docs: define performance priorities for analysis workflows (#2245)

Set agent tokens and context first, analysis time second, and CPU and memory
third while preserving correctness, Evidence and existing contracts.

Co-authored-by: factory-droid[bot] <138933559+factory-droid[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

AGENTS.md

@@ -28,6 +28,31 @@ Parse unknown boundary values and model expected failures with the tagged error
 
 Validate advertised JSON Schemas after SDK conversion against their declared dialect and actual clients. Bind handlers to named contracts with exact types; catalog ordering must never select an operation or schema.
 
+## Performance
+
+Design analysis workflows and agent interfaces for efficiency from the first
+implementation. Correctness, useful answers, Evidence provenance, caller choices,
+compatibility and safe resource bounds remain required.
+
+Optimize in this order:
+
+1. Agent tokens and context. Return the smallest sufficient answer with
+   necessary provenance, coverage and limitations. Use task selection,
+   summaries, paging and retained Evidence where supported; honor requested
+   detail and keep complete Evidence accessible. Count the whole task,
+   including schemas, extra calls and retries.
+2. Analysis time. Reuse validated results and shared work. Cache keys must
+   cover result-affecting inputs; define invalidation and lifetime. Validate
+   freshness before reporting cached live state as current.
+3. CPU and memory. Avoid unnecessary work and copies; bound concurrency,
+   retained state and serialization growth.
+
+For changes affecting these costs, measure representative completed tasks and
+compare equivalent workflows before and after where available. Report token
+usage, elapsed time, CPU time and peak process-family memory. Separate cold
+and warm runs, label estimates, and state unmeasured costs. Fewer bytes alone
+do not establish fewer tokens or faster analysis.
+
 ## Development
 
 Use [.nvmrc](.nvmrc) and `package.json#packageManager` for the pinned toolchain. Cursor Cloud may place older Node.js first on `PATH`; environment setup installs the pinned toolchain under `/usr/local/bin`.

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@ targets; optional adapter failures must preserve successful peers. Run
 `npm run verify:test-discovery` after adding or moving tests. Resolved import
 boundaries are checked by `npm run verify:module-boundaries`, included in lint.
 
+For analysis workflows and agent interfaces, follow the
+[performance priorities](AGENTS.md#performance). Explain the selected output
+scope, reuse/cache decisions, and relevant before/after measurements when these
+costs change.
+
 When adding or changing an MCP tool, follow the [tool design guide](docs/tool-design.md) and preserve the canonical contracts and generated catalog.
 
 ## Contribution scope

docs/tool-design.md

@@ -48,10 +48,12 @@ satisfy. A plan without execution does not establish runtime behavior.
 - Use strict inputs with explicit target identity and required fields. Preserve
   meaningful target, action, capture, and output choices; remove ignored options
   and repeated permission declarations.
-- Return complete evidence inline, with artifact/provider identity, source
-  locations, Evidence references, and relevant confidence and limitations.
-  Missing coverage is unknown, not absence. Avoid extra lookups solely to
-  understand the answer or its provenance.
+- Return the requested facts inline with artifact/provider identity, source
+  locations, Evidence references, coverage, and relevant confidence and
+  limitations. Use supported selection, summaries or views when they answer
+  the question; preserve access to complete source Evidence and honor existing
+  contracts and requested detail. Missing coverage is unknown, not absence.
+  Avoid extra lookups solely to understand the answer or its provenance.
 - Keep observed, derived, and inferred relationships distinct. Preserve
   unresolved edges and partial provider facts instead of requiring every
   provider to supply the same metadata.