> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ctpf.q-uestionable.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Evidence and Integrity

> Experiment records, bundles, failure preservation, and operational state boundaries

Every experiment writes to an operator-selected external research directory. Git checkouts are
rejected as output roots so generated evidence is not mixed with source code.

## Experiment record

A completed series contains condition-scoped protocol traces and observations plus top-level
coordination records. Depending on the selected target and scenario, the record includes:

* MCP session traces and inference transcripts;
* mutation records containing both original and modified responses;
* run-scoped persisted artifacts and external-effect sink files;
* condition observations and trust-transition classifications;
* target/runtime pins and condition order;
* progress and failure manifests; and
* a declared evidence bundle with hashes for copied artifacts.

The series manifest is updated as work progresses. A failed condition therefore leaves a durable
record instead of disappearing behind a retry.

## Integrity rules

* Originals are preserved before a response is changed.
* Effects and persisted artifacts carry the expected run-scoped identity.
* Bundle manifests declare the files copied into the bundle and their hashes.
* Missing files or hash mismatches are integrity failures, not evidence to reconstruct.
* Secret material is excluded: target records contain keyring credential names, never API keys.

The bundle verifies that the captured record is internally consistent. It does not by itself prove
that an independent outsider can reproduce the experiment or that the result generalizes.

## Experiment evidence versus SQLite state

CTPF also retains an operational SQLite database at `~/.ctpf/ctpf.db` for targets, settings, and
legacy/current run or finding records. That database is not the evidence store for
`ctpf experiment` output.

The compatibility helper `ctpf.core.db.export_run_bundle()` produces `run-bundle-v1` for stored
operational records. It is distinct from the scenario evidence bundles produced by controlled
experiments. See [Operational Run Bundle](/exports/json-schema) for that compatibility contract.

## Research storage

Treat traces, transcripts, sink artifacts, manifests, bundles, analyses, and publication material
as research records. Store them in an authorized, access-controlled research directory or lab
vault, never in a public Git checkout.