause. The principle argues **source files should be what improves over time**, pointing ICM toward source-integrity discipline rather than output-patching.

## Open future direction

Fully realizing this principle requires tooling that doesn't yet exist: when a phrase sounds wrong at stage 3, what source file actually caused it? Today the practitioner does the tracing manually. The corresponding research direction is [[question-semantic-debugging]] — building source-map equivalents for content pipelines.


## Related across days
- [[framework-skill-creation]]
- [[quote-edit-source]]
- [[synthesis-edit-source-as-dialogue-evolution]]
- [[question-semantic-debugging]]