01
Task contract
A JSON task with stable acceptance criteria and a Kane _test.md file. Both are hashed before the run.
Independent proof
for coding agents
Elenchos isolates the worktree, locks the Kane contract, and accepts a run only after Kane passes.
02
Isolate worktree
The coding agent works in a detached Git worktree. It cannot mark criteria as passed.
03
Kane browser
Kane CLI runs the locked Functional test. Structured output is the only pass signal.
✓VERIFIED
Kane decides. The agent does not.
Agent narration is useful context. It never becomes a pass. Elenchos reads Kane's structured output and the repository state.
- VERIFIED
- Kane completed the locked contract and the repository stayed stable while Kane ran.
- FAILED
- Kane confirmed a product failure and repair attempts were exhausted, or you used verify mode.
- ERROR
- Elenchos could not establish a product result. Incomplete Kane output, a changed contract, a dirty worktree, or a startup failure land here. They are not product FAILs.
What it does
- Runs an agent in a detached Git worktree for a normal run.
- Starts the target app and waits for a loopback URL.
- Executes a fixed Kane Functional _test.md contract.
- Rejects edits to the task or Kane test during the run.
- Sends a confirmed product FAIL back for a bounded repair.
What it does not do
- It does not sandbox the agent from the operating system.
- It does not treat agent summaries as proof.
- It does not rewrite a failing Kane test during verification.
- It does not turn incomplete Kane output into a product FAIL.
- It does not host a service or replace Kane's own workflows.
Start on the machine that will run Kane.
Node 20+, Git, then npm install -g elenchos. Kane login is only required for real browser verification.
Elenchos 0.1.5 on npm. MIT licensed.