turn .md titles into live links

**Status (2026-04-18).** First-pass investigation complete; ready for

hackathon consumption.  The investigation was conducted *without*

trusting `docs/developer/` in either upstream repo — both are skeletal

("TODO") for architecture questions (see `01-repo-structure.md` §

("TODO") for architecture questions (see [01-repo-structure.md](01-repo-structure.md) §

"Developer docs are not a source of truth").

## How to read this knowledge base

| If you want to … | Start at |

|---|---|

| Orient yourself in ~10 min before the hackathon kicks off | `00-executive-summary.md` |

| See the directory maps, file sizes, entry points | `01-repo-structure.md` |

| See where the "front-end / back-end" line is drawn today | `02-frontend-backend-boundary.md` |

| Read the exact couplings to Mantid and `mr_reduction` | `03-mantid-and-mr_reduction-coupling.md` |

| Understand how a button click becomes a reduced reflectivity file | `04-reduction-pipeline.md` |

| Know which tests can drive a red-green refactor | `05-test-coverage-and-tdd-plan.md` |

| See the **recommended** modularization paths (with trade-offs) | `06-modularization-strategies.md` |

| Get the scientific context (MR, REF_M, ORSO, ROI, cross-sections) | `07-scientific-domain-primer.md` |

| See what the hackathon must decide, and known unknowns | `08-risks-and-open-questions.md` |

| Look up a term / acronym / file name | `09-glossary-and-pointers.md` |

| Orient yourself in ~10 min before the hackathon kicks off | [00-executive-summary.md](00-executive-summary.md) |

| See the directory maps, file sizes, entry points | [01-repo-structure.md](01-repo-structure.md) |

| See where the "front-end / back-end" line is drawn today | [02-frontend-backend-boundary.md](02-frontend-backend-boundary.md) |

| Read the exact couplings to Mantid and `mr_reduction` | [03-mantid-and-mr_reduction-coupling.md](03-mantid-and-mr_reduction-coupling.md) |

| Understand how a button click becomes a reduced reflectivity file | [04-reduction-pipeline.md](04-reduction-pipeline.md) |

| Know which tests can drive a red-green refactor | [05-test-coverage-and-tdd-plan.md](05-test-coverage-and-tdd-plan.md) |

| See the **recommended** modularization paths (with trade-offs) | [06-modularization-strategies.md](06-modularization-strategies.md) |

| Get the scientific context (MR, REF_M, ORSO, ROI, cross-sections) | [07-scientific-domain-primer.md](07-scientific-domain-primer.md) |

| See what the hackathon must decide, and known unknowns | [08-risks-and-open-questions.md](08-risks-and-open-questions.md) |

| Look up a term / acronym / file name | [09-glossary-and-pointers.md](09-glossary-and-pointers.md) |

## One-slide version

- The hackathon's real decision is not "can it be done?"  (it can)

  but **"which back-end wins?"** — lift quicknxsv2's `data_handling/`

  into a new library, push everything into `mr_reduction`, or craft a

  neutral `mr_core`.  See `06-modularization-strategies.md`.

  neutral `mr_core`.  See [06-modularization-strategies.md](06-modularization-strategies.md).

## PDF of this knowledge base