Completion Evidence Gate
Validated work at Zen Mesh is not considered complete until it publishes structured evidence that is discoverable, Merkle-indexed, and explicitly scoped with non-claims.
Why a Completion Gate?
Every accepted task produces artifacts — code, tests, documentation. Without a structured gate, evidence of what was done and how it was validated can be:
- scattered across commits and PRs,
- unverifiable after the fact,
- invisible to future reviewers, investors, or funding/tax-credit readiness support processes.
The completion evidence gate ensures every validated non-UI task creates a machine-readable record that can be independently verified.
Required Elements
For a task to be marked completed, it must have:
| Element | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Evidence artifact | Structured JSON describing what was done |
| Validator result | Commands that were run and their outcomes |
| Merkle leaf/root | Integrity-included in the canonical Merkle evidence tree |
| Docs/manifest reference | Discoverable through docs.zen-mesh.io AI evidence surfaces |
| Proof status | Honest classification of the evidence level |
| Non-claims | Explicit list of what is NOT claimed |
Proof Status Classifications
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
proven | Validated with real runtime evidence |
local_mock | Passes in local/mock harness only |
implementation_present | Code/contract exists, not formally proven |
contract_only | Specification/contract exists only |
planned | Design exists, implementation is future work |
blocked | Blocked by a known dependency |
non_claim | Explicitly not claimed |
No task may claim a higher status than its evidence supports. proven requires actual runtime/deploy evidence — not just passing tests.
Merkle Integrity
Completion evidence entries are included as leaves in the canonical Merkle evidence tree. This provides:
- Integrity comparison: Any change to evidence artifacts changes the Merkle root.
- State reference: Deterministic root allows verifying evidence hasn't changed since a known commit.
Merkle is evidence integrity only. It does not provide authorization, identity verification, replay prevention, encryption, access control, or delivery guarantees.
Non-Claims
Every completion entry includes explicit non-claims. Common non-claims include:
- "Not production-live" — all tests are local/mock
- "Not general guarantee" — scenario-specific only
- "Merkle provides integrity comparison only"
- No payroll, cost, tax, or private financial data is published
Funding and Tax-Credit Readiness Support
Completion evidence artifacts support future funding/tax-credit readiness review by providing:
- structured records of technical work performed,
- evidence of technical uncertainty and systematic investigation,
- validation commands and results,
- Merkle-integrity timestamps tied to commits.
This is readiness support only — it does not constitute eligibility, qualification, or approval for any funding program. No payroll, cost, timesheet, or private financial data is published in evidence artifacts.
Source Artifacts
| Artifact | Path |
|---|---|
| Completion evidence contract | docs/80-EVIDENCE/completion/completion_evidence_contract.json |
| Completion evidence schema | docs/80-EVIDENCE/completion/completion_evidence_contract.schema.json |
| Completion evidence validator | scripts/validation/completion_evidence_gate_check.py |
| Merkle completion leaf | docs/80-EVIDENCE/merkle/completion_evidence_merkle.json |
| Merkle completion manifest | docs/80-EVIDENCE/merkle/manifests/completion_evidence_manifest.json |
| Evidence index | docs/80-EVIDENCE/merkle/EVIDENCE_INDEX_2026_05_24.json |
| AI evidence manifest | /ai/evidence/v1/manifest.json |
Validation
# Run the completion evidence gate check
make completion-evidence-gate-check
# Verify Merkle integrity
make merkle-evidence-check
# Validate AI evidence manifest
node scripts/validate-ai-evidence.js
Current Entries
The completion evidence contract contains entries for the following tasks:
- 002 — Customer API + MCP Read-Only Evidence Surface
- 003 — Go Build Read-Only Wiring
- 004 — Platform Go Test Closeout
- 005 — Kubebuilder Integration (envtest)
- 006 — MCP Evidence Server Wiring
- 007 — Runtime Proof Matrix Hardening
- 008 — Evidence Merkle Completion Gate
See the AI Evidence Manifest for machine-readable details.