autoresearch_template/9_reports/_TEMPLATE.md

Lab Report: {slug}

Metadata

Field	Value
Date	YYYY-MM-DD
Commit	SHORT_SHA
Branch	exp/{slug}
Worktree	5_worktrees/{slug}
Agent	{name}
Idea doc	1_ideas/YYYY-MM-DD_{slug}.md

Context

{1-2 sentences: what problem are we solving and why does this experiment matter}

Hypothesis

Question: What happens if we {change}?

Prediction: {metric} improves by {amount} because {mechanism}.

Experiment

What was changed vs the baseline:

# key diff -- just the essential change, not the whole file

Baseline: commit {SHORT_SHA} (or "untrained")

Observations

Measured facts only -- no interpretation here.

Run	Metric	Value	Delta vs baseline
baseline	{metric}	{value}	--
this exp	{metric}	{value}	{+/-delta}

# pueue log output or relevant stdout snippet

Diagnosis

Caution: 95% of ML failures are bugs, engineering issues, or misconceptions -- not deep theory. State credences explicitly. Don't overclaim.

Most likely explanation (credence: X%): {explanation}

Alternative explanations:

• {alternative} (credence: Y%)

What would distinguish these: {test or observation that would separate them}

Limitations

• {what this experiment doesn't test}
• {confounds}

Future work

• {most promising next step given this result}
• {if confirmed: what's the natural follow-up?}
• {if refuted: what's the diagnosis and what would we try instead?}