docs: document auto-applied attribution for source descriptions

[Arjun Avtani (ded-furby)]

Description

Reconciles the contributor branch with current main for the source-description attribution guidance tracked by #1718.

The original contribution changed the contributor documentation to omit attribution suffixes from source AI artifact and skill description frontmatter. While this PR was open, main adopted the same policy and clarified that source artifacts carry no per-artifact attribution suffix or SKILL.md footer and that generation tooling strips legacy suffixes rather than appending them.

After merging main and resolving those overlapping edits in favor of the current wording, the effective PR diff now refreshes ms.date in the two reconciled documentation files.

Related Issue(s)

Closes #1718

Type of Change

Select all that apply:

Code & Documentation:

• Bug fix (non-breaking change fixing an issue)
• New feature (non-breaking change adding functionality)
• Breaking change (fix or feature causing existing functionality to change)
• Documentation update

Infrastructure & Configuration:

• GitHub Actions workflow
• Linting configuration (markdown, PowerShell, etc.)
• Security configuration
• DevContainer configuration
• Dependency update

AI Artifacts:

• Reviewed contribution with hve-builder and addressed all actionable findings
• Copilot instructions (.github/instructions/*.instructions.md)
• Copilot prompt (.github/prompts/*.prompt.md)
• Copilot agent (.github/agents/*.agent.md)
• Copilot skill (.github/skills/*/SKILL.md)
• Copilot hook (.github/hooks/*/*.json)
• Eval spec added/updated for changed AI artifacts (evals/)

Other:

• Script/automation (.ps1, .sh, .py)
• Other (please describe):

Testing

• Installed the current root dependencies with npm ci; npm reported 0 vulnerabilities.
• Ran focused markdownlint-cli2 validation on docs/contributing/ai-artifacts-common.md and docs/contributing/skills.md; 0 issues were reported.
• Parsed both frontmatter blocks and verified ms.date: 2026-09-04.
• Verified both files contain no merge-conflict markers.
• Ran git diff --check origin/main...HEAD; no effective-diff whitespace errors were reported.
• Verified origin/main is an ancestor of the branch head and the worktree is clean.

Checklist

Required Checks

• Documentation is updated (if applicable)
• Files follow existing naming conventions
• Changes are backwards compatible (if applicable)
• Tests added for new functionality (not applicable; documentation-only effective diff)

AI Artifact Contributions

• Used hve-builder review mode to review contribution
• Addressed all actionable findings from the hve-builder review
• Verified contribution follows common standards and type-specific requirements

Required Local Checks

• Local validation aggregate: npm run validate:local
• Documentation validation (if docs changed): npm run validate:docs
• Spell checking: npm run spell-check
• Link validation: npm run lint:md-links

Security Considerations

• This PR does not contain any sensitive or NDA information
• Any new dependencies have been reviewed for security issues (not applicable; no dependency changes)
• Security-related scripts follow the principle of least privilege (not applicable; no script changes)

Additional Notes

The contributor branch is updated through main commit 52abb388. The current effective diff contains only the ms.date refreshes in the two documentation files.

The license/cla check remains contributor-owned. The policy service has requested acceptance from @ded-furby; maintainer merge commits do not satisfy or transfer that obligation.

[Marcel Bindseil (bindsi)]

Automated review (bindsi batch). Clean documentation update documenting that attribution suffixes are now auto-applied by tooling rather than manually included in source frontmatter. Both ai-artifacts-common.md and skills.md are updated consistently — description format guidance, examples, and the recognized metadata examples all drop the suffix. Aligns with the sibling attribution-strip PRs (#1721–#1724). LGTM.

[Marcel Bindseil (bindsi)]

Automated batch review: no actionable findings.

[Emmeline Hoops (chaosdinosaur)]

Approving the convention change — omitting the attribution suffix from source description frontmatter is the right call and aligns with epic #1711 (reclaiming Copilot context-index tokens) and the existing generation tooling.

One accuracy fix before/after merge: the wording says distribution/generation tooling appends attribution automatically to generated outputs. That isn't what the tooling does. The only suffix-handling code path strips the suffix:

• Get-ArtifactDescription (scripts/collections/Modules/CollectionHelpers.psm1) removes - Brought to you by microsoft/hve-core when reading source frontmatter.
• Prepare-Extension.ps1 and PluginHelpers.psm1 build their README tables from that already-stripped description and never re-add the per-artifact suffix.
• The only attribution tooling emits is the static collection/plugin README footer > Source: [microsoft/hve-core](https://github.com/microsoft/hve-core) — not a per-description suffix.

So a source file that omits the suffix simply produces output with no per-artifact suffix (byte-identical to today, since tooling already strips — consistent with #1711's "verified byte-identical post-change" note). Describing this as "appended automatically" will mislead future contributors into thinking the suffix reappears downstream.

