diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..885398e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# uscogdata 0.1.0 (development)
+
+## New features
+
+* `cog_gov_search()` gains a **basket mode**: passing vector `name`
+  / `state` / `type` arguments resolves multiple place names in one
+  call and returns a tibble of canonical rows in input order, ready
+  to pipe into `cog_spending()` / `cog_revenue()`. Per-row resolution
+  follows an exact-then-substring matching algorithm with deterministic
+  disambiguation; ambiguous and missing entries are surfaced via a
+  sidecar audit tibble plus a single console summary message.
+* New exports `cog_basket_resolution()` and `cog_basket_unresolved()`
+  expose the basket sidecar for iterative query refinement.
+
+## Breaking changes
+
+* The first formal of `cog_gov_search()` was renamed from `pattern`
+  to `name`. All existing call sites in `cog_explorer/` and the
+  package itself use positional first-arg, so this rename is
+  non-breaking in practice. Callers that pass `pattern = ...` by name
+  must update to `name = ...`.
diff --git a/R/basket.R b/R/basket.R
index c6505cd..bca6985 100644
--- a/R/basket.R
+++ b/R/basket.R
@@ -86,6 +86,15 @@
 #'   list-column (full-schema match candidates per input row). Default
 #'   `FALSE`.
 #' @return A tibble with the resolution audit trail.
+#' @examples
+#' \dontrun{
+#' basket <- cog_gov_search(
+#'   name  = c("Broward", "San Diego", "Notarealplace"),
+#'   state = c("FL",      "CA",        "NY")
+#' )
+#' cog_basket_resolution(basket)
+#' cog_basket_resolution(basket, expand_candidates = TRUE)
+#' }
 #' @export
 cog_basket_resolution <- function(x, expand_candidates = FALSE) {
   res <- attr(x, "resolution")
@@ -111,6 +120,14 @@ cog_basket_resolution <- function(x, expand_candidates = FALSE) {
 #'
 #' @param x A tibble returned by basket-mode [cog_gov_search()].
 #' @return A tibble (subset of [cog_basket_resolution()]).
+#' @examples
+#' \dontrun{
+#' basket <- cog_gov_search(
+#'   name  = c("Broward", "San Diego", "Notarealplace"),
+#'   state = c("FL",      "CA",        "NY")
+#' )
+#' cog_basket_unresolved(basket)
+#' }
 #' @export
 cog_basket_unresolved <- function(x) {
   res <- cog_basket_resolution(x, expand_candidates = TRUE)
diff --git a/R/search.R b/R/search.R
index 83f0c6c..b0b7da9 100644
--- a/R/search.R
+++ b/R/search.R
@@ -2,29 +2,81 @@
 
 #' Search for governments by name, state, and/or type
 #'
-#' Two modes:
+#' Resolves human-readable place names into rows of `canonical_fips_xwalk`,
+#' the cross-vintage canonical-government registry. Operates in two modes:
 #'
-#' * **Utility mode** (single `name`): returns all rows from
-#'   `canonical_fips_xwalk` whose `gov_name` matches the regex
-#'   case-insensitively, sorted by `population_acs` descending.
+#' * **Utility mode** (single `name`, the original behavior): returns all
+#'   rows whose `gov_name` matches the regex case-insensitively, sorted by
+#'   `population_acs` descending. Useful for exploratory lookups.
 #' * **Basket mode** (`length(name) > 1`): resolves each input row to a
-#'   single canonical govid via exact-then-substring matching with
-#'   deterministic disambiguation. Returns up to `length(name)` rows in
-#'   input order plus a `"resolution"` sidecar attribute. See
-#'   [cog_basket_resolution()].
+#'   single canonical govid and returns a tibble in input order, suitable
+#'   for piping straight into [cog_spending()] / [cog_revenue()] /
+#'   [cog_geographic_rollup()]. Carries an audit sidecar accessible via
+#'   [cog_basket_resolution()] / [cog_basket_unresolved()].
+#'
+#' @details
+#' **Basket-mode resolution algorithm** (per input row):
+#' 1. Filter `canonical_fips_xwalk` by `state` and (if non-NA) `type`.
+#' 2. **Exact pass:** case-insensitive equality against `gov_name`.
+#'    Single hit -> resolved. Multiple -> step 4.
+#' 3. **Substring fallback:** case-insensitive regex against `gov_name`.
+#'    Single hit -> resolved (`match_method = "substring"`). Zero hits ->
+#'    `status = "no_match"`. Multiple hits -> step 4.
+#' 4. **Disambiguation:** if matches share one `govs_type`, pick the
+#'    largest-population row (`status = "largest_pop"`). If they span >=2
+#'    types, no row is added (`status = "ambiguous"`); the user should
+#'    re-run with `type` specified.
+#'
+#' Resolved rows form the returned tibble in input order. Unresolved
+#' inputs (`ambiguous` / `no_match`) appear only in the sidecar.
 #'
 #' @param name Character vector of place name(s). Length 1 = utility mode;
 #'   length >1 = basket mode.
