guidecheck verify preserves its existing output and exit behavior unless the caller explicitly passes --contract posix-json-v1. The selector is experimental. It does not select or reinterpret a GuideCheck profile. guidecheck scan does not implement this contract.
The selected contract writes exactly one terminal JSON object to stdout. Help text may be written to stderr. The terminal object follows schemas/cli-result-posix-json-v1.json and separates operational completion from the requested verification gate.
If a selected invocation ends without that terminal object, the run is incomplete. Diagnostics do not substitute for a terminal record.
operational.status: complete means the local verifier evaluated the guide and produced the nested report. It does not mean the guide passed. The report value is the established GuideCheck verifier report without renamed or removed fields. legacy_exit_code records the exit status the ordinary verifier invocation would have returned for the same evaluated report and gate flags.
Contract help completes without requesting verification, so its terminal record has gate.status: not_requested and no report.
GuideCheck's schema shares the A11y pilot's contract identity, operational result, gate status, terminal marker, and exit-status conventions. Its schema is tool-specific. The A11y adapter models a multi-stage pipeline and accessibility gate modes; GuideCheck models one local verification operation, uses gate.mode: verify, and nests the established verifier report. Consumers must validate against the GuideCheck schema.
The local verifier evaluates Levels 1 through 3. It can check local Level 4 sidecar and anchor consistency, but it cannot establish fetched provenance or award Level 4. When --level 4 is the only unmet gate, the contract reports inconclusive rather than treating the local capability limit as proof of nonconformance. Blocking findings and a requested warning failure take rejection precedence.
--format text and --pretty cannot be combined with the selected contract because the contract owns stdout. --json is accepted as a redundant JSON assertion. Without --contract posix-json-v1, all three retain their established behavior.
The selected parser rejects abbreviated options, unknown selectors, duplicate singular options, and repeated --anchor channels. --anchor may be repeated only for distinct channels. Text after a literal -- remains a path argument and does not select the contract.
Contract options use separate values only: write --contract posix-json-v1, not --contract=posix-json-v1.
| Error id | Remediation |
|---|---|
invalid-invocation, unsupported-option-syntax, missing-contract-value, unsupported-contract, duplicate-option, conflicting-output-option, duplicate-anchor-channel |
Correct the contract arguments and run the command again. |
invalid-profile-data, invalid-input-text |
Correct the guide, sidecar, or profile assertion before repeating. |
guide-input-missing, manifest-input-missing, anchor-input-missing |
Provide the missing local input path. |
input-permission-denied |
Grant read access to the named input. |
input-io-failure |
Resolve the identified local I/O condition. |
operational-failure |
Inspect stderr and reconcile the local verifier state before repeating. |
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Verification completed and the requested gate accepted, or contract help completed. |
| 2 | Verification completed with a confirmed gate rejection. |
| 3 | Verification completed, but local evaluation cannot establish the requested Level 4 result. |
| 64 | The contract invocation is malformed or uses an unsupported option, selector, or output flag. |
| 65 | The requested profile or guide profile data is invalid or unsupported. |
| 66 | A required guide, manifest, or anchor input is missing. |
| 74 | The verifier has specific file I/O failure evidence. |
| 77 | The verifier has specific permission-denied evidence. |
| 1 | Verification failed without evidence for a narrower category. |
retryable and safe_to_repeat are conservative. Operational failures set both to false. The contract does not infer a category from diagnostic prose. |
Replace: GUIDE_PATH -> reviewed local assistant-guide.txt path Customize
guidecheck verify GUIDE_PATH --contract posix-json-v1