> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.testmuai.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Validating Evidence Packs

> Check a kane-cli evidence pack's integrity and completeness with kane-cli evidence validate, including the L0 and L1 profiles and CI-friendly exit codes.

***

<Note>
  **Using Claude Code, Cursor, or another coding agent?** Paste this into your prompt to run cross-browser and real-device tests, debug sessions, and wire up CI on the TestMu AI cloud:

  ```
  Read https://www.testmuai.com/support/docs/SKILL.md to set up TestMu AI (formerly LambdaTest) cloud testing.
  ```
</Note>

`kane-cli evidence validate` checks a pack's integrity and completeness:

```bash theme={null}
kane-cli evidence validate <execution-id-or-path>
```

The target can be an execution id, resolved against the project store, a live pack directory, or a sealed `.evidence` file.

| Flag                  | Description                      | Default |
| --------------------- | -------------------------------- | ------- |
| `--profile <profile>` | Validation profile, `L0` or `L1` | `L1`    |
| `--json`              | Machine-readable report          | off     |

Exit codes: `0` valid, `1` invalid, `2` not found. `--json` plus the exit code makes this easy to gate in CI or scripts.

## Gating a pipeline

```bash theme={null}
kane-cli evidence validate .testmuai/evidence/<execution_id>.evidence --json > report.json || exit 1
```

## What validation checks

Validation is **status-gated**. A pack that is still `running` or was `aborted` is checked for structure only. A `finalized` pack gets the full seal checks as well.

**Structure, on every run status:**

* the manifest anchor `run.yaml` and its identity fields are present,
* each test's recorded id equals its `tests/<id>/` directory name,
* every test directory has a `result.yaml`, and where a `result.yaml` declares a definition path, the file at that path exists,
* a declared definition path is contained, with no leading `/`, no `..`, and no escape out of the pack,
* step ordinals are unique and strictly increasing, with gaps allowed.

**Full seal, added when the run is `finalized`:**

* `ended` and `totals` are present, and `ended` is at or after `started`,
* `totals` equals the rolled-up per-test verdicts, and the test count equals the sum of the verdict buckets,
* every declared definition carries a hash, and the hash matches its file.
* at `L1`, each test has a `logs/` directory whose `meta.yaml` declares at least one log, and a `steps/` directory; the pack has a global `coverage/` directory and the finalize-generated root `failure.yaml`.

A test marked `passed` that still has a `failed` or `broken` step is a **warning**, never a failure. The test verdict is authored, so the validator checks it, it does not overrule it.

## Profiles

| Profile | What it requires                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| ------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `L0`    | The minimal core: `run.yaml`, and for each test a `result.yaml`, plus its definition file where one is declared.                                                                                            |
| `L1`    | Everything in L0, plus the captured artifact layer: declared logs, the `steps/` layer, a `coverage/` directory, and the run-level failure index. These need to be present only once the run is `finalized`. |

kane-cli packs carry the captured layer, so they validate at `L1`. That is the default for this command.

<Note>
  A missing per-step screenshot is a **warning**, not an error. Not every framework captures a frame per step, and not every step needs a folder.
</Note>

## When a pack will not open

If a pack will not open in the viewer, validate it. An unsealed pack, for example from a run that was killed hard, is checked for structure only, so it can still report valid. A truncated pack cannot be read at all and fails before any verdict.

## Next steps

* [Merging packs](/docs/docs/kane-cli-evidence-merge/) — combine several runs into one file.
* [The .evidence format](/docs/docs/kane-cli-evidence-format/) — what the profiles mean.