---
title: Proof, Not Promises
description: The transparency and verification standard behind NIKI.
sidebar:
  order: 1
  label: Proof, Not Promises
---

## "Proof, Not Promises" Audit Standard

In the AI coding ecosystem, benchmark numbers are often exaggerated, cherry-picked, or run on contrived toy tasks.

NIKI operates under a strict principle: **Proof, Not Promises**.

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## The Audit Trail

Every time NIKI runs, it produces a cryptographic and auditable record in `.niki/`:

1. **`report.md`**: Human-readable executive summary of the decisions, scores, and revisions.
2. **`changes.patch`**: Exact unified diff applied to the working tree.
3. **`safety_proof.json`**: Manifest certifying post-run git invariants — the new branch was added, existing branches/history are preserved, and no rebase or force-push occurred. It does not certify sandbox flags or spend caps (those are enforced at runtime and reported in `report.md`). Skipped on empty diffs (no branch, nothing to prove).
4. **`test_execution.json`**: In-container execution transcripts containing real exit codes and test runner outputs. Written only when a test command resolves; advisory evidence for the Reviewer verdict, not a hard gate (see `docs/benchmarks.md`).

A task's audit trail is complete when `report.md` and `changes.patch` exist; `safety_proof.json` and `test_execution.json` are written whenever their preconditions hold (non-empty diff, resolvable test command).