CLI Reference

All commands accept an optional --store memory|fjall <path> flag before the command name to select the storage backend. Default is --store memory (in-memory, no persistence).

emit

Create, sign, and store a claim.

elench [--store ...] emit <claim.json>

The JSON file must contain a Claim with fields matching schema/claim.schema.json. The claim’s id is computed from content (INV-28); the provided id is ignored. The claim is signed in a DSSE envelope (INV-22) and stored in the content-addressed store.

verify

Verify a DSSE envelope and validate the enclosed claim.

elench verify <envelope.json>

Extracts the claim and signer from the envelope, verifies the Ed25519 signature, and runs the emission-rule validator (ADR-0006).

status

Compute a claim’s status by folding the log.

elench status <claim_id> [<claims.json>]

Status is unevaluated, passed, or falsified — computed from the log, never stored (INV-04). If no claims file is given, the status is computed from an empty log (live evaluation, INV-14).

gate

Evaluate the release gate for a tree.

elench gate <tree_oid> [<claims.json>]

The gate is a predicate over claims (R3). It checks four conditions (see docs/release-policy.md): no falsified premise, bounded residue, origin floor, builder agreement. The verdict is computed live, not cached (INV-14).

blast

Compute the blast radius from a claim.

elench blast <claim_id> [<claims.json>]

The blast radius is the transitive dependsOn closure — all claims that depend on the given claim, directly or indirectly. If the given claim is falsified, every claim in its blast radius is also falsified.

git

Materialize the git projection.

elench [--store ...] git <claims.json>           # oneline (default)
elench [--store ...] git oneline <claims.json>    # git log --oneline
elench [--store ...] git full <claims.json>       # full git log
elench [--store ...] git init <output_path> <claims.json>  # real .git/

The projection synthesizes git-compatible objects (blobs, trees, commits) from the claim log (ADR-0002). Synthesis is deterministic (BC4, INV-20): two parties with the same claim log produce byte-identical objects.

git init writes real zlib-compressed git objects to <output_path>/.git/objects/. After materialization, git log, git blame, and git checkout work in the output directory.

store

Store a blob or tree in the content-addressed store.

elench [--store ...] store blob <file>
elench [--store ...] store tree <file1> <file2> ...

Blobs are SHA-256 content-addressed (INV-25). Trees are canonical (mode space name null oid) and SHA-256 content-addressed. With --store fjall <path>, objects persist across processes.

log

Log statistics: count, status distribution, conflicts.

elench log <claims.json>

Reports total count, kind distribution (assertion, verification, falsification, supersession, residue-acceptance), status distribution (unevaluated, passed, falsified), noise ratio, and dependsOn density.

review

Review unevaluated claims for a tree.

elench review <tree_oid> <claims.json>

Lists all unevaluated claims anchored to the given tree, showing form, language, source, and producer. The human must name each gap before elench accept issues a residue-acceptance.

accept

Accept named unevaluated gaps (residue-acceptance).

elench accept <tree_oid> <claims.json> --claim <id> [<id>...]

Only humans may emit residue-acceptance records (INV-12). Each named claim must be unevaluated; the acceptance covers the excess residue above the policy’s allowance (R5).

conflicts

List active predicate conflicts for a tree.

elench conflicts <tree_oid> <claims.json>

Two predicates are a conflict if and only if they anchor to the same code location (same path+range, or same symbol) but assert different expressions. Two predicates about different files are not a conflict. Last-writer-wins by timestamp; the older claim is flagged for resolution.

compact

Compact the claim log (manual, destructive).

elench compact <claims.json> [--before <timestamp>]

Retires all claims before the cut-off timestamp, freezing their statuses. The compaction record carries the frozen status snapshot forward. Active claims continue to be revocable (R1 preserved for active claims, deliberately violated for retired ones).

reconcile

Detect anchors that no longer resolve.

elench reconcile <tree_oid> <claims.json>

For each claim anchored to the given tree, resolves the anchor using the multi strategy (path-range, symbol, content-digest). Claims that fail to resolve or are degraded are reported as drifted. The reconciliation pass is read-only — it does not auto-fix.

artifact

Create or verify a release artifact (INV-15).

elench artifact create <tree_oid> <policy_name> <sha256_digest>
elench artifact verify <artifact.json> <claims.json>

The artifact carries (version, tree, policy, digest, released_at) — NOT a verdict (INV-15). Consumers re-evaluate the gate at consumption time (R4). See schema/artifact.schema.json for the format.

build

Run a build, capture exit code + digest, emit provenance.

elench build <tree_oid> [--artifact <path>] -- <command...>

Runs the build command, captures the exit code, and computes a SHA-256 digest. With --artifact <path>, the digest is SHA-256 of that file (the real build output). Without it, the digest falls back to SHA-256 of stdout. Emits a build provenance claim with origin.kind = harness-observed (INV-22).