-#' @param state Either a 2-letter USPS abbreviation, a FIPS integer, or
-#'   `NULL`. Length 1 recycles across all entries in basket mode.
-#' @param type Government type: an integer in `0:3` or one of `"state"`,
-#'   `"county"`, `"city"`, `"township"`, or `NA` (per-row optional in
-#'   basket mode). Passing `4`, `5`, `"special_district"`, or
-#'   `"school_district"` emits an explanatory message and returns an
-#'   empty tibble (v0.1 corpus excludes those types).
-#' @return Tibble from `canonical_fips_xwalk`. In utility mode, sorted by
-#'   `population_acs` descending (`NULL`s last). In basket mode, in input
-#'   order, with `attr(result, "resolution")` set to the sidecar tibble.
+#' @param state 2-letter USPS abbreviation (e.g. `"FL"`), FIPS integer
+#'   (e.g. `12`), or `NULL`. In basket mode, length 1 recycles across
+#'   all entries; otherwise must match `length(name)`.
+#' @param type Government type: integer in `0:3` or one of `"state"`,
+#'   `"county"`, `"city"`, `"township"`, or `NA`/`NULL`. Per-row optional
+#'   in basket mode (recycles from length 1). Excluded types `4`/`5` (or
+#'   `"special_district"` / `"school_district"`) trigger an explanatory
+#'   message and an empty result.
+#' @return A tibble of `canonical_fips_xwalk` rows. In utility mode, all
+#'   matches sorted by `population_acs` desc. In basket mode, resolved
+#'   rows in input order, with `attr(., "resolution")` set to the
+#'   sidecar tibble.
+#' @seealso [cog_basket_resolution()], [cog_basket_unresolved()],
+#'   [cog_spending()], [cog_revenue()].
+#' @examples
+#' \dontrun{
+#' # Utility mode — exploratory regex lookup
+#' cog_gov_search("broward", state = "FL")
+#'
+#' # Basket mode — resolve a known cohort
+#' basket <- cog_gov_search(
+#'   name  = c("BROWARD COUNTY", "SAN DIEGO CITY", "AUSTIN CITY"),
+#'   state = c("FL",             "CA",             "TX")
+#' )
+#' basket
+#'
+#' # Inspect resolution audit
+#' cog_basket_resolution(basket)
+#'
+#' # Pipe into a spending query
+#' library(dplyr)
+#' basket |> cog_spending(years = 2019:2020, category = "Police")
+#'
+#' # Iteratively refine ambiguous matches
+#' partial <- cog_gov_search(
+#'   name  = c("Broward", "San Diego"),  # San Diego is ambiguous
+#'   state = c("FL",      "CA")
+#' )
+#' cog_basket_unresolved(partial)
+#' refined <- cog_gov_search(
+#'   name  = c("Broward", "San Diego"),
+#'   state = c("FL",      "CA"),
+#'   type  = c(NA,        "city")  # disambiguate
+#' )
+#' }
 #' @export
 cog_gov_search <- function(name = NULL, state = NULL, type = NULL) {
   if (!is.null(type) && length(type) == 1L && .is_excluded_type(type)) {
diff --git a/_pkgdown.yml b/_pkgdown.yml
index 3aeefe7..2022548 100644
--- a/_pkgdown.yml
+++ b/_pkgdown.yml
@@ -3,6 +3,12 @@ template:
   bootstrap: 5
 
 reference:
+  - title: Search & basket
+    desc: Resolve place names into canonical govids.
+    contents:
+      - cog_gov_search
+      - cog_basket_resolution
+      - cog_basket_unresolved
   - title: Session
     contents:
       - has_keyword("internal")
diff --git a/man/cog_basket_resolution.Rd b/man/cog_basket_resolution.Rd
index 6ad2f24..3c1825f 100644
--- a/man/cog_basket_resolution.Rd
+++ b/man/cog_basket_resolution.Rd
@@ -23,3 +23,13 @@ Returns the resolution tibble attached to a basket-mode result of
 the `candidates` list-column is dropped for readable printing; pass
 `expand_candidates = TRUE` to keep it.
 }
+\examples{
+\dontrun{
+basket <- cog_gov_search(
+  name  = c("Broward", "San Diego", "Notarealplace"),
+  state = c("FL",      "CA",        "NY")
+)
+cog_basket_resolution(basket)
+cog_basket_resolution(basket, expand_candidates = TRUE)
+}
+}
diff --git a/man/cog_basket_unresolved.Rd b/man/cog_basket_unresolved.Rd
index 727764c..e6a5145 100644
--- a/man/cog_basket_unresolved.Rd
+++ b/man/cog_basket_unresolved.Rd
@@ -18,3 +18,12 @@ Convenience wrapper that returns just the rows where `status` is
 refine before piping into a query verb. The `candidates` list-column
 is preserved so the user can drill into ambiguous match sets.
