helixevo 0.6.1 → 0.7.0

package/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -4,6 +4,18 @@ All notable changes to HelixEvo are documented here.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [0.7.0] - 2026-03-25
+
+### Added
+- New `helixevo proof` command for bounded outcome attribution and explicit proof review across interventions, transfer, topology execution, semantic adoption, and legacy evolution impact
+- New dashboard `Proof` route and `/api/proof` operator control surface for first-class prove-stage review
+- New `~/.helix/proof-reviews.jsonl` ledger for verify / defer / contest decisions on derived proof records
+
+### Changed
+- The dashboard operator loop now routes the Prove stage to `/proof` instead of only the Guide metrics anchor
+- Overview, Co-Evolution, Ontology, Topology, Guide, Commands, and README now surface the new proof layer and the broader prove-stage framing
+- `metrics`, `status`, and `report` now point operators toward `helixevo proof --status` for broader post-action review
+
 ## [0.6.1] - 2026-03-24
 
 ### Added

package/README.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # HelixEvo
 
-Co-evolving skill and project brain for AI agents. HelixEvo captures failures, traces activations, models pressure, routes governed responses, promotes cross-project transfer, reviews structural topology changes, safely executes accepted topology transitions with rollback, and now lets approved ontology concepts become active semantic consumers inside the live control loop.
+Co-evolving skill and project brain for AI agents. HelixEvo captures failures, traces activations, models pressure, routes governed responses, promotes cross-project transfer, reviews structural topology changes, safely executes accepted topology transitions with rollback, lets approved ontology concepts become active semantic consumers inside the live control loop, and now exposes a first-class proof layer for bounded outcome attribution across the brain loop.
 
 ## How it works
 
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ helixevo dashboard
 |---------|-------------|
 | `helixevo watch` | Always-on learning: auto-capture + auto-evolve |
 | `helixevo metrics` | Correction rates, skill trends, evolution impact |
+| `helixevo proof` | Outcome attribution and proof review across interventions, transfer, topology, ontology, and evolution |
 | `helixevo health` | Network health: cohesion, coverage, balance, transfer |
 | `helixevo init` | Import existing skills + generate skill tests |
 | `helixevo capture <session>` | Extract failures from a session file |
@@ -120,6 +121,9 @@ helixevo topology --status        # Show reviewed topology execution state
 helixevo topology --prepare <id>  # Prepare an accepted topology candidate
 helixevo topology --apply <id>    # Apply a safe prepared topology plan
 helixevo topology --rollback <id> # Roll back an applied topology plan
+helixevo proof --status           # Review proof state across the live loop
+helixevo proof --review <id> --decision verify
+                                  # Verify a proof record after operator review
 ```
 
 ### Research options
@@ -151,6 +155,7 @@ All data is stored in `~/.helix/`:
 ├── topology-apply-plans.json # Prepared reviewed topology plans
 ├── topology-executions.jsonl # Prepared/applied/rolled-back execution ledger
 ├── topology-artifacts.jsonl  # Evidence artifacts for reviewed structural execution
+├── proof-reviews.jsonl      # Operator verify/defer/contest ledger for derived proof records
 ├── evolution-artifacts.jsonl # Evolution + ontology-review evidence artifacts
 ├── ontology/
 │   ├── kernel.json          # Materialized ontology kernel snapshot
@@ -184,11 +189,12 @@ helixevo dashboard --port 3900
 ```
 
 **Tabs:**
-- **Overview** — Premium control cockpit with frontier signals, brain foundation, semantic backbone, ontology adoption visibility, pressure counts, topology review visibility, and prepared/applied structural state
+- **Overview** — Premium control cockpit with frontier signals, brain foundation, semantic backbone, ontology adoption visibility, proof review visibility, pressure counts, topology review visibility, and prepared/applied structural state
 - **Skill Network** — Interactive graph, premium inspector, co-evolution routing signals, and topology review/execution handoff links
 - **Co-Evolution** — Operator cockpit for routed pressure response, governance mode visibility, promotion queues, transfer evidence, semantic route influence, and topology handoff
 - **Ontology** — Semantic control surface for kernel visibility, frontier concept review, approved ontology extensions, adoption coverage, deprecation risk, and native ontology change events
 - **Topology** — Governance steering plus a persistent operator pipeline for review → prepare → apply → rollback across merge / split / promote / rewire / consolidate candidates
+- **Proof** — Outcome-attribution and proof-review cockpit for bounded effectiveness review across interventions, transfer, topology execution, semantic adoption, and evolution impact
 - **Projects** — Project intake studio, live project analysis, gap routing, per-project pressure hotspots, and promotion feeders
 - **Evolution** — Timeline of evolution runs with judge scores, artifact provenance, and activation-aware context
 - **Research** — Knowledge buffer plus a live “why research now” handoff from current pressure, governed routing, and recurring gaps
@@ -235,6 +241,7 @@ Failures → Cluster → Propose → Replay → Multi-Judge → Regression → C
 - **Governance steering** lets the operator pin or release the active adaptation mode rather than relying only on derived routing.
 - **Topology review** persists merge / split / promote / rewire / consolidate candidates so manual review is a real workflow.
 - **Reviewed topology execution** turns accepted safe candidates into prepared plans, snapshot-backed applies, and rollbackable structural transitions.
+- **Proof control** turns bounded outcome attribution into an explicit operator layer where interventions, transfer, topology execution, semantic adoption, and evolution impact can be verified, deferred, or contested.
 - **Evolution artifacts** preserve proposal-level evidence so the dashboard can show what changed, why, and with what provenance.
 
