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

# Timeline and evidence

> Read Nika history, dated releases and forward gates with their source and evidence class.

Nika's timeline is owned by the specification's
[`timeline/timeline.yaml`](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/f8c5df2127c7867b2e51a2cd5712fa9d8461e73e/timeline/timeline.yaml).
This guide explains that record at the linked revision. Read
[releases](/changelog/releases) for the dated changelog,
[current status](/reference/status) for the released engine, and
[the roadmap](/changelog/roadmap) for forward plans.

## Eras

| Era         | Period recorded in the source    | How to read it                                                                            |
| ----------- | -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Exploration | Summer through the end of 2025   | Private prototypes before the public Git history; labeled testimony                       |
| Brouillon   | January 1 through April 13, 2026 | The draft engine; private archive records are distinct from its public crates.io releases |
| Diamond     | Beginning April 13, 2026         | The engine rewrite, anchored by a public commit; the language's version lineage continues |

These are historical periods, not support branches or instructions to use an old
grammar. Use the current reference when authoring a workflow.

## Evidence classes

| Class                                          | What the record points to                                       |
| ---------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `git-tag`                                      | A tag in the specification repository                           |
| `github-release`, `github-commit`, `github-pr` | A release, commit or merged pull request in a public repository |
| `crates-io`                                    | A recorded package version, including versions later yanked     |
| `scorecard`                                    | A dated OpenSSF Scorecard reading; the score may change         |
| `private-archive`                              | A recorded archive reference that requires access               |
| `testimony`                                    | A dated account without mechanical proof                        |

The source's [`timeline/verify.py`](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/f8c5df2127c7867b2e51a2cd5712fa9d8461e73e/timeline/verify.py)
checks mechanically verifiable references. Testimony and private archives keep
their labels; they do not become public proof. This page describes the checking
contract and does not claim that a fresh verification run has just passed.

## Gates

Forward entries describe conditions to satisfy, not promised release dates.
A gate being listed is not evidence that it has closed. Follow its source and
the dated evidence before interpreting it as a delivered capability.

Two examples referenced by the roadmap are the
[Connectome gate](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/f8c5df2127c7867b2e51a2cd5712fa9d8461e73e/timeline/timeline.yaml#L401)
(whole sovereign memory, governed tools and replayable receipts) and the
[hundred-year gate](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/f8c5df2127c7867b2e51a2cd5712fa9d8461e73e/timeline/timeline.yaml#L410)
(conformance, archival, compatibility, deterministic checking and succession).
These are conditions in the cited revision, not a release announcement.

The record is append-only: a correction adds a note rather than silently
rewriting an earlier claim. The [roadmap](/changelog/roadmap) gives the wider
context; [crate admission](/architecture/admission) explains the engineering
admission process.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Released implementation" icon="gauge" href="/reference/status">
    Find the engine snapshot used by the current documentation.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Sources and synchronization" icon="diagram-project" href="/reference/knowledge-system">
    Understand revision pins and the limits of each kind of evidence.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>