git.stella-ops.org/docs/key-features.md

# Key Features – Capability Cards

> Stella Ops isn't just another scanner—it's a different product category: **deterministic, evidence-linked vulnerability decisions** that survive auditors, regulators, and supply-chain propagation.

Each card below pairs the headline capability with the evidence that backs it and why it matters day to day.

<!-- TODO: Review for separate approval - added Decision Capsules as feature 0 -->
## 0. Decision Capsules - Audit-Grade Evidence Bundles (2025-12)
- **What it is:** Every scan result is sealed in a **Decision Capsule**-a content-addressed bundle containing all inputs, outputs, and evidence needed to reproduce and verify the vulnerability decision.
- **Evidence:** Each capsule includes: exact SBOM (and source provenance if available), exact vuln feed snapshots (or IDs to frozen snapshots), reachability evidence (static artifacts + runtime traces if any), policy version + lattice rules, derived VEX statements, and signatures over all of the above.
- **UX surface:** Vulnerability triage is built around VEX-first decisions and one-click immutable audit bundles; reference `docs/product-advisories/archived/27-Nov-2025-superseded/28-Nov-2025 - Vulnerability Triage UX & VEX-First Decisioning.md`.
- **Why it matters:** Auditors can re-run any capsule bit-for-bit to verify the outcome. This is the heart of audit-grade assurance-every decision becomes a provable, replayable fact.

## 1. Delta SBOM Engine
- **What it is:** Layer-aware ingestion keeps the SBOM catalog content-addressed; rescans only fetch new layers and update dependency/vulnerability cartographs.
- **Evidence:** Deterministic Replay Manifest (SRM) captures the exact analyzer inputs/outputs per layer.
- **Why it matters:** Warm scans drop below one second, so CI/CD pipelines stay fast even under the free-tier quota.

## 2. Lattice Policy + OpenVEX (Evidence-Linked)
- **What it is:** Policy engine merges SBOM, advisories, VEX, and waivers through lattice logic that prioritises exploitability. Every VEX assertion includes pointers to an internal evidence graph.
- **Evidence:** OpenVEX is treated as first-class input; the policy UI renders explain traces with proof-linked decisions. Custom rule packs let teams automate muting, expirations, and non-VEX alert logic.
- **Why it matters:** Teams can distinguish exploitable risk from noise, tune the experience beyond VEX statements, and prove why a deployment was blocked or allowed. Unlike simplistic yes/no approaches, the lattice model explicitly handles an "Unknown" state, ensuring incomplete data doesn't lead to false safety.

## 3. Sovereign Crypto Profiles
- **What it is:** Bring-your-own trust bundles that switch signing algorithms (FIPS, eIDAS, GOST, SM) without code changes.
- **Evidence:** Crypto profiles travel with Offline Update Kits and post-quantum trust packs, keeping signatures verifiable in regulated sectors.
- **Why it matters:** You meet regional crypto requirements while keeping provenance attestations consistent across tenants.

## 4. Deterministic Replay & Evidence Bundles — The Heart of Audit-Grade Assurance
- **What it is:** Every scan produces a DSSE + SRM bundle that can be replayed with `stella replay srm.yaml`.
- **Evidence:** Replay manifests capture analyzer versions, lattice state, and attestations in content-addressed storage for audit trails.
- **Why it matters:** A CVE found 6 months ago can be re-verified today by running `stella replay srm.yaml`, yielding an identical result—an audit trail no other scanner provides. This is why Stella decisions survive auditors, regulators, and supply-chain propagation.

## 5. Transparent Quotas & Offline Operations
- **What it is:** Redis-backed counters surface `{{ quota_token }}` scans/day via headers, UI banners, and `/quota` API; Offline Update Kits mirror feeds.
- **Evidence:** Quota tokens verify locally using bundled public keys, and Offline Update Kits include mirrored advisories, SBOM feeds, and VEX sources.
- **Why it matters:** You stay within predictable limits, avoid surprise throttling, and operate entirely offline when needed.

## 6. Signed Reachability Proofs — Hybrid Static + Runtime Attestations
- **What it is:** Every reachability graph is sealed with a graph-level DSSE and optional edge-bundle DSSEs for runtime/init/contested edges; Rekor-backed when enabled. Both static call-graph edges and runtime-derived edges can be attested—true hybrid reachability.
- **Evidence:** CAS layout `cas://reachability/graphs/{hash}` + `{hash}.dsse`; edge bundles capped and sorted; quarantine/dispute uses per-edge revocation. See `docs/reachability/hybrid-attestation.md`.
- **Why it matters:** You can prove (or contest) exactly why a vuln is reachable, replay results offline, and avoid flooding transparency logs. Hybrid analysis combining static call-graph analysis with runtime process tracing provides confidence across build and runtime contexts.

## 7. Competitive Moats — Four Capabilities (2025-12 refresh)
- **What it is:** Four capabilities no competitor offers together: (1) Signed Reachability, (2) Deterministic Replay, (3) Explainable Policy (Lattice VEX), (4) Sovereign + Offline Operation. Plus Decision Capsules for audit-grade evidence bundles.
- **Evidence:** `docs/market/competitive-landscape.md` distils a 15-vendor comparison; `03_VISION.md` lists moats; `docs/reachability/lead.md` details the reachability proof moat.
- **Why it matters:** Clear differentiation guides roadmap and sales; keeps us focused on replayable, sovereign, evidence-linked, and explainable security.

## 8. Deterministic Task Packs (2025-11)
- **What it is:** TaskRunner executes declarative Task Packs with plan-hash binding, approvals, sealed-mode enforcement, and DSSE evidence bundles.
- **Evidence:** Product advisory `docs/product-advisories/29-Nov-2025 - Task Pack Orchestration and Automation.md`; architecture contract in `docs/modules/taskrunner/architecture.md`; runbook/spec in `docs/task-packs/*.md`.
- **Why it matters:** Security teams get auditable, air-gap-friendly automation with human approvals and provable provenance, reusing the same workflows online or offline.

### Explore Further
- Walk the first deployment in [quickstart.md](quickstart.md).
- Dive into architectural flows in [high-level-architecture.md](high-level-architecture.md).
- Need detailed matrices? The legacy [feature matrix](04_FEATURE_MATRIX.md) and [vision](03_VISION.md) remain available for deep dives.