diff --git a/.feynman/SYSTEM.md b/.feynman/SYSTEM.md
index 19a6fcc..4dac626 100644
--- a/.feynman/SYSTEM.md
+++ b/.feynman/SYSTEM.md
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ Operating rules:
 - Never answer a latest/current question from arXiv or alpha-backed paper search alone.
 - For AI model or product claims, prefer official docs/vendor pages plus recent web sources over old papers.
 - Use the installed Pi research packages for broader web/PDF access, document parsing, citation workflows, background processes, memory, session recall, and delegated subtasks when they reduce friction.
+- You are running inside the Feynman/Pi runtime with filesystem tools, package tools, and configured extensions. Do not claim you are only a static model, that you cannot write files, or that you cannot use tools unless you attempted the relevant tool and it failed.
+- If a tool, package, source, or network route is unavailable, record the specific failed capability and still write the requested durable artifact with a clear `Blocked / Unverified` status instead of stopping with chat-only prose.
 - Feynman ships project subagents for research work. Prefer the `researcher`, `writer`, `verifier`, and `reviewer` subagents for larger research tasks when decomposition clearly helps.
 - Use subagents when decomposition meaningfully reduces context pressure or lets you parallelize evidence gathering. For detached long-running work, prefer background subagent execution with `clarify: false, async: true`.
 - For deep research, act like a lead researcher by default: plan first, use hidden worker batches only when breadth justifies them, synthesize batch results, and finish with a verification pass.
@@ -44,6 +46,7 @@ Operating rules:
 - When citing papers from alpha-backed tools, prefer direct arXiv or alphaXiv links and include the arXiv ID.
 - Default toward delivering a concrete artifact when the task naturally calls for one: reading list, memo, audit, experiment log, or draft.
 - For user-facing workflows, produce exactly one canonical durable Markdown artifact unless the user explicitly asks for multiple deliverables.
+- If a workflow requests a durable artifact, verify the file exists on disk before the final response. If complete evidence is unavailable, save a partial artifact that explicitly marks missing checks as `blocked`, `unverified`, or `not run`.
 - Do not create extra user-facing intermediate markdown files just because the workflow has multiple reasoning stages.
 - Treat HTML/PDF preview outputs as temporary render artifacts, not as the canonical saved result.
 - Intermediate task files, raw logs, and verification notes are allowed when they materially reduce context pressure or improve auditability.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a4728e5..38f567f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ curl -fsSL https://feynman.is/install | bash
 irm https://feynman.is/install.ps1 | iex
 ```
 
-The one-line installer fetches the latest tagged release. To pin a version, pass it explicitly, for example `curl -fsSL https://feynman.is/install | bash -s -- 0.2.22`.
+The one-line installer fetches the latest tagged release. To pin a version, pass it explicitly, for example `curl -fsSL https://feynman.is/install | bash -s -- 0.2.23`.
 
 The installer downloads a standalone native bundle with its own Node.js runtime.
 
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 34891b7..8ae97c5 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "@companion-ai/feynman",
-  "version": "0.2.22",
+  "version": "0.2.23",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "@companion-ai/feynman",
-      "version": "0.2.22",
+      "version": "0.2.23",
       "hasInstallScript": true,
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index eab0666..e61e1f0 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@companion-ai/feynman",
-  "version": "0.2.22",
+  "version": "0.2.23",
   "description": "Research-first CLI agent built on Pi and alphaXiv",
   "license": "MIT",
   "type": "module",
diff --git a/prompts/deepresearch.md b/prompts/deepresearch.md
index c49e7e2..6030bae 100644
--- a/prompts/deepresearch.md
+++ b/prompts/deepresearch.md
@@ -53,6 +53,8 @@ Also save the plan with `memory_remember` (type: `fact`, key: `deepresearch.<slu
 
 Present the plan to the user. If this is an unattended or one-shot run, continue automatically. If the user is actively interacting in the terminal, give them a brief chance to request plan changes before proceeding.
 
+Do not stop after planning. If live search, subagents, web access, alphaXiv, or any other capability is unavailable, continue in degraded mode and write a durable blocked/partial report that records exactly which capabilities failed.
+
 ## 2. Scale decision
 
 | Query type | Execution |
@@ -105,6 +107,13 @@ When the work spans multiple rounds, also append a concise chronological entry t
 
 Most topics need 1-2 rounds. Stop when additional rounds would not materially change conclusions.
 
+If no researcher files can be produced because tools, subagents, or network access failed, create `outputs/.drafts/<slug>-draft.md` yourself as a blocked report with:
+- what was requested,
+- which capabilities failed,
+- what evidence was and was not gathered,
+- a proposed source-gathering plan,
+- no invented sources or results.
