Trust is built before implementation, not after

Each ImageReason engine has a locked decision contract before it is built. The contract names the job, exact inputs, method or bounded algorithm, source evidence, fixtures, claim limits, required reasoning layers, approved static copy, and change trigger. Claude Code assembles that verified truth; it does not re-research formulas or invent wording during implementation.

Local-image tools have an additional boundary: the visitor explicitly selects a file, the browser processes it locally within stated limits, and image/metadata/results do not enter analytics, persistence, or network requests. A local measurement is labelled as an observation or proxy when it cannot establish a cause. We review the moat for drift so convenient features do not become thin calculators or false AI scores.

The source hierarchy behind every engine is explicit and ordered: owner-approved requirements and decisions come first, followed by the production implementation once it exists, the product's master specification, the individually Locked specification for that engine, current-state and task records, and finally historical notes. A formula, an input range, or a claim boundary is not something an implementation session improvises; it is copied from a specification that has already been through source verification, fixture derivation, and an explicit claim-limits review before implementation ever begins.

Every fixture used to test a formula is derived directly from that formula's own stated method against declared inputs, not reverse-engineered to make a test pass. Where a sheet's own worked example or fixture number does not match its own stated formula, that discrepancy is recorded openly rather than silently corrected to look right, and the mathematically correct value from the Locked formula is what the implementation actually uses. This transparency, including admitting a sheet's own arithmetic slip, is part of what a durable moat looks like: the reasoning survives scrutiny because it was never hidden.

This page describes the process behind the entire engine library and the resource layer that supports it, not a subset. Browse the engine directory or the resource library to see how a specific tool's contract and evidence are documented.

FAQ