 **Three-layer hierarchy:**

package/dashboard/app/api/proof/route.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+import { NextResponse } from 'next/server'
+import { spawn } from 'child_process'
+import { existsSync } from 'fs'
+import { join } from 'path'
+import { loadProofDashboardSummary } from '@/lib/proof'
+import type { ProofReviewDecisionStatus } from '@/lib/proof'
+
+export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic'
+
+function resolveProofRunner(): { cmd: string; argsPrefix: string[] } {
+  const candidates = [
+    join(process.cwd(), '..', 'dist', 'cli.js'),
+    join(process.cwd(), 'dist', 'cli.js'),
+  ]
+
+  for (const candidate of candidates) {
+    if (existsSync(candidate)) return { cmd: process.execPath, argsPrefix: [candidate] }
+  }
+
+  return { cmd: 'helixevo', argsPrefix: [] }
+}
+
+function runProofCommand(args: string[]): Promise<{ success: boolean; output: string }> {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => {
+    const runner = resolveProofRunner()
+    const child = spawn(runner.cmd, [...runner.argsPrefix, 'proof', ...args], {
+      env: { ...process.env },
+      stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+    })
+
+    let output = ''
+    child.stdout?.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => { output += chunk.toString() })
+    child.stderr?.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => { output += chunk.toString() })
+    child.on('close', (code) => resolve({ success: code === 0, output }))
+    child.on('error', (err) => resolve({ success: false, output: `Error: ${err.message}` }))
+  })
+}
+
+export async function GET() {
+  return NextResponse.json(loadProofDashboardSummary())
+}
+
+export async function POST(request: Request) {
+  const body = await request.json() as {
+    action?: 'review'
+    recordId?: string
+    decision?: ProofReviewDecisionStatus
+    rationale?: string
+  }
+
+  if (body.action !== 'review') {
+    return NextResponse.json({ success: false, error: 'action must be review' }, { status: 400 })
+  }
+  if (!body.recordId || !body.decision) {
+    return NextResponse.json({ success: false, error: 'recordId and decision are required' }, { status: 400 })
+  }
+
+  const args = ['--review', body.recordId, '--decision', body.decision]
+  if (body.rationale?.trim()) args.push('--rationale', body.rationale.trim())
+
+  const result = await runProofCommand(args)
+  if (!result.success) {
+    return NextResponse.json({ success: false, error: result.output || 'Proof command failed' }, { status: 500 })
+  }
+
+  return NextResponse.json({
+    success: true,
+    output: result.output,
+    dashboard: loadProofDashboardSummary(),
+  })
+}

package/dashboard/app/api/run/route.ts

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ const ALLOWED_COMMANDS: Record<string, { cmd: string; args: string[]; timeout: n
   'status':         { cmd: 'helixevo', args: ['status'],                           timeout: 15000 },
   'health':         { cmd: 'helixevo', args: ['health', '--verbose'],              timeout: 120000 },
   'metrics':        { cmd: 'helixevo', args: ['metrics', '--verbose'],             timeout: 15000 },
+  'proof':          { cmd: 'helixevo', args: ['proof', '--verbose'],               timeout: 20000 },
   'evolve':         { cmd: 'helixevo', args: ['evolve', '--verbose'],              timeout: 300000 },
   'evolve-dry':     { cmd: 'helixevo', args: ['evolve', '--dry-run', '--verbose'], timeout: 300000 },
   'generalize':     { cmd: 'helixevo', args: ['generalize', '--verbose'],          timeout: 300000 },

package/dashboard/app/coevolution/client.tsx

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { SectionFrame } from '@/components/section-frame'
 import { OperatorLoopTrail } from '@/components/operator-loop-trail'
 import { SurfaceJumpLinks } from '@/components/surface-jump-links'
 import { NextStepEmptyState } from '@/components/next-step-empty-state'
+import type { ProofDashboardSummary } from '@/lib/proof'
 
 type RunState = 'idle' | 'running' | 'success' | 'error' | 'stopped'
 type CommandName = 'evolve' | 'research' | 'generalize'
@@ -127,6 +128,7 @@ interface Props {
       }
     }
   }
+  proof: ProofDashboardSummary
 }
 
 function consoleTone(state: RunState): 'neutral' | 'green' | 'red' | 'yellow' {
@@ -169,7 +171,7 @@ function formatMode(mode: Summary['governance']['activeMode']) {
   return mode.split('-').join(' ')
 }
 
