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Reference Instance

The reference instance applies Truth Machine semantics to one domain: the Truth Machine project and its current specification.

It is intentionally concrete. Its packet schemas and Git workflow are examples that can be tested, not a universal runtime for other domains.

Path Meaning
reference/current.toml Typed selection of current accepted records
reference/evidence/ Source claims and exact-revision implementation reviews
reference/records/ Immutable reviewed project and specification accounts
reference/changes/ Exact transitions against canonical revisions
reference/publications/ Frozen public release and delivery records after publication
scripts/truth_state.py Offline, read-only governed reader
schemas/ Reference packet and result schemas

Truth Machine uses a versioned local pre-commit hook rather than remote CI. Activate it once per checkout:

Terminal window
task hooks:install

The hook refuses a partially staged or untracked worktree, selects the correct accepted or proposal read mode, and runs the complete test, schema, generated- artifact, site, and patch-hygiene contract. task check:staged invokes the same gate directly. A deliberate Git hook bypass is not verification evidence for exact review.

The 0.1.0 transition was accepted as TMC-0001 on 2026-08-09 against canonical seed revision cc03fe06a40ee80076887d4fad36d512a8f086c2. It introduced the first accepted selection across all four reference domains.

Exact proposal review used:

Terminal window
python3 scripts/truth_state.py --worktree --allow-proposed

That mode validated proposed records without making them current. Accepted canonical origin/main now must pass:

Terminal window
python3 scripts/truth_state.py

The initial reference account declares four domains:

  1. foundation — project identity, scope, ownership, and maturity;
  2. core-specification — the normative 0.1 semantic requirements;
  3. conformance-model — bounded claims, schemas, fixtures, and assessment;
  4. publication-contract — canonical sources and derived human/AI forms.

No publication record exists merely because the site can build. TMP-0001 freezes the first accepted artifact, records its hashes, identifies its operations-owned deployment and rollback, and preserves the independently verified public state. An accepted packet remains immutable; a later artifact or lifecycle observation receives a new packet that may identify the exact packet it supersedes.

The repository cannot establish conformance by declaring itself conformant. Its reader and tests provide evidence. Its accepted change supplies authority. Its publication record supplies release identity. A conformance report must still assess each requirement and state public audit limits.