Suggested rewording:

Source AI artifact files MUST omit the attribution suffix from the frontmatter description field. Generation tooling already strips this suffix, so omitting it at the source keeps generated outputs byte-identical while reclaiming Copilot context-index tokens. Distribution-level attribution is carried by the collection/plugin > Source: microsoft/hve-core footer, not by per-artifact descriptions.

And drop (or reword) the "Generated outputs append the attribution suffix automatically…" line to "Generation tooling strips any attribution suffix from descriptions."

Non-blocking from my side — happy to see the convention land; just don't ship the "appends" phrasing as-is.

[Marcel Bindseil (bindsi)]

Approving. Clean documentation update: source AI-artifact/skill description frontmatter now omits the attribution suffix, with attribution carried by the collection/plugin footer and any leftover suffix stripped by generation tooling. ai-artifacts-common.md and skills.md are updated consistently (guidance, examples, recognized-metadata example), aligning with the merged attribution-strip PRs (#1721–#1724). No issues.

[Codecov Comments Bot (codecov-commenter)]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 83.27%. Comparing base (52abb38) to head (b71a43b).

Additional details and impacted files

@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##             main    #1752      +/-   ##
==========================================
+ Coverage   83.14%   83.27%   +0.13%     
==========================================
  Files         183      184       +1     
  Lines       34029    34500     +471     
  Branches       25       25              
==========================================
+ Hits        28292    28730     +438     
- Misses       5734     5767      +33     
  Partials        3        3              

Flag	Coverage Δ
docusaurus	89.92% <ø> (ø)
pester	84.24% <ø> (+0.40%)	⬆️

Flags with carried forward coverage won't be shown. Click here to find out more.
see 8 files with indirect coverage changes

🚀 New features to boost your workflow:

• ❄️ Test Analytics: Detect flaky tests, report on failures, and find test suite problems.
• 📦 JS Bundle Analysis: Save yourself from yourself by tracking and limiting bundle sizes in JS merges.

[Chris Montazer (rezatnoMsirhC)]

Welcome to the project, Arjun Avtani (@ded-furby)! Thank you for your first contribution to the edge-ai collection. The attribution-suffix cleanup is a meaningful quality-of-life improvement and we appreciate the effort.

Two quick asks before we can move forward:

1. PR description: could you update the description to follow our PR template? The current format uses custom ## Summary / ## Validation sections; the template asks for Description, Related Issue(s), Type of Change checkboxes (at minimum Documentation update), and the Checklist. Your existing Closes #1718 link is great; just move it into the Related Issue(s) section.

2. CLA: microsoft-github-policy-service has left a comment asking you to sign the Contributor License Agreement. The license/cla check is currently pending, which will block merge. Please reply to that comment with:

   @microsoft-github-policy-service agree
   

   (or include company="your company" if this submission is made in the course of work for an employer; full instructions are in the bot's comment).

Thanks again. We will pick up the full review once those two items are addressed!

[Bill Berry (WilliamBerryiii)]

Thanks Emmeline Hoops (@chaosdinosaur), Chris Montazer (@rezatnoMsirhC), and Marcel Bindseil (@bindsi) for the reviews and guidance.

The maintainer-addressable feedback is now handled in b71a43b9:

• Updated the contributor branch with current main and resolved both documentation conflicts.
• Corrected the attribution wording so it states that source artifacts carry no suffix or footer and generation tooling strips legacy suffixes; it no longer claims tooling appends attribution.
• Updated the PR description to the repository template while preserving Closes #1718.
• Refreshed both edited ms.date values to 2026-09-04.
• Re-ran focused Markdown, frontmatter, conflict-marker, effective-diff, ancestry, and clean-worktree checks successfully.

The license/cla gate is still contributor-owned. Arjun Avtani (@ded-furby), please complete the CLA instruction from the policy-service comment so that remaining merge gate can clear. CI has restarted against the updated head.

[microsoft-github-policy-service]

Arjun Avtani (@ded-furby) please read the following Contributor License Agreement(CLA). If you agree with the CLA, please reply with the following information.

@microsoft-github-policy-service agree [company="{your company}"]

Options:

• (default - no company specified) I have sole ownership of intellectual property rights to my Submissions and I am not making Submissions in the course of work for my employer.

@microsoft-github-policy-service agree

• (when company given) I am making Submissions in the course of work for my employer (or my employer has intellectual property rights in my Submissions by contract or applicable law). I have permission from my employer to make Submissions and enter into this Agreement on behalf of my employer. By signing below, the defined term “You” includes me and my employer.

@microsoft-github-policy-service agree company="Microsoft"

Contributor License Agreement

Contribution License Agreement

This Contribution License Agreement (“Agreement”) is agreed to by the party signing below (“You”),
and conveys certain license rights to Microsoft Corporation and its affiliates (“Microsoft”) for Your
contributions to Microsoft open source projects. This Agreement is effective as of the latest signature
date below.