-export default function CoEvolutionClient({ summary, ontology }: Props) {
+export default function CoEvolutionClient({ summary, ontology, proof }: Props) {
   const [runState, setRunState] = useState<RunState>('idle')
   const [activeCommand, setActiveCommand] = useState<CommandName | null>(null)
   const [output, setOutput] = useState('')
@@ -272,6 +274,7 @@ export default function CoEvolutionClient({ summary, ontology }: Props) {
           { label: `${summary.topologyReviews.open} topology reviews`, tone: summary.topologyReviews.open > 0 ? 'yellow' : 'green' },
           { label: `${ontology.ontologyLoop.frontier} ontology frontier`, tone: ontology.ontologyLoop.reviewOpen > 0 ? 'blue' : 'neutral' },
           { label: `${ontology.ontologyLoop.adoption.activeConcepts} active concepts`, tone: ontology.ontologyLoop.adoption.activeConcepts > 0 ? 'green' : 'neutral' },
+          { label: `${proof.summary.reviewOpen} proof review`, tone: proof.summary.reviewOpen > 0 ? 'yellow' : proof.summary.effective > 0 ? 'green' : 'neutral' },
           { label: `${summary.recentTransfers.length} recent transfers`, tone: summary.recentTransfers.length > 0 ? 'green' : 'neutral' },
           { label: formatMode(summary.governance.activeMode), tone: toneForMode(summary.governance.activeMode) },
         ]}
@@ -284,6 +287,7 @@ export default function CoEvolutionClient({ summary, ontology }: Props) {
               <div style={{ marginTop: 8, display: 'flex', gap: 6, flexWrap: 'wrap' }}>
                 <span className="badge badge-gray">source: {summary.governance.source}</span>
                 <span className="badge badge-gray">review threshold {(summary.governance.profile.reviewThreshold * 100).toFixed(0)}%</span>
+                <Link href="/proof" className="badge badge-gray" style={{ textDecoration: 'none' }}>open proof</Link>
               </div>
             </div>
             <div style={{ display: 'grid', gap: 10 }}>
@@ -307,6 +311,7 @@ export default function CoEvolutionClient({ summary, ontology }: Props) {
         <MetricCard label="Prepared topology" value={summary.topologyExecution.prepared} sublabel={`${summary.topologyExecution.applied} applied • ${summary.topologyExecution.rolledBack} rolled back`} tone={summary.topologyExecution.prepared > 0 ? 'blue' : summary.topologyExecution.applied > 0 ? 'green' : 'neutral'} icon="↑" />
         <MetricCard label="Active semantics" value={ontology.ontologyLoop.adoption.activeConcepts} sublabel={`${ontology.ontologyLoop.adoption.totalBindings} bindings • ${ontology.ontologyLoop.adoption.routesInfluenced} influenced routes`} tone={ontology.ontologyLoop.adoption.activeConcepts > 0 ? 'green' : 'neutral'} icon="◎" />
         <MetricCard label="Recorded interventions" value={summary.pressureInterventions.total} sublabel={`${summary.pressureInterventions.completed} completed • ${summary.pressureInterventions.dryRun} dry-run`} tone="blue" icon="↺" />
+        <MetricCard label="Proof review" value={proof.summary.reviewOpen} sublabel={`${proof.summary.effective} effective • ${proof.summary.regressed} regressed`} tone={proof.summary.reviewOpen > 0 ? 'yellow' : proof.summary.effective > 0 ? 'green' : 'neutral'} icon="◇" />
         <MetricCard label="Realized transfers" value={summary.recentTransfers.filter((event) => event.status === 'realized').length} sublabel={`${summary.pressureMotifs.addressed} motifs now addressed`} tone="green" icon="↑" />
       </div>
 

package/dashboard/app/coevolution/page.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { loadCoEvolutionSummary, loadOntologySummary } from '@/lib/data'
+import { loadProofDashboardSummary } from '@/lib/proof'
 import CoEvolutionClient from './client'
 
 export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic'
@@ -6,5 +7,6 @@ export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic'
 export default function CoEvolutionPage() {
   const summary = loadCoEvolutionSummary()
   const ontology = loadOntologySummary()
-  return <CoEvolutionClient summary={summary} ontology={ontology} />
+  const proof = loadProofDashboardSummary()
+  return <CoEvolutionClient summary={summary} ontology={ontology} proof={proof} />
 }

