Rule statuses
The seven statuses a rule can have, what each one means, and what moves a rule between them.
Every rule carries exactly one status. It tells you how far to trust what AppThentic says about it.
| Status | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Observed | Seen in the system or its behaviour | Treat the what as true; the why is unknown |
| Documented | Written in an existing doc, ticket or commit | Useful, but may be out of date |
| Inferred | AppThentic’s reading, not yet confirmed by a person | Do not rely on it for a decision |
| Approved | Confirmed by the rule’s owner | Safe to rely on |
| Disputed | Two sources disagree; both are kept | Involve the owner before changing anything |
| Stale | The system or the reason changed since approval | Re-check before relying on it |
| Unknown | Nobody has answered yet | Ask, or find who knows |
How a rule moves
- A newly found rule starts as Observed, Documented or Inferred, depending on what evidence exists.
- Its owner answers and approves the reason: Approved.
- The code, the config or the business context changes: Stale, and the owner is asked again.
- Two sources disagree at any point: Disputed, until an owner settles it.
The rules AppThentic never breaks
- An Inferred rule is never shown as Approved. Only a person approves.
- Unknown is a real answer. “I don’t know yet” is recorded as Unknown, not guessed into something else.
- Disputed sources are never merged. Both stay visible with their sources.