tenet-governance

# Tenet Governance

Guidance for managing architectural tenets - constraints that must be followed in all work on a codebase.

## Overview

**Tenets** are architectural constraints that require human judgment to verify. They differ from linting rules:

| Tenets | Linting Rules |
|--------|---------------|
| Architectural boundaries | Code style |
| "Domain must not import infrastructure" | "Use 2-space indentation" |
| Require judgment to verify | Machine-checkable |
| Few (3-7 per project) | Many (hundreds) |
| Project-specific decisions | Industry conventions |

## Quick Reference

### Tenet Format

```markdown
### T<N>. <Name>

<Description: 2-4 sentences explaining constraint and rationale>

**Severity:** <critical | high | medium | low>

**Evidence:**
- `<file:line>` - <observation>
```

### Severity Levels

| Level | Meaning | Verification Behavior |
|-------|---------|----------------------|
| critical | Breaks system invariants | Always fail |
| high | Causes significant tech debt | Fail by default |
| medium | Reduces code quality | Warn by default |
| low | Guideline, not requirement | Info only |

### Exception Syntax

**Table (in AGENTS.md):**
```markdown
## Tenet Exceptions

| File | Tenet | Reason | Approved |
|------|-------|--------|----------|
| `src/legacy/adapter.go` | T1 | Legacy integration | 2024-01-15 |
```

**Inline (in code):**
```go
// governor:ignore T1 - Legacy adapter, tracking in #123
import "infrastructure/db"
```

## Two Operations

**Validation** (setup/manage): Is this tenet grounded in reality?
- Search codebase for evidence supporting the tenet
- Output: SUPPORTED, WEAK_EVIDENCE, NOT_SUPPORTED, CONTRADICTED

**Verification** (verify): Does this code follow the tenets?
- Analyze code against existing tenets
- Output: COMPLIANT or VIOLATED with confidence scores

## Confidence Scoring

| Score | Criteria | Example |
|-------|----------|---------|
| 90-100 | Explicit violation | Forbidden import present |
| 70-89 | Likely violation |