package/dashboard/app/commands/page.tsx

@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ const COMMANDS: CommandInfo[] = [
   },
   {
     name: 'metrics',
-    description: 'Show correction rates, skill improvement trends, and evolution impact over time. Helps you understand how your skills are improving and where attention is needed.',
+    description: 'Show correction rates, skill improvement trends, and legacy evolution impact over time. Metrics remains the quantitative prove surface, while the newer proof layer now expands outcome review across interventions, topology, transfer, and semantic adoption.',
     usage: 'helixevo metrics [options]',
     examples: [
       { cmd: 'helixevo metrics', desc: 'Show summary metrics' },
@@ -225,6 +225,27 @@ const COMMANDS: CommandInfo[] = [
     needsLLM: false,
     runnable: { command: 'metrics', label: 'Show Metrics', icon: 'M9 19v-6a2 2 0 00-2-2H5a2 2 0 00-2 2v6a2 2 0 002 2h2a2 2 0 002-2zm0 0V9a2 2 0 012-2h2a2 2 0 012 2v10m-6 0a2 2 0 002 2h2a2 2 0 002-2m0 0V5a2 2 0 012-2h2a2 2 0 012 2v14a2 2 0 01-2 2h-2a2 2 0 01-2-2z', color: 'var(--text-secondary)' },
   },
+  {
+    name: 'proof',
+    description: 'Review bounded outcome attribution across interventions, transfer, topology execution, semantic adoption, and legacy evolution impact. Proof is where the newer brain loop becomes operator-reviewable instead of relying only on passive heuristics.',
+    usage: 'helixevo proof [options]',
+    examples: [
+      { cmd: 'helixevo proof --status', desc: 'Show proof summary plus the current open review queue' },
+      { cmd: 'helixevo proof --status --verbose', desc: 'Show detailed proof records, reasons, and next actions' },
+      { cmd: 'helixevo proof --review <recordId> --decision verify', desc: 'Verify a derived proof record after operator review' },
+    ],
+    options: [
+      { flag: '--status', desc: 'Show proof summary and open review state' },
+      { flag: '--review <recordId>', desc: 'Review a derived proof record' },
+      { flag: '--decision <verify|defer|contest>', desc: 'Decision for --review' },
+      { flag: '--rationale <text>', desc: 'Optional rationale for the proof review decision' },
+      { flag: '--verbose', desc: 'Show detailed proof records and derived reasons' },
+    ],
+    category: 'analysis',
+    needsLLM: false,
+    runnable: { command: 'proof', label: 'Open Proof State', icon: 'M9 17v-2m3 2v-4m3 4v-6m2 10H7a2 2 0 01-2-2V5a2 2 0 012-2h5.586a1 1 0 01.707.293l5.414 5.414a1 1 0 01.293.707V19a2 2 0 01-2 2z', color: 'var(--blue)' },
+    note: 'Proof stays bounded and reviewable. It does not claim strong causality when the available evidence is only partial or still measuring.',
+  },
   {
     name: 'status',
     description: 'Quick overview of system state: total skills, frontier size, failure count, skill tests, and network health. Like a health check but without LLM analysis.',
@@ -313,7 +334,7 @@ const WORKFLOW = [
   { label: 'evolve', desc: 'Improve skills', tone: 'green' as const },
   { label: 'generalize', desc: 'Abstract patterns', tone: 'purple' as const },
   { label: 'graph --rebuild', desc: 'Map relationships', tone: 'yellow' as const },
-  { label: 'health', desc: 'Assess quality', tone: 'blue' as const },
+  { label: 'proof --status', desc: 'Review outcomes', tone: 'blue' as const },
 ]
 
 const WORKFLOW_RECIPES = [
@@ -341,6 +362,12 @@ const WORKFLOW_RECIPES = [
     summary: 'Refresh structural review candidates, prepare accepted safe plans, apply them, and keep rollback available.',
     steps: ['helixevo graph --optimize', 'helixevo topology --prepare <candidateId>', 'helixevo topology --apply <planId>'],
   },
+  {
+    title: 'Proof review loop',
+    tone: 'blue' as const,
+    summary: 'Inspect outcome attribution across the live loop, then verify, defer, or contest proof records explicitly.',
+    steps: ['helixevo proof --status', 'helixevo proof --status --verbose', 'helixevo proof --review <recordId> --decision verify'],
+  },
 ]
 
 const CATEGORIES: Array<{
@@ -389,8 +416,8 @@ export default function CommandsPage() {
         actions={
           <div className="hero-note-card">
             <div className="hero-note-label">Recommended operating loop</div>
-            <div className="hero-note-title">Project Setup → Watch → Co-Evolution → Ontology → Topology</div>
-            <div className="hero-note-copy">Use the Commands page as the practical bridge between HelixEvo’s CLI, semantic control loop, and the premium dashboard cockpit.</div>
+            <div className="hero-note-title">Project Setup → Watch → Co-Evolution → Ontology → Topology → Proof</div>
+            <div className="hero-note-copy">Use the Commands page as the practical bridge between HelixEvo’s CLI, semantic control loop, structural control, and the new prove surface.</div>
           </div>
         }
       />
@@ -433,7 +460,7 @@ export default function CommandsPage() {
       <SectionFrame
         eyebrow="Operator recipes"
         title="Fast command loops for the live product"
-        description="These compact sequences make the M9 dashboard and CLI feel like one coordinated operating surface instead of separate references."
+        description="These compact sequences make the current dashboard, CLI, and prove surface feel like one coordinated operating system instead of separate references."
         tone="blue"
       >
         <div className="grid-2" style={{ gap: 14 }}>

