diff --git a/.changeset/steering-fingerprint-docs.md b/.changeset/steering-fingerprint-docs.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7e7ffc4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/steering-fingerprint-docs.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@anarchitecture/ghost": patch
+---
+
+Document how to author fingerprints as steering guidance for generation.
diff --git a/apps/docs/src/content/docs/fingerprint-authoring.mdx b/apps/docs/src/content/docs/fingerprint-authoring.mdx
index ef2c89e8..8157c6b0 100644
--- a/apps/docs/src/content/docs/fingerprint-authoring.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/src/content/docs/fingerprint-authoring.mdx
@@ -97,6 +97,31 @@ Keep each claim in the file that will make it useful later:
 
 </DocSection>
 
+<DocSection title="Authoring For Steering">
+
+A useful fingerprint should help future agents choose, restrain, route, anchor,
+and review. It should not only describe what exists or collect every available
+style detail.
+
+Write layer content so generation decisions become explicit:
+
+- `goals` name what generated work should preserve.
+- `anti_goals` block plausible defaults that would make the surface feel
+  generic or wrong.
+- `tradeoffs` say which value wins when choices conflict.
+- `situations` route guidance by task, surface type, state, or audience need.
+- `principles` capture broad product intent.
+- `experience_contracts` turn taste, trust, recovery, or disclosure into
+  obligations.
+- `composition.patterns` give repeatable layout, flow, state, content,
+  behavior, or visual rules.
+- `inventory.exemplars` anchor the guidance in concrete material an agent can
+  inspect.
+
+Write less like a brand book and more like a decision engine.
+
+</DocSection>
+
 <DocSection title="Nested Packages">
 
 Nested fingerprints are opt-in. Create a local `.ghost/` only when a surface
diff --git a/docs/fingerprint-format.md b/docs/fingerprint-format.md
index eaeb27cb..51b97481 100644
--- a/docs/fingerprint-format.md
+++ b/docs/fingerprint-format.md
@@ -62,6 +62,10 @@ Use prose for durable claims about audience needs, product obligations,
 acceptable tradeoffs, what the surface refuses to become, and contracts that
 should shape agent behavior.
 
+High-quality layer content makes generation choices explicit: what to preserve,
+what to avoid, which tradeoffs win, which situations route guidance, and which
+exemplars ground the claim.
+
 `inventory.yml` points to curated material and optional source links:
 
 ```yaml
diff --git a/packages/ghost/src/skill-bundle/references/capture.md b/packages/ghost/src/skill-bundle/references/capture.md
index e0b3b045..95e69534 100644
--- a/packages/ghost/src/skill-bundle/references/capture.md
+++ b/packages/ghost/src/skill-bundle/references/capture.md
@@ -121,6 +121,10 @@ Treat generated cache as scratch material. Do not copy raw inventory into
 
 Edit the smallest useful durable layer content:
 
+- Before writing, ask whether the draft will help future agents choose what
+  matters most, avoid plausible-but-wrong defaults, resolve competing
+  priorities, route guidance by situation, inspect concrete exemplars, and
+  review whether generated work preserved the intended experience.
 - `prose.yml`: summary, situations, principles, and experience contracts.
 - `inventory.yml`: topology, building blocks, exemplars, and `sources[]` links.
 - `composition.yml`: rules, layouts, structures, flows, states, content,
diff --git a/packages/ghost/src/skill-bundle/references/patterns.md b/packages/ghost/src/skill-bundle/references/patterns.md
index 9db6f2eb..178e73e0 100644
--- a/packages/ghost/src/skill-bundle/references/patterns.md
+++ b/packages/ghost/src/skill-bundle/references/patterns.md
@@ -25,6 +25,13 @@ Add a pattern when it helps a future agent choose or review:
 - a visual treatment tied to product meaning
 - a restraint rule that preserves hierarchy, density, trust, or pacing
 
+A strong pattern usually does one of three jobs:
+
+- selection: it tells the agent what structure, flow, state, content, behavior,
+  or visual treatment to choose
+- restraint: it tells the agent which tempting default to avoid
+- review: it gives a future reviewer something observable to check
+
 Do not add a pattern just because a value or component exists. Put raw
 observations in `.ghost/fingerprint/sources/cache/` or keep them in scratch notes.