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

# Trust and Freshness: How Contexity Validates Context

> Contexity tracks two axes per context item: trust and freshness. Stale and invalidated context is suppressed automatically from agent packs.

Contexity separates whether context is trusted from whether it is current. These are two distinct axes — a piece of context can be verified but outdated, or fresh but still unconfirmed. Tracking both dimensions protects your agent from acting on information that is wrong, expired, or simply not yet safe to rely on.

## Trust States

Every context item carries a trust state that tells the agent how much confidence to place in it.

| State         | Meaning                                            |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| `candidate`   | Useful but not verified                            |
| `verified`    | Confirmed by user, org policy, or trusted evidence |
| `captured`    | Recorded but not promoted                          |
| `invalidated` | Known wrong or no longer allowed                   |
| `archived`    | Historical only                                    |

Agent writes normally start as `candidate`. Promotion to `verified` requires an explicit human confirmation, a matching org policy, or corroborating trusted evidence.

## Freshness States

Freshness tracks whether context is still current enough to act on, independent of whether it was ever trusted.

| State          | Meaning                                                         |
| -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `fresh`        | Current enough to use                                           |
| `needs_review` | Potentially useful, but requires attention before relying on it |
| `stale`        | Suppressed from active packs                                    |
| `superseded`   | Replaced by newer context with the same signal key              |
| `unknown`      | Freshness cannot be proven from available evidence              |

## Retrieval Rules

When your host requests a context pack, Contexity automatically suppresses items that are not safe to include. Specifically, Contexity filters out:

* Invalidated context
* Stale context
* Superseded context
* Stale file references
* Out-of-scope historical task frames
* Unverified candidates when the host requests a verified-only retrieval

When candidates are included in a pack, they are clearly labeled so the agent knows not to treat them as established fact.

<Warning>
  Candidate context can help orient an agent, but it must not be treated as verified implementation truth.
</Warning>

## Deleted Files and Tombstones

When context references a source file that no longer exists, Contexity does not silently continue serving that reference. Instead, it takes protective action:

* Suppresses stale references to the deleted path
* Marks related durable items `needs_review`
* Creates deletion tombstones for important project paths so agents know the path was intentionally removed
* Keeps historical context visible only when it helps explain what changed — not as active guidance

## Why This Matters

The goal is not to remember everything forever. The goal is to preserve useful context while preventing old assumptions from steering future code. Trust and freshness together give Contexity a principled way to decide what reaches the agent and what gets held back until a human confirms it is still valid.