ContractsCopy Anchor Link

Place each contract in a numbered directory:

.contracts/
  001-database-failures/
    CONTRACT.md

---
name: database-failures
message: Preserve database failures for the caller.
---

## Rules

If a database operation fails, preserve that failure for the caller.
Do not return a successful empty result.

## Checks

From the package directory:

```sh
mise run test
```

## Examples

```typescript
async function listUsers() {
  return await db.users.list();
}
```

```typescript
async function listUsers() {
  try {
    return await db.users.list();
  } catch {
    return [];
  }
}
```

name, message, and a nonempty body are required. Names are unique throughout the project. Numbers have at least three digits, start at 001, and are unique within a scope. paths is optional; see Scope. requires-tenet: X.Y.Z is optional and names the oldest Tenet that reads the contract; an older Tenet refuses it. Other frontmatter fields are errors.

Use Rules and Checks for ordinary contracts. Other headings are welcome; Tenet reads the whole body, including rationale, exceptions, and ordinary code examples. Keep these inline where possible.

A contract can govern code, configuration, tests, or documentation. State its scope in the body, such as "Markdown notes under docs/". Tenet judges each file the contract governs against it.

Give each contract one concern. Tenet asks one question about the whole contract per file, so a single clause in a long contract can be missed. Move a mechanical requirement, such as a required metadata field or an import rule, into a project script and name that script under Checks. tenet check withholds legacy tagged evaluation fences from the model.

Commands under Checks are instructions for the reviewer. Include the working directory and use project-owned scripts. Tenet does not run these commands or assume they succeeded. Linked resources are not expanded automatically; keep required context in the contract or supply repository files with check --context.

ScopeCopy Anchor Link

A .contracts directory covers files beneath its parent directory. Root contracts come first, followed by deeper scopes, and contracts within each scope follow numeric order. Independent checks may run concurrently; results are reported in that order. Numbers do not override contradictory requirements.

A contract governs every discovered file in its scope except files inside .contracts folders. List glob patterns under paths to govern only matching files, such as the source of one language:

---
name: python-errors
message: Preserve failures in Python code.
paths: ['**/*.py']
---

Patterns are relative to the directory that holds .contracts. * matches within one path segment, and ** matches any number of directories, so "*.py" matches only files directly in that directory. Quote each pattern; YAML reads a leading * as an alias. Files that match no pattern are not assessed and are left out of the contract's inventory. A pattern that starts with ! excludes the files it matches, whatever else matches them. A list of only exclusions governs every file in scope except those. Use one to leave out generated files that are still committed, such as a lockfile, which ignore files cannot hide from a diff:

paths: ['!**/package-lock.json']

A pattern reaches files inside .contracts only when it names .contracts, such as ".contracts/*/CONTRACT.md" for a contract about contracts. tenet validate rejects an empty list and absolute, parent-relative, or invalid patterns, including exclusions. The patterns are part of the document, so editing them leaves earlier conclusions outdated like any other edit.

tenet contracts list
tenet contracts list --for src/users.ts
tenet contracts show database-failures

contracts list --for FILE lists the contracts that govern that file.

Shared contractsCopy Anchor Link

tenet contracts add tenet/NAME --scope DIR installs a contract from the public tenet-contracts library as an ordinary local file. It takes the next number in the scope and keeps the library name unless the project already uses it; --name chooses another. .tenet.lock records where each copy came from. Put local exceptions under a final ## Local adaptations heading so updates merge cleanly. Lines that begin with <<<<<<< or >>>>>>> and a space are unresolved conflict markers and fail validation. A library contract may also ship tool configuration in assets/<tool>/. Such a contract declares requires-tenet: 0.11.0, and add copies its assets into the contract's folder as read-only files. See Guidance.

ExamplesCopy Anchor Link

Use ordinary fenced code blocks to explain allowed and disallowed behavior. Label them in prose. Examples are documentation; evaluate real project snapshots and patches through tenet check. See evaluation. Legacy tenet: fences are withheld from check inputs to avoid leaking old expected-answer labels; convert them to ordinary examples when editing a contract. The offline export preserves the original document, including those fences.