name	oracle-forging
description	Use when a unit of work has no executable acceptance (no test, no verifiable output) and you need to construct one - golden files, property tests, metamorphic relations, snapshot tests - or prove it infeasible.

Oracle Forging

A missing oracle is a work item, not a label. Forge executable acceptance in this preference order — strongest first:

Exact golden file — deterministic output? Capture it: diff <(cmd) fixtures/golden.txt; exit code 0. Strongest oracle; brittle only if the output legitimately varies.
Property-based test — output varies but properties hold (sorted, idempotent, round-trips, conserves length/sum). Encode the property, generate inputs.
Metamorphic relation — no absolute expectation, but relations across runs hold: f(x) == f(shuffle(x)), count(filter(p)) <= count(all), decode(encode(x)) == x.
Snapshot test — last resort: freeze current behavior to detect change, not correctness. Label it as change-detection so nobody mistakes it for a correctness oracle.

Rules:

The forged acceptance must PASS on current code. If it fails, you found a defect — report it as a finding, not an oracle.
Test-only changes. Restructuring production code "for testability" changes the thing being tested.
Declare infeasible only with a concrete reason a human can evaluate ("output is subjective visual layout", "requires NDA hardware"). "Hard to test" is not infeasible.
Every forged oracle is itself verified by an independent verifier run before the unit leaves the grey queue.

name	oracle-forging
description	Use when a unit of work has no executable acceptance (no test, no verifiable output) and you need to construct one - golden files, property tests, metamorphic relations, snapshot tests - or prove it infeasible.

A missing oracle is a work item, not a label. Forge executable acceptance in this preference order — strongest first:

Exact golden file — deterministic output? Capture it: diff <(cmd) fixtures/golden.txt; exit code 0. Strongest oracle; brittle only if the output legitimately varies.
Property-based test — output varies but properties hold (sorted, idempotent, round-trips, conserves length/sum). Encode the property, generate inputs.
Metamorphic relation — no absolute expectation, but relations across runs hold: f(x) == f(shuffle(x)), count(filter(p)) <= count(all), decode(encode(x)) == x.
Snapshot test — last resort: freeze current behavior to detect change, not correctness. Label it as change-detection so nobody mistakes it for a correctness oracle.

Rules:

The forged acceptance must PASS on current code. If it fails, you found a defect — report it as a finding, not an oracle.
Test-only changes. Restructuring production code "for testability" changes the thing being tested.
Declare infeasible only with a concrete reason a human can evaluate ("output is subjective visual layout", "requires NDA hardware"). "Hard to test" is not infeasible.
Every forged oracle is itself verified by an independent verifier run before the unit leaves the grey queue.

oracle-forging