diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 0fbc56a646..e0c044e824 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # AGENTS.md
 
-This is the monorepo of the DeepSeek Harness group; it hosts **DeepSeek Harness SDK**, a plugin-based SDK for building agent harnesses. The codebase is built on the vendored Cordis framework, microkernel-style: **everything is a plugin**. Read [docs/architecture.md](docs/architecture.md) before changing anything under `packages/` — the service map, event surface, loop lifecycle, and extension seams. The documentation standard is [docs/AGENTS.md](docs/AGENTS.md).
+This is the monorepo of the DeepSeek Harness group; it hosts **DeepSeek Harness SDK**, a plugin-based SDK for building agent harnesses. The codebase is built on the vendored Cordis framework, microkernel-style: **everything is a plugin**. Read [docs/architecture.md](docs/architecture.md) before changing `packages/`; the documentation standard is [docs/AGENTS.md](docs/AGENTS.md).
 
 ## Pre-release stance: foundation over blast radius
 
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ pnpm run demo:acp       # ACP server agent (needs DEEPSEEK_API_KEY)
 
 ### Run the CI gates locally before marking a PR ready
 
-From a fresh clone or worktree, `pnpm run build` first — publint and the NodeNext check validate built `lib/`. The CI-equivalent run:
+During implementation, run the narrowest affected checks; run this full CI-equivalent sequence only when complete and before marking a PR ready. From a fresh clone/worktree, `pnpm run build` first because publint and NodeNext validate built `lib/`:
 
 ```sh
 set -euo pipefail