Document the local-only reference collector

docs/asset-tooling.md

@@ -215,6 +215,22 @@ weathered) of one reference photo's framing, each with its `.refgen.json` proven
 concept board stays comparable with its photo board. The reference passes the same SIDECAR licence
 gate as `--reference` on `generate`.
 
+### Local-only reference collection (`refcollect`)
+
+`tools/refcollect.py` downloads images from DuckDuckGo image search into `tmp/research/<slug>/` for
+development reference only. It applies **no licence gate** (rows are marked `local_only` /
+`unchecked-local`); everything it fetches must never be committed or promoted into
+[`screens/refs/`](screens/refs/README.md) without the normal sidecar licence + privacy gate. This
+is the owner-authorised local-only override (TODO.md §3D model re-evaluation → A).
+
+```bash
+python3 tools/refcollect.py search "Comedy Store Sunset Boulevard" --slug comedy-store --limit 20
+python3 tools/refcollect.py sheet --slug comedy-store   # local contact sheet (never committed)
+```
+
+Requires `pip install duckduckgo-search` (renamed `ddgs` upstream). DuckDuckGo rate-limits by IP
+(HTTP 202) and the tool retries with backoff, so run per-venue batches spaced out.
+
 ### Reference-board research (`refboard`)
 
 `tools/refboard.py` searches, fetches and documents Wikimedia Commons photos of a real location for