diff --git a/src/adapters/forward.rs b/src/adapters/forward.rs
index ae40755..16161a3 100644
--- a/src/adapters/forward.rs
+++ b/src/adapters/forward.rs
@@ -38,6 +38,29 @@
 //! the buffer grows, so the reassembly buffer can never exceed the
 //! line cap.
 //!
+//! # Streaming payload contract (FWD-17)
+//!
+//! Each parsed SSE frame becomes one success envelope:
+//!
+//! - A `data:` payload that is valid JSON surfaces as the decoded value
+//!   itself — `123` as a number, `"123"` as a string (the raw-text
+//!   fallback this replaces erased that distinction). This holds even
+//!   when the frame carries an `event:` name.
+//! - Any other payload surfaces as the
+//!   `{"data": <raw payload>, "event": <name|null>}` wrapper: the raw
+//!   text stays field-addressable and an upstream's named-event
+//!   conventions (`event: error`, `event: ping`, …) are visible on
+//!   non-JSON frames. The name is the frame's `event:` field (WHATWG
+//!   last-wins); `null` when the upstream sent none — the spec's
+//!   implicit `message` default is *not* substituted, so "upstream
+//!   named it" and "default name" remain distinguishable.
+//! - An empty payload is `Null`.
+//!
+//! Known limitation: a JSON body under a named event surfaces as the
+//! decoded value only — the event name is not carried on JSON frames;
+//! a non-JSON body under a named event is the only combination where
+//! both are visible.
+//!
 //! # Credentials and input routing
 //!
 //! The forwarding handler is the no-env-vars credential injection point
@@ -56,6 +79,36 @@
 //! request header, the declared `GATEWAY_BODY_KEY` property becomes the
 //! request body, and every other declared key becomes an upstream query
 //! parameter.
+//!
+//! # Input routing and path placeholders (FWD-18)
+//!
+//! A key that matches a `{placeholder}` in the path template is consumed
+//! by the path and never also emits as a query parameter, regardless of
+//! its value's shape — the placeholder check precedes query routing in
+//! the request builder. A placeholder renders exactly one literal path
+//! segment, so its value must be a scalar: object/array values fail with
+//! `INVALID_INPUT` (structural values have no faithful single-segment
+//! rendering; splicing the minified JSON into the path was the
+//! pre-decision behavior and is rejected now).
+//!
+//! # Percent handling in the rendered path (FWD-19)
+//!
+//! Two different contracts apply, by design:
+//!
+//! - A `%` arriving inside a *value* is always encoded (`%` → `%25`),
+//!   so values carrying `%2F` cannot be mistaken for this crate's own
+//!   escapes and a value can never inject URL structure.
+//! - A `%` in *template/base text* survives verbatim. Templates and
+//!   base URLs are assembly-supplied (ADR-066 trust boundary), so an
+//!   assembly that writes `/s3%2Fkeys` is presumed to mean a
+//!   pre-encoded segment for upstreams that route `%2F` differently
+//!   from `/` — that upstream-semantics choice belongs to the assembly,
+//!   not this crate. No injection results: the surviving `%2F` still
+//!   forms a single segment (the origin check plus the two-pass
+//!   percent-encoding over template text see to that), and the
+//!   value-side rule above means every bare `%` in a rendered path
+//!   traces to template text the assembly author wrote.
+//!
 
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::sync::Arc;
@@ -1608,6 +1661,32 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
+    /// FWD-19 pin (documented trade-off, not a rejection): literal `%`
+    /// in template text is preserved as-is, so an assembly-supplied
+    /// pre-encoded template like `/s3%2Fkeys` reaches the upstream
+    /// verbatim (most stacks route `%2F` differently from `/` — the
+    /// assembly layer owns that choice, ADR-066). A `%` arriving in a
+    /// *value* is always encoded to `%25`, so the only bare `%` in a
+    /// rendered path is one the template author placed.
+    #[test]
+    fn percent_in_template_text_survives_and_percent_in_values_are_always_encoded() {
+        let url = request_url(
+            "https://api.example.com",
+            "/s3%2Fkeys/{name}",
+            json!({"name": "x"}),
+        )
+        .expect("template text may carry literal percent escapes");
+        assert_eq!(url.path(), "/s3%2Fkeys/x");
+
+        let url = request_url(
+            "https://api.example.com",
+            "/files/{name}",
+            json!({"name": "a%2Fb"}),
+        )
+        .expect("value percent is encoded, not preserved");
+        assert_eq!(url.path(), "/files/a%252Fb");
+    }
+
     fn ctx_with_capability(namespace: &str, value: String) -> OperationContext {
         let mut ctx = noop_context();
         ctx.capabilities = Capabilities::new().with_http_token(namespace, value);