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8. Emit a RAG citation stream

Date: 2026-07-13

Status​

Accepted

Context​

RAG responses need to be auditable. Users and downstream systems must know which sources support which claims. A citation stream is the standard way to surface this information.

Decision​

  • Add a CitationStream type in src/uar/rag/.
  • Emit citations as [1], [2] markers on the SSE event channel alongside the generated text.
  • Build a React hover-to-source panel that consumes the same stream.
  • Ensure A2UI surfaces can consume the citation stream without transformation.
  • Cover the feature with a BDD scenario in tests/bdd/features/rag-citation.feature.

Consequences​

  • Users can verify the origin of every RAG claim.
  • The same citation stream feeds both the React operator UI and A2UI renderers.
  • The feature is testable end-to-end via BDD.

Alternatives considered​

  • Inline full citations in every chunk: rejected because it bloats the stream and complicates rendering.
  • Post-hoc citation matching: rejected because it is less accurate than emitting citations at generation time.