Evidence and status

Alpha deliberately separates claims that software projects often collapse. A source file, a green checker, a generated executable, and a physical run are different facts.

Assurance ladder

Level	What it establishes	What it does not establish
Declared	A contract or requirement exists.	An implementation exists.
Source present	Relevant implementation text exists.	It parses or checks.
Checked	A named compiler identity accepted the relevant closure.	Native lowering or execution works.
Tested	A named test ran against named source and tool identities.	Every target or environment is covered.
Emitted	A target artifact and receipt were produced.	The artifact executed correctly.
Self-hosted	Bound compiler generations reproduced the required canonical identity.	A changed generation is also self-hosted.
Physically attested	A named machine executed a bound artifact and produced durable evidence.	General correctness outside that profile.
Quality-bearing	A separate empirical result supports performance or output quality.	Compiler proof obligations disappear.

What `alpha check` proves

For the selected workspace, root, edition, and compiler identity, a successful check establishes the implemented parsing, resolution, elaboration, trusted type/quantity/effect checking, and totality obligations for the closure. It does not establish that every checked term has a supported native lowering.

What this site's REPL proves

The workbench runs the actual deployed Alpha binary in a sandbox. It checks one isolated module and reference-normalizes main. The result is useful language feedback, but it is intentionally labeled reference evaluation. The site does not claim native execution, GPU execution, checkpoint continuation, or current-generation self-hosting.

Current project boundary

Alpha is an active bootstrap research project. Substantial language, checker, formatter, linter, LSP, x86-64, ELF, SM86, GPU runtime, learning-system, and evidence machinery exists. The exact promoted state moves with repository evidence, so use current repository goals, work log, and durable evidence directories rather than a timeless badge.

Documentation authority

When sources disagree:

the Specification defines normative language behavior;
an edition manifest binds behavior to concrete schemas and artifacts;
generated grammar, reference, and diagnostics describe their pinned implementation surface;
the guide explains but does not override the specification; and
the changelog records movement within an edition.