diff --git a/TOOLS/ARCHITECTURE.md b/TOOLS/ARCHITECTURE.md
index a4a59c8..124bfe9 100644
--- a/TOOLS/ARCHITECTURE.md
+++ b/TOOLS/ARCHITECTURE.md
@@ -125,9 +125,14 @@ Each operation has a kind:
   Gateway may temporarily reject valid JWT tokens.
 - Implemented: `isRetryable` (`core/http.go`) includes 401 alongside {429, 502, 503, 504};
   retry applies to GET requests only.
-- Network errors and HTTP retryable statuses are retried for **GET only**. POST is not
-  retried (a blind retry of the creating `POST /instanceOperations` could duplicate an
-  operation — see open question on idempotency).
+- Network errors and HTTP retryable statuses are retried for **GET only** (decided
+  2026-09-30). POST is NEVER retried: `POST /instanceOperations` is not idempotent, and a
+  blind retry would duplicate the operation. The API has no `Idempotency-Key` support.
+- Draft operation on failure (decided 2026-09-30): if an error occurs after
+  `POST /instanceOperations` but before `.../run`, the operation remains created but was
+  never executed (the instance is unaffected). No cancellation API is known — neither the
+  provider code nor the captured HAR contain `DELETE /instanceOperations/{uid}`.
+- Transient 401 is retried for GET (see `isRetryable`).
 
 ### Generated Code Resilience
 
@@ -227,14 +232,21 @@ From the unified YAML, generate:
 
 ## Lifecycle Vocabulary (single contract)
 
-⚠️ The destroy-behaviour vocabulary is currently INCONSISTENT across resource kinds:
+**Target contract (decided 2026-09-30):** two runtime flags — `keep_on_destroy` and
+`suspend_on_destroy` — express destroy behaviour for ALL resource kinds. The compile-time
+`delete_strategy` (YAML) is a generator input that MAPS onto them:
 
-1. generated instance resources: runtime flags `suspend_on_destroy` / `keep_on_destroy`;
-2. generated modifiers: compile-time `delete_strategy` (no runtime flag);
-3. hand-written modifiers: runtime `keep_on_destroy` only.
+| `delete_strategy` | Runtime meaning |
+|---|---|
+| `noop_warn` | `keep_on_destroy = true` (platform effect left untouched) |
+| `inverse` | normal destroy (inverse modify is performed) |
+| `error` | destroy refused with a validation error |
 
-All three express the same intent ("what happens to the platform effect on destroy").
-Canonical direction: one unified vocabulary/contract for all resource kinds.
+Current state (2026-09-30) — to be migrated:
+
+1. generated instance resources: already `suspend_on_destroy` / `keep_on_destroy`;
+2. generated modifiers: `delete_strategy` only (no runtime flag yet);
+3. hand-written modifiers: already `keep_on_destroy`.
 
 ## Non-Negotiable Rules