 }
+\examples{
+\dontrun{
+basket <- cog_gov_search(
+  name  = c("Broward", "San Diego", "Notarealplace"),
+  state = c("FL",      "CA",        "NY")
+)
+cog_basket_unresolved(basket)
+}
+}
diff --git a/man/cog_gov_search.Rd b/man/cog_gov_search.Rd
index 0d2a0e6..4a6b55b 100644
--- a/man/cog_gov_search.Rd
+++ b/man/cog_gov_search.Rd
@@ -7,24 +7,88 @@
 cog_gov_search(name = NULL, state = NULL, type = NULL)
 }
 \arguments{
-\item{name}{Character regex matched case-insensitively against
-`gov_name`. `NULL` (default) means no name filter.}
+\item{name}{Character vector of place name(s). Length 1 = utility mode;
+length >1 = basket mode.}
 
-\item{state}{Either a 2-letter USPS abbreviation (e.g. `"FL"`), a FIPS
-integer (e.g. `12`), or `NULL`.}
+\item{state}{2-letter USPS abbreviation (e.g. `"FL"`), FIPS integer
+(e.g. `12`), or `NULL`. In basket mode, length 1 recycles across
+all entries; otherwise must match `length(name)`.}
 
-\item{type}{Government type: an integer in `0:3` or one of `"state"`,
-`"county"`, `"city"`, `"township"`. Passing `4`, `5`,
-`"special_district"`, or `"school_district"` emits an explanatory
-message and returns an empty tibble (v0.1 corpus excludes those types).}
+\item{type}{Government type: integer in `0:3` or one of `"state"`,
+`"county"`, `"city"`, `"township"`, or `NA`/`NULL`. Per-row optional
+in basket mode (recycles from length 1). Excluded types `4`/`5` (or
+`"special_district"` / `"school_district"`) trigger an explanatory
+message and an empty result.}
 }
 \value{
-Tibble from `canonical_fips_xwalk` sorted by `population_acs`
-  descending (`NULL`s last).
+A tibble of `canonical_fips_xwalk` rows. In utility mode, all
+  matches sorted by `population_acs` desc. In basket mode, resolved
+  rows in input order, with `attr(., "resolution")` set to the
+  sidecar tibble.
 }
 \description{
-Returns rows from `canonical_fips_xwalk` matching the supplied filters.
-Intended as the entry point users call to resolve a human-readable place
-name into one or more `canonical_govid` values before calling
-[cog_spending()] / [cog_revenue()] / etc.
+Resolves human-readable place names into rows of `canonical_fips_xwalk`,
+the cross-vintage canonical-government registry. Operates in two modes:
+}
+\details{
+* **Utility mode** (single `name`, the original behavior): returns all
+  rows whose `gov_name` matches the regex case-insensitively, sorted by
+  `population_acs` descending. Useful for exploratory lookups.
+* **Basket mode** (`length(name) > 1`): resolves each input row to a
+  single canonical govid and returns a tibble in input order, suitable
+  for piping straight into [cog_spending()] / [cog_revenue()] /
+  [cog_geographic_rollup()]. Carries an audit sidecar accessible via
+  [cog_basket_resolution()] / [cog_basket_unresolved()].
+
+
+**Basket-mode resolution algorithm** (per input row):
+1. Filter `canonical_fips_xwalk` by `state` and (if non-NA) `type`.
+2. **Exact pass:** case-insensitive equality against `gov_name`.
+   Single hit -> resolved. Multiple -> step 4.
+3. **Substring fallback:** case-insensitive regex against `gov_name`.
+   Single hit -> resolved (`match_method = "substring"`). Zero hits ->
+   `status = "no_match"`. Multiple hits -> step 4.
+4. **Disambiguation:** if matches share one `govs_type`, pick the
+   largest-population row (`status = "largest_pop"`). If they span >=2
+   types, no row is added (`status = "ambiguous"`); the user should
+   re-run with `type` specified.
+
+Resolved rows form the returned tibble in input order. Unresolved
+inputs (`ambiguous` / `no_match`) appear only in the sidecar.
+}
+\examples{
+\dontrun{
+# Utility mode — exploratory regex lookup
+cog_gov_search("broward", state = "FL")
+
+# Basket mode — resolve a known cohort
+basket <- cog_gov_search(
+  name  = c("BROWARD COUNTY", "SAN DIEGO CITY", "AUSTIN CITY"),
+  state = c("FL",             "CA",             "TX")
+)
+basket
+
+# Inspect resolution audit
+cog_basket_resolution(basket)
+
+# Pipe into a spending query
+library(dplyr)
+basket |> cog_spending(years = 2019:2020, category = "Police")
+
+# Iteratively refine ambiguous matches
+partial <- cog_gov_search(
+  name  = c("Broward", "San Diego"),  # San Diego is ambiguous
+  state = c("FL",      "CA")
+)
+cog_basket_unresolved(partial)
+refined <- cog_gov_search(
+  name  = c("Broward", "San Diego"),
+  state = c("FL",      "CA"),
+  type  = c(NA,        "city")  # disambiguate
+)
+}
+}
+\seealso{
+[cog_basket_resolution()], [cog_basket_unresolved()],
+  [cog_spending()], [cog_revenue()].
 }