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Omena
Concepts

Evidence and transform safety

Learn how Omena separates facts, proof evidence, uncertainty, and byte-producing transforms.

A transform can be syntactically possible and still be semantically unsafe. Omena therefore separates the proposed edit from the evidence that admits it.

Three outcomes

  • Apply when the required facts and product policy establish the transform.
  • Preserve when the input is valid but the available evidence is insufficient.
  • Reject when a typed precondition or output invariant fails.

Preservation is not a hidden success. Structured results name unresolved inputs, rejected preconditions, or retained artifacts so callers can decide whether to supply more context.

Why source identity matters

Cross-file transforms depend on module identity, source spans, and emission order. Omena carries those identities through the transform IR and source-map path instead of reconstructing them from final strings. This permits byte comparisons, provenance checks, and fail-closed bundle decisions at product boundaries.

External evidence

Sass Interface Files and external-tool attestations can enrich a closed-world decision, but they remain typed evidence with explicit trust and freshness boundaries. They do not silently become parser facts.

Use omena explain or request build evidence when a transform is preserved. Do not infer safety from a zero-mutation count alone.

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