--- a/base/rendered.txt
+++ b/head/rendered.txt
@@ -298,6 +298,21 @@
 description
 
 A string containing a short description of the artifact.
+This field SHOULD be set only when the referenced artifact does not
+already carry its own canonical description — for example a raw
+dataset (application/parquet), a model blob, or a skill bundle
+(application/agent-skills+zip), none of which embed a self-describing
+description. When the referenced artifact does carry one — for example
+the description field of an A2A Agent Card or of an MCP Server Card —
+that artifact is the authoritative source and description SHOULD be
+omitted to avoid duplicating a value that can drift out of sync. When
+description is present, however, it takes precedence: it is the
+authoritative value for display, and a consumer SHOULD render it as
+given even when it differs from a description carried by the referenced
+artifact. Setting description is how a publisher deliberately provides
+a listing-specific blurb in place of the artifact's own. See
+Resolving an Artifact's Description
+for the full consumer resolution order.
 
 tags
 
@@ -309,6 +324,21 @@
 Semantic Versioning is RECOMMENDED but not
 required. See Multi-Version Entries for
 how versions interact with identifier.
+
+Like displayName and description, version can restate a value the
+referenced artifact already carries (for example the version field of
+an A2A Agent Card or an MCP Server Card). For a single entry whose
+artifact carries its own version, version merely duplicates that value
+and SHOULD be omitted to avoid drift — a consumer can read the version
+from the artifact. Unlike displayName and description, however,
+version is not merely cosmetic: it is part of the entry's uniqueness
+key and consumers sort on it, so when a catalog lists multiple versions
+of the same identifier it is REQUIRED on those entries (see
+Multi-Version Entries). A present version is
+used for catalog-level sorting and selection rather than as a free-form
+display override, so it SHOULD equal the version the referenced artifact
+reports; an entry version that contradicts the artifact's own version
+is a publishing error, not a deliberate override.
 
 updatedAt
 
@@ -363,6 +393,29 @@
 the identifier segment in step 3. A publisher MAY still set
 displayName on such an entry to provide a better name than the bare
 identifier segment.
+
+Resolving an Artifact's Description
+
+Because description is OPTIONAL, a consumer rendering a catalog entry
+cannot assume it is present. To obtain a description, a consumer SHOULD
+resolve one in the following order:
+
+description on the entry, if present. A publisher-supplied
+description always wins, even when it differs from a description
+carried by the referenced artifact.
+
+The referenced artifact's own canonical description, if the
+consumer has already fetched or cached the artifact — for example the
+description field of an A2A Agent Card or of an MCP Server Card.
+
+No description, if neither is available. Consumers SHOULD render
+the entry gracefully without one.
+
+As with a name, a consumer SHOULD NOT dereference an artifact at render
+time solely to obtain a description. A registry, directory, or other
+service built on top of a catalog SHOULD resolve the description once at
+ingestion — alongside any other derived metadata it caches — rather than
+fetching artifacts on the rendering path.
 
 Multi-Version Entries
 
@@ -1963,11 +2016,11 @@
 
 description
 
-Entry description
+Stays in the artifact; entry description is omitted unless the artifact lacks one (same authoritative-source rule as title/displayName)
 
 version
 
-Entry version
+Stays in the artifact; entry version is omitted for a single entry, but is set (and MUST match the artifact) when the catalog lists multiple versions of the same identifier
 
 repository
 
@@ -2299,7 +2352,7 @@
 
 Plugin description
 
-Entry description
+Stays in the plugin manifest; entry description is omitted unless the manifest lacks one (same authoritative-source rule as the plugin name)
 
 Plugin category
 
