The Research Lab as a Graph: Snapshot Governance in a Transcript-Sufficient Research System

This working paper introduces a formal representation of a research laboratory as a governed artifact graph whose state can be reconstructed from transcript-visible objects.The study documents the Reflexive Laboratory research environment, in which research artifacts—including manuscripts, datasets, governance constitutions, and registry objects—are treated as nodes within an artifact graph. The laboratory state can be reconstructed from registry snapshots and transcript-anchored artifacts without requiring hidden project management infrastructure.The paper presents a snapshot governance model in which:• research artifacts are indexed in a Global Artifact Index (GAI)• governance rules are represented as transcript-visible objects• artifact lineage and dependencies form a directed research graph• system state can be reconstructed using registry snapshotsThe empirical case is the Reflexive Laboratory P1–P8 research corpus and associated artifact containers.The work contributes to emerging discussions on transcript-sufficient research systems, artifact-centric knowledge infrastructure, and reproducible AI-assisted research workflows.