Rule-set versioning¶

Every verdict Opencomplai prints is produced by a set of rules, keyword lists and data files. The rule-set version names that set, so two runs can be compared and a change in verdicts can be traced to a change in the rules rather than in your system.

What it is¶

RULE_SET_VERSION is a dotted version string defined in opencomplai_core/rules.py. It moves when any rule logic, keyword list or article reference changes. It is stamped into:

every generated Annex IV dossier, as the rule set the assessment used;
the compliance-artifact.json written by opencomplai check, as rule_set_version.

The history behind the number is a data file, ruleset_history.json, read oldest to newest. The last entry is always the current version, and a test keeps the two in step.

Field of a history entry	Meaning
`version`	The rule-set version.
`summary`	One line on what the version is.
`changes`	One bullet per semantic change that shipped in it.
`source`	Where the description comes from.
`confidence`	How sure the entry is.
`needs_founder_review`	`true` when the entry is awaiting human review.

Earlier versions are not all reconstructed in the file, and an entry says so when that is the case; do not read a gap in the list as "nothing changed".

Reading the history¶

opencomplai rules changelog prints the entries with their source, confidence and review flag exactly as stored. --since 1.5.0 limits it to newer versions. It is read-only.

opencomplai diff compares two runs. When both inputs carry a rule_set_version, it says whether the rules changed and lists the history entries between the two. When either side has none (a gap report or a gaps envelope never carries one), the rule set is reported as unknown and nothing is claimed either way. A changed verdict next to a changed rule-set version is the first thing to check before treating it as a regression in your system.

Three version numbers, three meanings¶

Name	Where you see it	What it identifies
Rule-set version	`rule_set_version` in the artifact and dossier; `rules changelog`	The rules, keyword lists and mappings that produce the EU AI Act verdicts.
Data version	`data_version` on a framework report in `gaps` JSON and in the artifact's `framework_reports`	A short hash of one framework's data files. Two reports with the same value used the same mappings. See Frameworks.
Schema version	`schema_version` in the artifact; the `/v<major>` suffix of a schema `$id`	The shape of the file. See Published schemas.

The three move independently. A new rule can change a verdict without changing the schema, and a new optional field can widen the schema without touching a rule. check also stamps cli_version and manifest_sha256 before signing, so a signed artifact says which tool and which manifest produced it.

What the version does not do¶

It does not change an exit code by itself, and it is not a legal statement about which rules were in force on a given date. Exit codes are described in Exit codes; the history entries carry their own source, confidence and review flag, and are only as reliable as those fields say.