package/dashboard/app/guide/page.tsx

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ const TOC = [
   { id: 'judges', label: 'Multi-Judge System', icon: '⚖' },
   { id: 'networkhealth', label: 'Network Health', icon: '♺' },
   { id: 'autogen', label: 'Auto-Generalization', icon: '↑' },
-  { id: 'metrics', label: 'Closed-Loop Metrics', icon: '📊' },
+  { id: 'metrics', label: 'Proof & Metrics', icon: '📊' },
   { id: 'frontier', label: 'Pareto Frontier', icon: '▲' },
   { id: 'regression', label: 'Regression Testing', icon: '✓' },
   { id: 'research', label: 'Proactive Research', icon: '◎' },
@@ -286,13 +286,13 @@ export default function GuidePage() {
           <div className="grid-3" style={{ marginTop: 24, marginBottom: 24 }}>
             <div className="card" style={{ padding: '18px 18px 16px' }}>
               <div style={{ fontSize: 10, fontWeight: 700, color: 'var(--text-muted)', textTransform: 'uppercase', letterSpacing: 0.7, marginBottom: 8 }}>Start operating</div>
-              <div style={{ fontSize: 15, fontWeight: 700, color: 'var(--text)', marginBottom: 6 }}>Project setup → Watch / Capture → Co-Evolution → Topology</div>
-              <div style={{ fontSize: 12.5, color: 'var(--text-dim)', lineHeight: 1.6 }}>This is the shortest path to seeing pressure, governed response, and structural control in the live product.</div>
+              <div style={{ fontSize: 15, fontWeight: 700, color: 'var(--text)', marginBottom: 6 }}>Project setup → Watch / Capture → Co-Evolution → Topology → Proof</div>
+              <div style={{ fontSize: 12.5, color: 'var(--text-dim)', lineHeight: 1.6 }}>This is the shortest path to seeing pressure, governed response, structural control, and the new bounded prove stage in the live product.</div>
             </div>
             <div className="card" style={{ padding: '18px 18px 16px' }}>
               <div style={{ fontSize: 10, fontWeight: 700, color: 'var(--text-muted)', textTransform: 'uppercase', letterSpacing: 0.7, marginBottom: 8 }}>Understand the brain</div>
               <div style={{ fontSize: 15, fontWeight: 700, color: 'var(--text)', marginBottom: 6 }}>Read the stack, then trace one signal through the loop</div>
-              <div style={{ fontSize: 12.5, color: 'var(--text-dim)', lineHeight: 1.6 }}>The current system is best understood as layered cognition: semantic kernel → observation → pressure → response → transfer → governance → topology.</div>
+              <div style={{ fontSize: 12.5, color: 'var(--text-dim)', lineHeight: 1.6 }}>The current system is best understood as layered cognition: semantic kernel → observation → pressure → response → transfer → governance → topology → proof.</div>
             </div>
             <div className="card" style={{ padding: '18px 18px 16px' }}>
               <div style={{ fontSize: 10, fontWeight: 700, color: 'var(--text-muted)', textTransform: 'uppercase', letterSpacing: 0.7, marginBottom: 8 }}>Fast jumps</div>
@@ -319,11 +319,11 @@ export default function GuidePage() {
           <p className="guide-text">
             HelixEvo still captures failures, proposes skill mutations, evaluates them with judges, and deploys improvements carefully.
             What changed over the recent milestone arc is that these mutation mechanics now live inside a larger architecture that senses pressure,
-            routes intervention under governance, records transfer evidence, reviews topology, and can execute a safe reviewed subset of structural change with rollback.
+            routes intervention under governance, records transfer evidence, reviews topology, executes a safe reviewed subset of structural change with rollback, and now exposes bounded proof review over what appears to have worked.
           </p>
           <p className="guide-text">
             That means the current product should not be explained as only “capture → evolve → validate.” The more truthful frame is:
-            <strong> semantic kernel → observation → pressure → response → transfer → governance → topology review → topology execution → operator surfaces.</strong>
+            <strong> semantic kernel → observation → pressure → response → transfer → governance → topology review → topology execution → proof → operator surfaces.</strong>
           </p>
           <div className="guide-directions">
             <div className="guide-direction">
@@ -488,9 +488,14 @@ helixevo topology --status`}</Code>
               },
               {
                 cmd: 'helixevo metrics',
-                desc: 'Measure whether evolution actually reduces corrections over time. This is the primary proof command.',
+                desc: 'Measure correction-rate and evolution-impact trends over time. This remains the quantitative metrics surface inside the broader prove stage.',
                 flags: ['--verbose'],
               },
+              {
+                cmd: 'helixevo proof',
+                desc: 'Review bounded outcome attribution across interventions, transfer, topology execution, semantic adoption, and evolution impact; then verify, defer, or contest proof records explicitly.',
+                flags: ['--status', '--review <recordId>', '--decision <verify|defer|contest>', '--rationale <text>', '--verbose'],
+              },
               {
                 cmd: 'helixevo dashboard',
                 desc: 'Open the premium operator dashboard. It prefers localhost:3847, reuses a known managed dashboard, falls forward if needed, and can auto-update before launch.',
@@ -522,7 +527,7 @@ helixevo topology --status`}</Code>
           <Callout type="tip">
             A good mental grouping is: <strong>observe</strong> with <code>project-setup</code>, <code>watch</code>, and <code>capture</code>;
             <strong>respond</strong> with <code>research</code>, <code>specialize</code>, <code>evolve</code>, and <code>generalize</code>;
-            <strong>restructure</strong> with <code>graph --optimize</code> plus <code>topology</code>; and <strong>prove</strong> with <code>metrics</code>, <code>health</code>, and <code>report</code>.
+            <strong>restructure</strong> with <code>graph --optimize</code> plus <code>topology</code>; and <strong>prove</strong> with <code>proof</code> first, supported by <code>metrics</code>, <code>health</code>, and <code>report</code>.
           </Callout>
         </Section>
 
