Docs · Golden path

Golden path — prove it yourself

Available · Runs locally

Install → signed transaction → cryptographic VALID → openable signed evidence bundle. Be your own auditor in one sitting.

Success is a human-visible CRYPTO VALID plus an openable ledgerful-DEMO-evidence.zip — not merely demo exit 0. Default path is CLI-only — no dashboard required.

Honesty (load-bearing)

Same Ed25519 signature and chain mechanics as production — synthetic data, disposable keys, observe mode. Not a compliance verdict.

Synthetic invoice-service repo generated by ledgerful demo
Disposable keys in the demo dir (not your production ~/.ledgerful/keys/)
Observe mode (warns; does not enforce gate blocks)
Same Ed25519 signatures + chain mechanics as production
Not real business-risk data
The zip is signed evidence only — not a certification or compliance attestation

Two clocks (never average)

Ship the proof-loop time separately from cold install. Measured 2026-07-21 on Windows x64 (host with Scoop + cargo-binstall).

Clock	Meaning	Measured (this host)	How we ship it
T_proof	Binary already installed → cryptographic VALID + openable DEMO evidence zip	Release median 5.31s (max 5.61s). Debug median 5.67s.	Primary magic-moment claim: under 3 minutes (Median ≈5–6 s on the measurement host for demo --keep through the CRYPTO VALID beat.) Release median was measured on Scoop ledgerful 0.1.9 on this host; a later release that includes the automated CRYPTO VALID beat should re-measure. Debug path with the beat is still ~5–6 s.
T_first	Cold install inclusive (install + T_proof)	cargo-binstall + demo ≈ 12.92s on a warm host (install 6.61s + demo 6.31s).	A true stranger cold start (first Scoop/Homebrew, AV scan, slow network, or cargo install from source) can be 1–10+ minutes. Never average into the T_proof claim. Already installed? Start at the demo step.

Already installed? Skip to the proof.

Cold start begins on the install guide (Homebrew, Scoop, cargo binstall, release installer, or source). After the binary is on PATH, start at the demo step below.

Install Ledgerful CLI docs

Canonical path (already-installed → VALID)

Exact steps mirrored from the engine golden-path narration. demo --keep retains the zip; HOME/CWD are restored after demo — follow-up verify must run inside the kept dir.

PowerShell

ledgerful demo --keep --output .\ledgerful-demo
Set-Location .\ledgerful-demo
ledgerful verify --signatures --chain
ledgerful verify --signatures --against-export .\ledgerful-DEMO-evidence.zip

Bash

ledgerful demo --keep --output ./ledgerful-demo
cd ./ledgerful-demo
ledgerful verify --signatures --chain
ledgerful verify --signatures --against-export ./ledgerful-DEMO-evidence.zip

Expected outcomes: ledgerful verify --signatures --chain → exit 0 with VALID entries / chain verified. ledgerful verify --signatures --against-export ./ledgerful-DEMO-evidence.zip → exit 0 (live head matches retained export). Open ledgerful-DEMO-evidence.zip.

What automated demo already does

The brand moment is the VALID beat (signatures + chain + export bind) — not suite-health noise.

init in observe mode + real hook-driven signed commits (ephemeral demo keypair)
Optional project checks (verify --scope fast) — suite health only, quieted; may WARN/FAIL on synthetic code and is not the brand moment
DEMO evidence zip export
Cryptographic VALID — verify --signatures --chain then --against-export on the automated path
With --keep: repo + zip retained; without --keep: VALID was shown, then cleanup (golden path always uses --keep)

Skeptic exit-criteria

You should see all of the following before calling the path done.

[DEMO] markers on demo stdout and DEMO-marked ledger entry summaries
CRYPTO VALID — all signatures + chain verified (automated inside demo)
CRYPTO VALID — live chain head matches retained DEMO export
An openable zip: ledgerful-DEMO-evidence.zip (kept with --keep)
Gate mode notice: observe
Follow-up manual verify --signatures --chain / --against-export exit 0

What the retained evidence looks like

Real, redacted export-manifest shape from the verified sample (never fabricated). Your DEMO zip is generated live by ledgerful demo --keep.

{  "generatedAt": "2026-07-14T01:47:02.982622805+00:00",  "files": [    { "name": "chain_head.json", "sha256": "3a0555a3cdc06156530aaff441232247bae2c105ea7c199b8c9a77f836cba68f", "size": 431 },    { "name": "ledger.csv", "sha256": "25ca4a8d…2927b63", "size": 3266 },    { "name": "verification_history.csv", "sha256": "56ef6d6a…6ed0e84", "size": 57 }  ],  "entryCount": 7}

Evidence export manifest — tamper-evidence hashes, sample-soc2 exportmanifest.json

Not in this stopwatch

Separate narratives — do not fold them into the T_proof clock.

Public ledger— browser WebCrypto on Ledgerful's production history at /ledger. Optional post-success sidebar: also verify our production history.
Dashboard (ledgerful web start) — optional. The default skeptic loop is CLI-only.
Control-mapping / certification claims — not on this path. The bundle is signed evidence only. This is not a certification and not a compliance verdict.

Also: verify our production history

After your local DEMO path succeeds, you can separately verify Ledgerful's published development ledger.

Open public ledger Public ledger docs

Convinced? Next step

Local and noncommercial use stay free under the Exception where you qualify. Broader commercial Internal Business Use needs a commercial license.

Request commercial license See editions & pricing

Request a commercial license by email. We reply with a commercial license agreement and invoice path. There is no published response-time SLA. Full terms: Commercial Exception (opens in new tab).