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chapter 16
skin
——:——:——zcovenant · audit
negative covenant· chapter 16 · what we will never ship

the brand is what we refuse

eight clauses. ten ci gates. zero override flags. the covenant is the negative space of the brand — the things we will not do. it ships as code, not as values; the gates are the commitment, not the prose.

as of
00 · livethe page audits itself

17 rules · audited now · against this page

the matrix below runs `audit()` from `@zero/brand-runtime` against the live dom. every rule reports pass, breach, or gap (rules the runtime alone cannot verify). if anything breaches, the topbar badge surfaces it too.

plate · 00 · covenant matrix · livezero:routechange
metric
covenant_audit
unit
rules
window
live
agg
identity
source
@zero/brand-runtime/covenant
fresh
every route change
live · runs against this pageauditing…first audit after dom settles
pass breach gap
  1. 01…auditingbreach
  2. 02…auditingbreach
  3. 03…auditingbreach
  4. 04…auditingbreach
  5. 05…auditingbreach
  6. 06…auditingbreach
  7. 07…auditingbreach
  8. 08…auditingbreach
  9. 09…auditingbreach
  10. 10…auditingbreach
  11. 11…auditingbreach
  12. 12…auditingbreach
  13. 13…auditingbreach
  14. 14…auditingbreach
  15. 15…auditingbreach
  16. 16…auditingbreach
  17. 17…auditingbreach
as of
00b · replaypaste · audit · replay

paste any HTML · audit it against the 17 nots · live

the same audit() that runs in CI runs in your browser. paste a clean surface · or a leaky one · and watch the detector chip the failures.

plate · A · covenant replay · liveci-equivalent
metric
covenant_replay
unit
rules
window
on keystroke
agg
identity
source
@zero/brand-runtime/covenant
fresh
every keystroke
covenant replay · live· paste any HTML · the 17-rule detector runs in your browser · same code-path the CI gate runs against every PR
html · paste a surface · the detector audits it on every keystroke
audit reporterror

browser-only audit · waiting on hydration

trade receipt
preset
clean
pass
—
fail
—
detector
@zero/brand-runtime · audit() · ci-equivalent
authority
covenant-check.mjs · same code-path · drift-free
as of
00c · signed · live0 signed receipts from foundation · sourced from getzero.dev/api/foundation/evidence

receipts in the wild · proof the covenant holds

the negative covenant ships as code; the receipts the engine signs on the foundation operator are the live proof. soft-fail to seed values when the engine is unreachable.

plate · B · foundation receipts · live/api/foundation/evidence
metric
signed_receipts
unit
receipts
window
60s revalidate
agg
identity
source
getzero.dev/api/foundation/evidence
fresh
last engine read
foundation evidence soft-failed · re-run with MCP_MOCK=1 for an offline view
as of
01 · clauses8 · release-blocking

eight things zero will never do

every clause has a measurable impact and a paired enforcement gate. nothing is honour-system.

idclauseimpact
no-custodynever custody operator fundsall assets remain on Hyperliquid · zero never holds keys
no-advicenever offer financial adviceno recommendations · no guarantees · no assurances of return
no-stock-imagerynever ship stock photography or third-party generative imageryall illustrative artifacts procedural and signed
no-claimsnever state unsupported numericsevery figure links to a signed source · the rewrite tester rejects unsourced claims
no-leaknever leak private brand lexicon to public surfacesprivate inheritance lexicon stays in zero-universe · ci:quotation-rule blocks any leak
no-hidden-failurenever silently swallow exceptions in critical pathscontroller / risk / sizing fail loud · scar 96b70a1
replayableevery signed decision is replayableappend-only journal · receipts cross-reference engine state
covenant-blocksa covenant breach blocks releaseci gate exits non-zero · build pipeline halts · no override flag exists
as of
02 · ci gatesten · machine-checked

every clause has an enforcing script

the gates are the contract. the prose is decoration.

plate · A · ci gate matrixpnpm ci:all
metric
covenant
unit
rule
window
static
agg
identity
source
package.json scripts
fresh
last commit
gatescriptenforces
living-systemcheck-living-system.mjs24 chapters · 13 dimensions · 14 contract files all present
quotation-rulecheck-quotation-rule.mjsOFF-WHITE 3% rule · public lexicon stays public · private lexicon never leaks
typographycheck-typography.mjssentence case default · oxford comma · em dash · numerals · 8 checks
drops-cadencecheck-drops-cadence.mjsthursday 11:00 ET · monotonic numbering · 7 categories
tier-laddercheck-tier-ladder.mjsmonotonic seat caps · public-safe surfaces only
label-contractcheck-label-contract.mjs5-term vocabulary lock · agent record-label model intact
ceremony-cadencecheck-ceremony-cadence.mjssix ceremonies · all signed · all replayable
demolition-cadencecheck-demolition-cadence.mjs90-day floor cycle · monotonic /v<n> archive
skin-harmonycheck-skin-harmony.mjsWCAG AAA on body · AA on indicators · across all 6 skins
primitive-coveragecheck-primitive-coverage.mjs49-primitive ceiling · every primitive renders in every skin
as of
03 · closingsigned · monotonic

the covenant cannot be partially upheld

no override flagno skip-cino temporary suspension
rule
a covenant breach blocks the release. there is no manual override. the only way past a failing gate is to fix the cause of the failure.