# Confidence Classification Rules

Use this scale for **every** statement in the specs. No exceptions.

## Definitions

| Symbol | Name | Meaning |
|---------|------|-------------|
| 🟢 | CONFIRMED | Extracted directly from the code — can be cited with file and line |
| 🟡 | INFERRED | Deduced from patterns, names, conventions, or context — may be wrong |
| 🔴 | GAP | Could not be determined from the code — requires human validation |

## When to use each level

### 🟢 CONFIRMED
- The behavior is explicit in the code (if/else, return, throw)
- The value is a constant or enum defined in the code
- The rule appears in a descriptive comment next to the relevant code
- An automated test exists that covers exactly this behavior
- The DDL/migration defines the constraint directly

### 🟡 INFERRED
- The function/variable name suggests the behavior, but there is no explicit logic
- The behavior is consistent with framework conventions (e.g.: soft delete in Eloquent)
- There are hints in the code but the complete logic is not visible in the analyzed scope
- The rule was inferred from multiple similar examples, not from a single definition
- An old comment or TODO that may not reflect the current state

### 🔴 GAP
- The functionality is referenced but not implemented in the visible code
- The logic depends on external configuration not accessible (environment variable, database, API)
- The expected behavior contradicts what is in the code (possible bug or hidden logic)
- Generated or compiled code without access to the original source
- Business rule that exists only in the stakeholders' heads

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## Reclassification during review

### Upgrade: 🟡 → 🟢
Conditions: find direct evidence in the code that confirms the statement.
Action: record the evidence (file + line) in the spec.

### Upgrade: 🔴 → 🟡
Conditions: find sufficient hints for a reasonable inference.
Action: restate the statement as an inference, not a certainty.

### Upgrade: 🔴 → 🟢
Conditions: the user confirms with concrete evidence (e.g.: "yes, that is the rule").
Action: update the spec and record the confirmation.

### Downgrade: 🟢 → 🟡
Conditions: find a contradiction between the spec and the actual code.
Action: flag the contradiction and reclassify.

### Downgrade: 🟡 → 🔴
Conditions: find evidence that the inference was wrong.
Action: reclassify and create a question for the user if needed.

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## Golden rule

**When in doubt, use the lower level.**
An honest 🔴 is more useful than a misleading 🟡.