1. Definitions.
   “Code” means the computer software code, whether in human-readable or machine-executable form,
   that is delivered by You to Microsoft under this Agreement.
   “Project” means any of the projects owned or managed by Microsoft and offered under a license
   approved by the Open Source Initiative (www.opensource.org).
   “Submit” is the act of uploading, submitting, transmitting, or distributing code or other content to any
   Project, including but not limited to communication on electronic mailing lists, source code control
   systems, and issue tracking systems that are managed by, or on behalf of, the Project for the purpose of
   discussing and improving that Project, but excluding communication that is conspicuously marked or
   otherwise designated in writing by You as “Not a Submission.”
   “Submission” means the Code and any other copyrightable material Submitted by You, including any
   associated comments and documentation.
2. Your Submission. You must agree to the terms of this Agreement before making a Submission to any
   Project. This Agreement covers any and all Submissions that You, now or in the future (except as
   described in Section 4 below), Submit to any Project.
3. Originality of Work. You represent that each of Your Submissions is entirely Your original work.
   Should You wish to Submit materials that are not Your original work, You may Submit them separately
   to the Project if You (a) retain all copyright and license information that was in the materials as You
   received them, (b) in the description accompanying Your Submission, include the phrase “Submission
   containing materials of a third party:” followed by the names of the third party and any licenses or other
   restrictions of which You are aware, and (c) follow any other instructions in the Project’s written
   guidelines concerning Submissions.
4. Your Employer. References to “employer” in this Agreement include Your employer or anyone else
   for whom You are acting in making Your Submission, e.g. as a contractor, vendor, or agent. If Your
   Submission is made in the course of Your work for an employer or Your employer has intellectual
   property rights in Your Submission by contract or applicable law, You must secure permission from Your
   employer to make the Submission before signing this Agreement. In that case, the term “You” in this
   Agreement will refer to You and the employer collectively. If You change employers in the future and
   desire to Submit additional Submissions for the new employer, then You agree to sign a new Agreement
   and secure permission from the new employer before Submitting those Submissions.
5. Licenses.

• Copyright License. You grant Microsoft, and those who receive the Submission directly or
  indirectly from Microsoft, a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable license in the
  Submission to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, and distribute
  the Submission and such derivative works, and to sublicense any or all of the foregoing rights to third
  parties.
• Patent License. You grant Microsoft, and those who receive the Submission directly or
  indirectly from Microsoft, a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable license under
  Your patent claims that are necessarily infringed by the Submission or the combination of the
  Submission with the Project to which it was Submitted to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell and
  import or otherwise dispose of the Submission alone or with the Project.
• Other Rights Reserved. Each party reserves all rights not expressly granted in this Agreement.
  No additional licenses or rights whatsoever (including, without limitation, any implied licenses) are
  granted by implication, exhaustion, estoppel or otherwise.

6. Representations and Warranties. You represent that You are legally entitled to grant the above
   licenses. You represent that each of Your Submissions is entirely Your original work (except as You may
   have disclosed under Section 3). You represent that You have secured permission from Your employer to
   make the Submission in cases where Your Submission is made in the course of Your work for Your
   employer or Your employer has intellectual property rights in Your Submission by contract or applicable
   law. If You are signing this Agreement on behalf of Your employer, You represent and warrant that You
   have the necessary authority to bind the listed employer to the obligations contained in this Agreement.
   You are not expected to provide support for Your Submission, unless You choose to do so. UNLESS
   REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING, AND EXCEPT FOR THE WARRANTIES
   EXPRESSLY STATED IN SECTIONS 3, 4, AND 6, THE SUBMISSION PROVIDED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT IS
   PROVIDED WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTY OF
   NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
7. Notice to Microsoft. You agree to notify Microsoft in writing of any facts or circumstances of which
   You later become aware that would make Your representations in this Agreement inaccurate in any
   respect.
8. Information about Submissions. You agree that contributions to Projects and information about
   contributions may be maintained indefinitely and disclosed publicly, including Your name and other
   information that You submit with Your Submission.
9. Governing Law/Jurisdiction. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Washington, and
   the parties consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the federal courts sitting in King County,
   Washington, unless no federal subject matter jurisdiction exists, in which case the parties consent to
   exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the Superior Court of King County, Washington. The parties waive all
   defenses of lack of personal jurisdiction and forum non-conveniens.
10. Entire Agreement/Assignment. This Agreement is the entire agreement between the parties, and
    supersedes any and all prior agreements, understandings or communications, written or oral, between
    the parties relating to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement may be assigned by Microsoft.

[Bill Berry (WilliamBerryiii)]

Arjun Avtani (@ded-furby), the branch is updated and the PR is mergeable, but the license/cla check is still waiting on your acceptance. Please follow the instructions in the latest policy-service comment and reply with the applicable CLA agreement command. Once that is complete, the remaining review gate can proceed.