> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kordless.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Provenance and authority
> How source, evidence, and suggestion are tracked — and why origin is not the same as authorization.
Every rule in a Book has two independent signals: **provenance** (how it came to be) and **authority** (whether the owner has verified it). They are structurally distinct and never substitute for each other.
## Provenance classes
Provenance identifies the origin of a proposed rule or value. There are four classes:
| Class | Chip | What it means |
| ------------------ | ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Artifact extracted | From your file | Read from a source you provided — a spreadsheet, PDF, image, or pasted text |
| Owner provided | You told us | Stated directly by you — through an explanation, a guided-setup answer, or an owner-stated target |
| Evidence derived | From your numbers | Calculated from your figures and assumptions — a break-even floor, a target from your margin, or a sensitivity result |
| Kordless suggested | Suggested | A candidate from a supported starting structure — not grounded in your files, your explanation, or your numbers |
### How the class is determined
A rule may have multiple field origins — for example, one field extracted from a file and another suggested by a recipe. The provenance class follows the **most tentative wins** rule:
1. If any field is a suggestion, the whole rule reads as **Suggested**.
2. If any field is derived, the whole rule reads as **From your numbers**.
3. If any field is extracted, the whole rule reads as **From your file**.
4. Only a rule where every field was owner-provided reads as **You told us**.
This ensures an unverified suggestion is never styled like an authorized price.
### When no provenance is recorded
A rule carried forward from an already-published version may have no recorded origins. In that case, no provenance chip appears — its authority is its verification, not its origin.
## Authority
Authority is whether the owner has explicitly verified a rule. There are three states:
| State | Chip | What it means |
| ------------------ | ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Verified | Verified | The owner has explicitly verified this rule. |
| Needs verification | Needs verification | The rule is rendered and functional but has not been verified. |
| Unsupported | Unsupported | The rule's structure could not be rendered. It must be corrected before it can be verified or published. |
## Provenance is not authority
A rule labeled **From your file** is not automatically verified. A rule labeled **You told us** is not automatically verified. A rule labeled **Suggested** is explicitly not authorized.
The provenance chip stays neutral so a suggestion is never dressed as an authorized rule. Only the **Verified** chip — earned through explicit owner action on the [Verify Statements](/product/book/verify) page — represents authority.
Kordless AI can extract, classify, calculate, and propose. It cannot authorize. A suggested value becomes an authorized rule only when the owner explicitly verifies it.
## How provenance appears
Provenance chips appear on:
* **Review draft** — Each rule shows its provenance chip alongside its verification status.
* **Verify Statements** — Each rule shows its provenance chip so you can see where a rule came from before deciding to verify it.
* **Guided pricing setup** — The economics helper shows provenance for each calculated value (floor, target, suggestion) so you can see whether a number came from your costs, your stated target, or a Kordless suggestion.
## Source and provenance detail
On the Review draft and Verify Statements pages, each rule can be expanded to show its source and provenance detail — the specific claims, inputs, or suggestions that produced it. This lets you trace a rule back to its origin before verifying it.
If a rule has no source recorded, the detail reads: "No source recorded. This rule must be corrected before publication."
## The candidate value model
In guided pricing setup, the economics helper produces a **candidate value** with a visible derivation. The candidate value distinguishes:
| Value type | Provenance | What it means |
| ----------------------- | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Calculated floor | From your numbers | Your break-even floor from your stated costs and capacity |
| Owner target | You told us | The price you stated you want to charge |
| Evidence-derived target | From your numbers | Your costs with your stated margin applied |
| Kordless suggestion | Suggested | A candidate from a supported structure, not grounded in your inputs |
None of these is an authorized price. Each is a proposal that the owner must review and verify before it can quote.
## Related
Approve material rules through plain-language review.
How the economics helper produces candidate values with visible derivation.