Snapshots

A snapshot is a map of fact labels to batches of samples.

Ironclad usually deals with two snapshots:

• the resolved snapshot, usually stored in actual.json
• the approved snapshot, usually stored in canon.json

What snapshots contain

Each fact label points to a batch:

• samples
• created

Each sample contains:

• content
• traces

The content is what you actually compare. The traces explain where that content came from.

Approved and resolved snapshots

In review-oriented terms:

• the approved snapshot is the baseline
• the resolved snapshot is the proposal

ic diff compares the two. ic inspect lets you read one snapshot. ic apply promotes approved entries from the resolved snapshot into the approved snapshot.

What counts as drift

Drift means the batches differ.

That includes:

• added samples
• removed samples
• changed content
• multiplicity changes

If a batch used to contain one copy of a sample and now contains two, Ironclad treats that as drift.