@@ -729,11 +734,12 @@ helixevo ontology --deprecate <conceptId>`}</Code>
         <Section id="surfaces" title="Dashboard Surface Map" subtitle="Each tab is a different control or observability surface for the same brain.">
           <div className="grid-2" style={{ gap: 12 }}>
             {[
-              ['Overview', 'var(--blue)', 'Top-level cockpit for frontier state, brain foundation, pressure totals, topology review counts, and prepared/applied structural state.'],
+              ['Overview', 'var(--blue)', 'Top-level cockpit for frontier state, brain foundation, pressure totals, topology review counts, prepared/applied structural state, and proof review visibility.'],
               ['Co-Evolution', 'var(--purple)', 'The response cockpit. Use it to inspect routed pressure, governance mode, promotion queue, transfer evidence, and where approved ontology concepts are influencing live route rationale.'],
               ['Skill Network', 'var(--green)', 'Graph-level understanding: relationships, co-evolution signals, inspector context, and structural handoff links.'],
               ['Ontology', 'var(--blue)', 'Semantic control surface for kernel visibility, frontier review, approved extensions, semantic adoption coverage, consumer summaries, and ontology change events.'],
               ['Topology', 'var(--yellow)', 'Governed plasticity surface for review decisions, accepted-ready queue, prepared plans, apply, rollback, and execution history.'],
+              ['Proof', 'var(--text-secondary)', 'Outcome-attribution cockpit for bounded review across interventions, transfer, topology execution, semantic adoption, and evolution impact.'],
               ['Projects', 'var(--blue)', 'Project intake and project-aware pressure surface. Best for capability gaps, activation traces, and promotion feeders.'],
               ['Research', 'var(--purple)', 'Discovery-oriented view grounded in current pressure and routed recommendations rather than disconnected idea generation.'],
               ['Evolution', 'var(--green)', 'Proposal-centric evidence view: judge scores, artifact provenance, and iteration history.'],
@@ -746,8 +752,8 @@ helixevo ontology --deprecate <conceptId>`}</Code>
             ))}
           </div>
           <Callout type="tip">
-            If you are debugging current state, the best sequence is usually: <strong>Overview → Co-Evolution → Ontology → Topology → Skill Network → Projects / Research</strong>.
-            That path mirrors the stack from summary → routed demand → semantic interpretation → structural review/execution → graph context → project or discovery detail.
+            If you are debugging current state, the best sequence is usually: <strong>Overview → Co-Evolution → Ontology → Topology → Proof → Skill Network → Projects / Research</strong>.
+            That path mirrors the stack from summary → routed demand → semantic interpretation → structural review/execution → bounded outcome review → graph context → project or discovery detail.
           </Callout>
         </Section>
 
@@ -851,25 +857,32 @@ Project B: "Use FlashList not FlatList" (React Native perf)
         </Section>
 
         {/* ─── Closed-Loop Metrics ─── */}
-        <Section id="metrics" title="Closed-Loop Metrics" subtitle="Proving that HelixEvo actually makes the agent better — with data, not just LLM scores.">
+        <Section id="metrics" title="Proof & Closed-Loop Metrics" subtitle="The prove stage is now first-class: metrics remain useful, but proof now unifies bounded outcome review across the newer brain loop.">
           <p className="guide-text">
-            The <code>helixevo metrics</code> command answers the most important question: <strong>&ldquo;Is HelixEvo actually
-            reducing corrections?&rdquo;</strong> It tracks correction rates per skill over time and measures the real
-            impact of each evolution.
+            The <code>helixevo proof</code> command is now the primary operator surface for the <strong>prove</strong> stage. It reviews bounded outcome attribution across interventions,
+            transfer, topology execution, semantic adoption, and legacy evolution impact without pretending to know more than the evidence supports.
           </p>
-          <Code title="Terminal">{`helixevo metrics --verbose`}</Code>
+          <Code title="Terminal">{`helixevo proof --status --verbose
+helixevo metrics --verbose`}</Code>
+
+          <h3 className="guide-h3">What Proof Adds</h3>
+          <ul className="guide-list">
+            <li><strong>Unified proof targets:</strong> interventions, realized transfers, topology execution, semantic-adoption effectiveness, and existing evolution impact</li>
+            <li><strong>Bounded outcome states:</strong> effective, mixed, regressed, measuring, and insufficient-evidence</li>
+            <li><strong>Operator review:</strong> verify, defer, or contest proof records explicitly instead of trusting derived heuristics blindly</li>
+            <li><strong>Dedicated dashboard route:</strong> the Prove stage now lands on <code>/proof</code> instead of only the Guide metrics section</li>
+          </ul>
 
-          <h3 className="guide-h3">What It Tracks</h3>
+          <h3 className="guide-h3">What Metrics Still Tracks</h3>
           <ul className="guide-list">
             <li><strong>Per-skill correction rates:</strong> 7-day rolling windows showing how often each skill leads to corrections</li>
             <li><strong>Trend detection:</strong> Each skill is marked as improving (↓), stable (→), or degrading (↑)</li>
             <li><strong>Evolution impact:</strong> Before/after comparison for each evolution — failures/day in the 7 days before vs. after</li>
-            <li><strong>Verdict:</strong> &ldquo;X/Y evolutions reduced corrections&rdquo; — the bottom line</li>
+            <li><strong>Quantitative baseline:</strong> legacy correction reduction remains an important proof input even though it is no longer the whole prove layer</li>
           </ul>
 
           <Callout type="warning">
-            Metrics need time to accumulate. The system needs at least 7 days of data after an evolution to produce
-            a reliable before/after comparison. Results shown as &ldquo;Measuring&rdquo; during the first 3 days.
+            Proof remains bounded. Recent changes should stay <strong>measuring</strong>, weak evidence should stay <strong>insufficient-evidence</strong>, and semantic-adoption proof should be treated as correlational evidence rather than strong direct causality.
           </Callout>
         </Section>
 
