ExportCopy Anchor Link

tenet export exports selected source, complete contract documents, and scope information as one JSON object. It works offline without model credentials. Use it to preserve review inputs or prepare a focused question for another tool.

tenet export src/storage/query.ts --contract database-failures \
  --context src/storage/caller.ts --base origin/main > evidence.json

The command accepts the same paths, --contract, --context, --base, --snapshot, and --patch selection as tenet check. Output is always JSON; it has no --json, provider, or model option. --context supplies supporting source without broadening the requested contract scope. A --context PATH:START-END range is recorded in excerpts; the packet still holds the file's complete source, so its hashes identify the file.

ContentsCopy Anchor Link

The packet has version: 2, kind: "tenet_evidence", and hash_algorithm: "blake3". Its main fields describe different parts of the review:

Each contract contains its name, path, scope, complete document, and document hash. The document preserves the original Markdown, including any legacy tenet: evaluation fences. Unlike model input prepared by tenet check, this archive does not remove those fences or their expected-answer labels.

rules_span gives start-inclusive, end-exclusive UTF-8 byte offsets for Rules, or the body if no Rules section exists. It helps locate text; exceptions and other requirements can appear elsewhere in the contract. Read the complete body. requested_scope is full_contract or selected_subjects; selected_files and omitted_files describe that contract's portion of the packet. omitted_files lists the files the contract governs whose source is absent from the packet. These are selection facts, not assessments of compliance or evidence sufficiency.

Each source contains kind, previous_path for a rename, and before and after sides. An available side contains its complete text and a BLAKE3 hash of those UTF-8 bytes. A missing side is null. Full mode represents current files as additions with no before side. Diff mode preserves each available side, including the prior source of a deleted file. Supporting files can also appear among the selected subjects; their source is stored only once.

A source reference needs the path, side, and hash. For an excerpt, also record its line or byte range. For example, the JSON Pointer /sources/src~1storage~1query.ts/after locates the current side of src/storage/query.ts. Escape / as ~1 and ~ as ~0 inside each pointer component. A valid reference establishes which text was used. It does not establish that a description of that text is correct.

Keep the checkout stable during capture. Files are read separately, so the packet is not an atomic filesystem snapshot. head alone does not identify uncommitted contents; use the source hashes. A later tenet check captures its own inputs. Tenet does not import or replay evidence packets.

Bounds and errorsCopy Anchor Link

The default packet limit is 1 MiB. --max-bytes N accepts 1 through 67,108,864 bytes (64 MiB) and limits the complete encoded JSON plus its trailing newline. Existing supplementary-context limits also apply; raising the packet limit does not raise them.

Capture has a separate fixed 64 MiB bound, shared by checks, dry runs, and exports. It counts serialized contract data and original documents, plus each distinct source record including its path, before/after contents, patch, or read error. Selected and supporting source overlap is counted once. This bounds the captured payload, not total process memory. Exceeding it aborts before any model request or exported packet; increasing a request budget or --max-bytes does not raise this bound.

Selection follows the normal discovery rules. Omitted paths identify discovered source that was not captured; they are not a dependency analysis. Ignored and excluded paths, and paths no exported contract governs, are absent from the inventory. Choose supporting files explicitly when a question depends on callers or helpers.

Success exits 0 and means the export completed. Binary, non-UTF-8, and symbolic-link sources appear as {"unreadable": reason} without contents. Invalid selected inputs and read errors exit 2 before any packet is written. Cancellation exits 130. Inputs are never silently truncated. Unlike a check report, this output contains source text and complete contract documents. Store and share it accordingly.

Ask a focused questionCopy Anchor Link

A packet may be larger than a model tool accepts. For example, ev-grep's --state accepts one JSON value up to 64 KiB. Even a one-source packet can exceed that bound after including both sides and contract documents. Select the evidence needed for one question instead of passing every packet directly.

The following example requires jq and an ev-grep version with --state. It extracts the complete current source from the packet above and retains its identity:

jq -ce --arg path 'src/storage/query.ts' '
  .sources[$path].after as $source
  | if $source == null then error("current source is absent") else
      {hash_algorithm, source: {path: $path, side: "after",
        hash: $source.hash, text: $source.text}}
    end
' evidence.json > question-state.json

ev-grep 'The current source catches a database error and returns an empty result' \
  --state question-state.json --dry-run --json

The dry run checks the supplied state without credentials or a model request. Remove --dry-run to assess it with your configured provider; that sends the state to the provider. If it is still too large, choose a smaller question and explicitly scoped evidence. Retain the original packet and record what the question excludes.

Keep before and after source distinct when asking about a change. A summary can suggest another contract or caller to inspect, but can lose an exception or misdescribe an interaction. Check the underlying source and the full English contract before reporting a violation. Neither a favorable answer to one question nor a valid source reference completes the review.