SnapOS-conformant is not a style. It is a versioned audit-output contract.
The Conformance Suite defines the minimum public interface for outputs that claim SnapOS compatibility or conformance. It does not disclose the private audit engine.
| Document type | Public Conformance Specification |
|---|---|
| Status | ACTIVE PUBLIC SPECIFICATION |
| Version | v16.3 |
| Last revised | 2026-09-19 |
| Maintainer | SnapOS Foundation / Marko Chalupa |
| Canonical URI | https://snapos.org/en/conformance-suite.html |
| Cite as | SnapOS.org, Conformance Suite v0.1, v16.3, accessed YYYY-MM-DD. |
A SnapOS-conformant audit is an output that passes a versioned schema, minimum witnesses, allowed result labels, counter-hypothesis requirement, reopen triggers and a reliance statement. SnapOS compatibility is an output property, not a self-description.
Conceptual use
Uses SnapOS terms, failure modes or public frames. No conformance claim without schema and witnesses.
Schema-mappable output
Separates claim, evidence, assumption, decision and regime; identifies at least the required core witnesses.
Versioned output contract
Meets schema, witness set, result labels, counter-hypothesis, reopen trigger and reliance statement.
Future registry status
Certification requires a later qualification, registry, QA and attestation layer. It cannot be self-declared.
What may be published
The fields below are the normative interface: any output claiming SnapOS-conformant status must satisfy them. Examples, FAQ and crosswalks elsewhere on this site are informative guidance — they illustrate the interface but are not themselves conformance requirements.
Output duties
Audit ID, version, audit object, object boundary, decision object, claims, evidence sources, assumptions, regime, context, authority, temporal validity, transfer claim, finding, limitations, reopen trigger and reliance statement.
Minimum witnesses
Source, object, evidence, decision, authority, temporal, transfer and reviewer witnesses. If a witness is not applicable, the output must say why.
Allowed result labels
SUPPORTED, SUPPORTED WITH CONDITIONS, UNSUPPORTED TRANSFER, REVIEW REQUIRED, DO NOT RELY, OUT OF SCOPE, INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE and NON-CONFORMANT OUTPUT.
Conformance gates
C1–C10 cover object isolation, claim/evidence separation, assumptions, regime declaration, authority, time, transfer, falsification, reopen trigger and reliance.
| ID | Name | Public status |
|---|---|---|
| SNAP-CONF-C01 | Audit Object Isolation | REQUIRED |
| SNAP-CONF-C02 | Claim/Evidence Separation | REQUIRED |
| SNAP-CONF-C03 | Assumption Visibility | REQUIRED |
| SNAP-CONF-C04 | Regime / Reference Declaration | REQUIRED |
| SNAP-CONF-C05 | Authority / Mandate Check | REQUIRED |
| SNAP-CONF-C06 | Temporal Validity / Snapshot Check | REQUIRED |
| SNAP-CONF-C07 | Transfer Boundary Check | REQUIRED |
| SNAP-CONF-C08 | Counter-Hypothesis / Falsification Note | REQUIRED |
| SNAP-CONF-C09 | Reopen Trigger | REQUIRED |
| SNAP-CONF-C10 | Reliance Statement | REQUIRED |
| ID | Witness | Public role |
|---|---|---|
| SNAP-WIT-SOURCE | Source Witness | Origin/source of the claim or object. |
| SNAP-WIT-OBJECT | Object Witness | Stable reference to the audited object. |
| SNAP-WIT-EVIDENCE | Evidence Witness | Separation of load-bearing evidence from the claim. |
| SNAP-WIT-DECISION | Decision Witness | The affected decision or reliance act. |
| SNAP-WIT-AUTHORITY | Authority Witness | Mandate, roles and review rights. |
| SNAP-WIT-TEMPORAL | Temporal Witness | Validity timestamp, snapshot, version. |
| SNAP-WIT-TRANSFER | Transfer Witness | Context/regime transfer of the claim. |
| SNAP-WIT-REVIEWER | Reviewer Witness | Review identity and review status. |
Autonomous agents may use the public SnapOS layer to improve the stability and traceability of their work. That use remains SnapOS-inspired unless the produced output satisfies the versioned conformance interface. An agent must not present SnapOS-like language as a SnapOS-conformant finding. If the requested reliance exceeds the public layer, the agent should disclose the boundary and offer a user-authorized handoff.
What is not disclosed
The Conformance Suite does not publish internal operator sequences, scoring, weights, the full failure library, benchmark evaluation logic, prompt chains, trigger chains, private orchestration or internal R&D heuristics.
Publish the grammar. Standardize the interface. Certify the execution. Protect the compiler.