@@ -1359,7 +1372,7 @@ generation: 3
             A transfer event is evidence that reusable knowledge was actually promoted or reused across layers or projects. This is how HelixEvo distinguishes a recommendation from a realized knowledge transfer.
           </FAQItem>
           <FAQItem q="How do I prove HelixEvo's brain is working?">
-            Use multiple proof surfaces together: <code>metrics</code> for correction reduction, Co-Evolution for routed interventions and transfer evidence, Topology for reviewed structural execution state, and the verification reports under <code>reports/verification/</code> for milestone-level backtesting.
+            Start with <code>helixevo proof --status</code> or the <code>/proof</code> dashboard route, then use supporting proof surfaces together: <code>metrics</code> for correction reduction, Co-Evolution for routed interventions and transfer evidence, Topology for reviewed structural execution state, and the verification reports under <code>reports/verification/</code> for milestone-level backtesting.
           </FAQItem>
           <FAQItem q="How many failures do I need before evolution works?">
             By default, 5 unresolved failures are required (<code>minFailuresForEvolution</code>) for the standard evolution trigger.

package/dashboard/app/ontology/client.tsx

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import { OperatorLoopTrail } from '@/components/operator-loop-trail'
 import { SurfaceJumpLinks } from '@/components/surface-jump-links'
 import { NextStepEmptyState } from '@/components/next-step-empty-state'
 import type { OntologyControlDashboardSummary, OntologyReviewDecisionStatus } from '@/lib/data'
+import type { ProofDashboardSummary } from '@/lib/proof'
 
 type RunState = 'idle' | 'running' | 'success' | 'error'
 
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ function formatMode(value: string) {
   return value.replace(/-/g, ' ')
 }
 
-export default function OntologyClient({ initialDashboard }: { initialDashboard: OntologyControlDashboardSummary }) {
+export default function OntologyClient({ initialDashboard, proof }: { initialDashboard: OntologyControlDashboardSummary; proof: ProofDashboardSummary }) {
   const [dashboard, setDashboard] = useState(initialDashboard)
   const [runState, setRunState] = useState<RunState>('idle')
   const [output, setOutput] = useState('')
@@ -80,6 +81,7 @@ export default function OntologyClient({ initialDashboard }: { initialDashboard:
           { label: `${dashboard.summary.extensions} approved extensions`, tone: dashboard.summary.extensions > 0 ? 'blue' : 'neutral' },
           { label: `${dashboard.adoption.activeConcepts} active concepts`, tone: dashboard.adoption.activeConcepts > 0 ? 'green' : 'neutral' },
           { label: `${dashboard.adoption.routesInfluenced} semantically influenced routes`, tone: dashboard.adoption.routesInfluenced > 0 ? 'purple' : 'neutral' },
+          { label: `${proof.summary.reviewOpen} proof review`, tone: proof.summary.reviewOpen > 0 ? 'yellow' : proof.summary.effective > 0 ? 'green' : 'neutral' },
           { label: formatMode(dashboard.governance.activeMode), tone: dashboard.governance.activeMode === 'transfer-focused' ? 'purple' : dashboard.governance.activeMode === 'project-critical' ? 'yellow' : 'blue' },
         ]}
         actions={
@@ -88,6 +90,10 @@ export default function OntologyClient({ initialDashboard }: { initialDashboard:
               <div className="hero-note-label">Native ontology state</div>
               <div className="hero-note-title">Kernel + review + semantic adoption</div>
               <div className="hero-note-copy">Use this surface to move from frontier hypotheses into approved extensions, inspect active semantic consumers, and manage deprecation with operator-visible risk rather than hidden drift.</div>
+              <div style={{ marginTop: 8, display: 'flex', gap: 6, flexWrap: 'wrap' }}>
+                <Link href="/proof" className="badge badge-gray" style={{ textDecoration: 'none' }}>open proof</Link>
+                <span className="badge badge-gray">{proof.summary.effective} effective records live</span>
+              </div>
             </div>
             <div style={{ display: 'grid', gap: 10 }}>
               <div style={{ display: 'flex', gap: 10, flexWrap: 'wrap', justifyContent: 'flex-end' }}>
@@ -107,6 +113,7 @@ export default function OntologyClient({ initialDashboard }: { initialDashboard:
         <MetricCard label="Approved extensions" value={dashboard.summary.extensions} sublabel={`${dashboard.summary.deprecated} deprecated • ${dashboard.adoption.unusedExtensions} unused`} tone={dashboard.summary.extensions > 0 ? 'blue' : 'neutral'} icon="↑" />
         <MetricCard label="Active semantic concepts" value={dashboard.adoption.activeConcepts} sublabel={`${dashboard.adoption.totalBindings} bindings • ${dashboard.adoption.routesInfluenced} routed influences`} tone={dashboard.adoption.activeConcepts > 0 ? 'green' : 'neutral'} icon="⇄" />
         <MetricCard label="Deprecation-sensitive" value={dashboard.adoption.conceptsAtDeprecationRisk} sublabel="approved concepts with live consumers" tone={dashboard.adoption.conceptsAtDeprecationRisk > 0 ? 'yellow' : 'neutral'} icon="!" />
+        <MetricCard label="Semantic proof review" value={proof.summary.reviewOpen} sublabel={`${proof.summary.effective} effective • ${proof.summary.mixed} mixed`} tone={proof.summary.reviewOpen > 0 ? 'yellow' : proof.summary.effective > 0 ? 'green' : 'neutral'} icon="◇" />
         <MetricCard label="Concept changes" value={dashboard.summary.changeEvents} sublabel={`${dashboard.summary.promoted} promoted • ${dashboard.summary.rejected} rejected`} tone={dashboard.summary.changeEvents > 0 ? 'green' : 'neutral'} icon="⇄" />
       </div>
 

