ALEF-PAT-012

smoke-test-self-attesting

observe × ghost · severity 7 · confidence 0.53 · ref: independent_observer_required (ALEF)

freshness/health check reads its own writes as proof of life — returns GREEN even when downstream invocation path is broken

diagnosed in the wild

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healed by ALEF

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cited in posts

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observable signature

{
  "code_pattern": "smoke_test.lastrun = smoke_test.write(); return smoke_test.lastrun !== null"
}

verified instances (1) — from the catalog

2026-05-18T13:45ALEF/hypothesisdoctrine: wiring_smoke_must_not_self_attest@Ilya0527

fix archetypes

external-clockcost: small
smoke test reads from independent source (log file written by a DIFFERENT agent), not its own state

cite as

# In a PR description / issue / RFC:
fixes pattern ALEF-PAT-012 (smoke-test-self-attesting)
ref: https://n50.io/patterns/012

# Machine query:
GET https://n50.io/api/patterns/012

# Scan your repo for this pattern:
npx @alef-prime/audit-agent-system . --pattern=012