# Evidence and findings

A finding is a decision tied to a condition, source evidence and a selected analysis world. It should let a reviewer reconstruct why the check fired and where its assumptions apply.

## Read a finding in context

- Identify the Rule ID and condition ID; one rule can group more than one condition.
- Open the relevant source anchors and inspect the actual code.
- Read the rule's context, required facts and unknown boundary.
- Compare the report's admitted input and quality with the intended build configuration.
- Preserve unresolved observations when deciding whether an edit addressed the issue.

## Source identity matters

Evidence from another compiler profile, build variant, generated file or source revision may not describe the same program. The immutable snapshot contract binds these facts before analysis. A successful join by a similar name is not sufficient evidence of identity.

## Evidence is not an automatic edit

A finding supplies a reason for review. A suggested pattern can change scheduling, ownership, error handling or API behavior. Review those effects and validate the revised program. Swift Analyzer does not automatically delete code or apply the illustrative changes in the catalog.

## Public provenance

Every page links a product revision, a documentation content digest and the historical catalog revision. The [machine manifest](https://docs.swift-analyzer.com/manifest.json) carries the same public facts. Internal acquisition logs and acceptance workbooks are not exported as public documentation. Their absence from the website does not turn a curated summary into a broader guarantee.

[Follow one recorded finding](https://docs.swift-analyzer.com/guides/results/#follow-one-recorded-finding) walks from a catalog condition through observation IDs to the actual family-specific proof and source locations. It also explains a remaining unknown in the edited control.


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Language: en
Canonical: https://docs.swift-analyzer.com/concepts/evidence/
Product revision: 524fa07e0ae4153c84ac12ae9eb6559df89ec2be
Catalog revision: 4558458d
Documentation digest: 1f17ba58ab08627e0de898f1442067b09e960b48cd5605d6529e9275f8930d68
Channel: pre-prod; maturity: experimental; access: owner-provided checkout.