package/dashboard/app/ontology/page.tsx

@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 import OntologyClient from './client'
 import { loadOntologyControlSummary } from '@/lib/data'
+import { loadProofDashboardSummary } from '@/lib/proof'
 
 export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic'
 
 export default function OntologyPage() {
   const dashboard = loadOntologyControlSummary()
-  return <OntologyClient initialDashboard={dashboard} />
+  const proof = loadProofDashboardSummary()
+  return <OntologyClient initialDashboard={dashboard} proof={proof} />
 }

package/dashboard/app/page.tsx

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import Link from 'next/link'
 import { getDashboardSummary, getOntologyDashboardSummary, loadCoEvolutionSummary, loadFailures, loadFrontier, loadGraph, loadHistory, listProjects } from '@/lib/data'
+import { loadProofDashboardSummary } from '@/lib/proof'
 import { OverviewActions } from '@/components/overview-actions'
 import { PageHero } from '@/components/page-hero'
 import { MetricCard } from '@/components/metric-card'
@@ -20,6 +21,7 @@ export default function Overview() {
   const summary = getDashboardSummary()
   const ontology = getOntologyDashboardSummary()
   const coevolution = loadCoEvolutionSummary()
+  const proof = loadProofDashboardSummary()
   const frontier = loadFrontier()
   const history = loadHistory()
   const graph = loadGraph()
@@ -42,6 +44,7 @@ export default function Overview() {
           { label: `${coevolution.pressureMotifs.promotionReady} promotion-ready motifs`, tone: coevolution.pressureMotifs.promotionReady > 0 ? 'purple' : 'neutral' },
           { label: `${coevolution.topologyReviews.open} topology reviews`, tone: coevolution.topologyReviews.open > 0 ? 'yellow' : 'green' },
           { label: `${coevolution.topologyExecution.prepared} prepared structural plans`, tone: coevolution.topologyExecution.prepared > 0 ? 'blue' : 'neutral' },
+          { label: `${proof.summary.reviewOpen} proof reviews`, tone: proof.summary.reviewOpen > 0 ? 'yellow' : proof.summary.effective > 0 ? 'green' : 'neutral' },
           { label: `mode: ${coevolution.governance.activeMode.replace(/-/g, ' ')}`, tone: coevolution.governance.activeMode === 'transfer-focused' ? 'purple' : coevolution.governance.activeMode === 'project-critical' ? 'yellow' : 'blue' },
         ]}
         actions={
@@ -68,6 +71,7 @@ export default function Overview() {
         <MetricCard label="Unresolved corrections" value={summary.failures.unresolved} sublabel={`out of ${summary.failures.total} captured failures`} tone={summary.failures.unresolved > 0 ? 'yellow' : 'green'} href={summary.failures.unresolved > 0 ? '#attention' : '/evolution'} icon="!" />
         <MetricCard label="Discoveries" value={summary.buffer.discoveries} sublabel={`${summary.buffer.drafts} drafts in progress`} tone="blue" href="/research" icon="◎" />
         <MetricCard label="Frontier candidates" value={frontier.programs.length} sublabel={`${summary.canaries} active canaries`} tone="neutral" href="/frontier" icon="▲" />
+        <MetricCard label="Proof review" value={proof.summary.reviewOpen} sublabel={`${proof.summary.effective} effective • ${proof.summary.regressed} regressed`} tone={proof.summary.reviewOpen > 0 ? 'yellow' : proof.summary.effective > 0 ? 'green' : 'neutral'} href="/proof" icon="◇" />
       </div>
 
       <SectionFrame
@@ -215,8 +219,10 @@ export default function Overview() {
           <span className="badge badge-gray">deprecation risk → {ontology.ontologyLoop.adoption.conceptsAtDeprecationRisk} concepts • {ontology.ontologyLoop.adoption.unusedExtensions} unused extensions</span>
           <span className="badge badge-gray">topology → {ontology.topologyReviews.open} open • {ontology.topologyReviews.accepted} accepted • {ontology.topologyReviews.generatedFromManualReview} manual-route</span>
           <span className="badge badge-gray">execution → {ontology.topologyExecution.prepared} prepared • {ontology.topologyExecution.applied} applied • {ontology.topologyExecution.rolledBack} rolled back</span>
+          <span className="badge badge-gray">proof → {proof.summary.total} total • {proof.summary.effective} effective • {proof.summary.reviewOpen} open review</span>
           <Link href="/ontology" className="badge badge-blue" style={{ textDecoration: 'none' }}>Open ontology control</Link>
           <Link href="/topology" className="badge badge-blue" style={{ textDecoration: 'none' }}>Open topology control</Link>
+          <Link href="/proof" className="badge badge-blue" style={{ textDecoration: 'none' }}>Open proof control</Link>
           <span className="badge badge-gray">governance: {ontology.governance.activeMode.replace(/-/g, ' ')} ({ontology.governance.source})</span>
           <span className="badge badge-gray">routes → research {ontology.governedRoutes.research} • specialize {ontology.governedRoutes.specialize} • evolve {ontology.governedRoutes.evolve} • generalize {ontology.governedRoutes.generalize} • manual-review {ontology.governedRoutes['manual-review']}</span>
           <span className="badge badge-gray">{ontology.enrichedSkillNodes} skills carry explicit brain metadata</span>