diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fdf4701b..922f7547 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,6 +4,63 @@ An offline-first, halal (long-only, no-leverage) auto-trading agent for Coinbase
 `docs/superpowers/specs/2026-07-15-keel-autotrade-design.md` for the full design and
 `docs/superpowers/plans/2026-07-15-keel-phase1-offline-foundation.md` for the Phase 1 build plan.
 
+## How keel works
+
+keel runs as a scheduled **agent loop** (`keel agent`). Each cycle, for every allowlisted
+product, it:
+
+1. **Polls** fresh candles from Coinbase (public market data).
+2. Asks each **`live` rule** to `detect()` a setup on that product's candles.
+3. Sends any resulting signal through the **rails** — un-overridable safety checks in
+   `keel/execution/guards.py`.
+4. **Previews** the order with the broker (the broker's own numbers, not an estimate).
+5. Applies the **confirm / autonomy gate** (below).
+6. Calls `place_order`, and **logs** before and after.
+
+There is deliberately **no manual "place an order" command** — every order is the output of a
+rule that cleared the rails. keel never takes a discretionary trade: its judgement is
+deterministic, backtested rules plus the rails, never a prediction.
+
+### Rules
+
+Orders come from four rule kinds (`keel/agent.py::RULE_REGISTRY`). A rule must be walked
+`candidate → paper → live` before it can trade (`keel rules list|promote|demote|disable`):
+
+- **`dca`** — scheduled dip-buy accumulation: a fixed-budget market buy on a **calendar cadence**
+  (e.g. weekly), no stop. The only rule that fires on a schedule you control — which is why it's
+  the natural vehicle for a first live-order test (see `docs/go-live-runbook.md`).
+- **`turtle_breakout`**, **`pullback_continuation`**, **`rsi_meanrev`** — risk-defined entries
+  (with a stop and target) that fire only on a **real market setup** — a breakout, a pullback, an
+  RSI extreme — so their timing isn't something you can summon on demand.
+
+### The rails (un-overridable)
+
+Every order — including in autonomous mode — must clear the guards in
+`keel/execution/guards.py`: the **halal allowlist**, per-order and per-day spend caps, a
+total-exposure cap and per-asset concentration cap, correlation-aware sizing, a minimum-move
+floor, **no-martingale / no-stop-widening**, the **kill-switch** (fails closed — an unreadable
+state halts trading), **total & weekly drawdown breakers**, a consecutive-loss / edge-decay
+breaker, feed-staleness and quote-balance checks, and venue **subscription / withdrawal
+attestations**. A rail veto names itself and the command that clears it. Nothing overrides a
+rail — not even autonomy.
+
+### Confirm vs. autonomy
+
+- **confirm** (default): keel previews each order and asks `Place this order? [y/N]` at a
+  terminal. Run headless, it declines — nothing is placed without a human `y`.
+- **autonomy on**: keel places without asking. It changes **who is asked, never what is
+  allowed** — every rail still runs first, and autonomy can never clear a safety halt. Prefer a
+  time-boxed session: `keel autonomy on --for-hours N`. To stop trading immediately, use
+  `keel kill`, not `keel autonomy off`.
+
+### Halal by construction, and ships inert
+
+Long-only spot only — no leverage, shorting, or derivatives; sizing uses actual cash, so no
+riba. keel ships **inert**: nothing trades until you promote a rule to `live`, attest the venue
+subscription (rail 14 refuses live BUYs otherwise), fund the account, and — in confirm mode —
+type `y`. See `docs/go-live-runbook.md` for the first supervised order and
+`docs/operator-runbook.md` for the account-level obligations no rail can enforce.
+
 ## Development
 
 ```bash