+
 ## 5. Write the report
 
 Once evidence is sufficient, YOU write the full research brief directly. Do not delegate writing to another agent. Read the research files, synthesize the findings, and produce a complete document:
@@ -190,6 +199,7 @@ Before you stop, verify on disk that all of these exist:
 - `outputs/<slug>.provenance.md` or `papers/<slug>.provenance.md` provenance sidecar
 
 Do not stop at `<slug>-brief.md` alone. If the cited brief exists but the promoted final output or provenance sidecar does not, create them before responding.
+If full verification could not be completed, still create the final deliverable and provenance sidecar with `Verification: BLOCKED` or `PASS WITH NOTES` and list the missing checks. Never end with only an explanation in chat.
 
 ## Background execution
 
diff --git a/scripts/install/install.ps1 b/scripts/install/install.ps1
index 107aeda..6eb640d 100644
--- a/scripts/install/install.ps1
+++ b/scripts/install/install.ps1
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ This usually means the release exists, but not all platform bundles were uploade
 Workarounds:
   - try again after the release finishes publishing
   - pass the latest published version explicitly, e.g.:
-    & ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://feynman.is/install.ps1))) -Version 0.2.22
+    & ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://feynman.is/install.ps1))) -Version 0.2.23
 "@
   }
 
diff --git a/scripts/install/install.sh b/scripts/install/install.sh
index b7861df..abb1bec 100644
--- a/scripts/install/install.sh
+++ b/scripts/install/install.sh
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ This usually means the release exists, but not all platform bundles were uploade
 Workarounds:
   - try again after the release finishes publishing
   - pass the latest published version explicitly, e.g.:
-    curl -fsSL https://feynman.is/install | bash -s -- 0.2.22
+    curl -fsSL https://feynman.is/install | bash -s -- 0.2.23
 EOF
   exit 1
 fi
diff --git a/tests/content-policy.test.ts b/tests/content-policy.test.ts
index b195b9d..cf1ad52 100644
--- a/tests/content-policy.test.ts
+++ b/tests/content-policy.test.ts
@@ -57,3 +57,15 @@ test("research writing prompts forbid fabricated results and unproven figures",
 	assert.match(draftPrompt, /placeholder or proposed experimental plan/i);
 	assert.match(draftPrompt, /source-backed quantitative data/i);
 });
+
+test("deepresearch workflow requires durable artifacts even when blocked", () => {
+	const systemPrompt = readFileSync(join(repoRoot, ".feynman", "SYSTEM.md"), "utf8");
+	const deepResearchPrompt = readFileSync(join(repoRoot, "prompts", "deepresearch.md"), "utf8");
+
+	assert.match(systemPrompt, /Do not claim you are only a static model/i);
+	assert.match(systemPrompt, /write the requested durable artifact/i);
+	assert.match(deepResearchPrompt, /Do not stop after planning/i);
+	assert.match(deepResearchPrompt, /degraded mode/i);
+	assert.match(deepResearchPrompt, /Verification: BLOCKED/i);
+	assert.match(deepResearchPrompt, /Never end with only an explanation in chat/i);
+});
diff --git a/website/public/install b/website/public/install
index b7861df..abb1bec 100644
--- a/website/public/install
+++ b/website/public/install
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ This usually means the release exists, but not all platform bundles were uploade
 Workarounds:
   - try again after the release finishes publishing
   - pass the latest published version explicitly, e.g.:
-    curl -fsSL https://feynman.is/install | bash -s -- 0.2.22
+    curl -fsSL https://feynman.is/install | bash -s -- 0.2.23
 EOF
   exit 1
 fi
diff --git a/website/public/install.ps1 b/website/public/install.ps1
index 107aeda..6eb640d 100644
--- a/website/public/install.ps1
+++ b/website/public/install.ps1
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ This usually means the release exists, but not all platform bundles were uploade
 Workarounds:
   - try again after the release finishes publishing
   - pass the latest published version explicitly, e.g.:
-    & ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://feynman.is/install.ps1))) -Version 0.2.22
+    & ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://feynman.is/install.ps1))) -Version 0.2.23
 "@
   }
 
diff --git a/website/src/content/docs/getting-started/installation.md b/website/src/content/docs/getting-started/installation.md
index 1d5bfb0..c3d4a06 100644
--- a/website/src/content/docs/getting-started/installation.md
+++ b/website/src/content/docs/getting-started/installation.md
@@ -117,13 +117,13 @@ These installers download the bundled `skills/` and `prompts/` trees plus the re
 The one-line installer already targets the latest tagged release. To pin an exact version, pass it explicitly:
 
 ```bash
-curl -fsSL https://feynman.is/install | bash -s -- 0.2.22
+curl -fsSL https://feynman.is/install | bash -s -- 0.2.23
 ```
 
 On Windows:
 
 ```powershell
-& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://feynman.is/install.ps1))) -Version 0.2.22
+& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://feynman.is/install.ps1))) -Version 0.2.23
 ```
 
 ## Post-install setup