# `ev` documentation
`ev` is **git for decisions**: it records human-authored decisions and the grounds they
rest on as an immutable, content-addressed *tick chain*, binds a test-check or a human
re-check to each ground, and audits that chain against a fixed set of refusals.
These docs cover the `ev` command surface: `init`, `decide`, `guard`, `migrate`, `correct`,
`check`, `why`, `reopen`, `show`, `brief`, `list`, `log`, `verify`.
- **[usage.md](usage.md)** — a task-oriented guide: the common workflows ("I just made a
decision", "what's already ruled?", "is any assumption broken?") with a short example each.
- **[commands.md](commands.md)** — the authoritative command reference: every flag, exit
code, the exact strings each command prints, and a worked example per command.
- **[concepts.md](concepts.md)** — the model in depth: the Tick schema, Grounds, Checks,
content-addressed identity and the frozen golden vectors, append-only immutability,
jurisdiction, provenance, the forward-compatible schema, and the refusals `ev verify`
enforces.
- **[migrating.md](migrating.md)** — bringing an existing decision history into `ev`: the
Canonical Decision Intake Contract (`ev migrate --source canonical:<path.jsonl>`) as the
primary intake, writing a small adapter that emits it, and the built-in convenience extractors
(`gitlog` / `to-human` / `decisions-immutable` / `escalation`).
- **[philosophy.md](philosophy.md)** — the design principles behind `ev`: the nine tenets
explaining why it makes the choices it does (facts not verdicts, detect not prevent, boot-path
or dark code).
## Usage
New to `ev`? Start with the workflow guide: **[usage.md](usage.md)**.
Back to the [project README](../README.md).