Artifact evaluation

This guide lets a reviewer evaluate the OpenLiDARViewer software artifact without special hardware or private data. It complements REVIEWER_QUICKSTART.md (fast start) and VALIDATION_REPORT_v0.6.0-alpha.1.md (what is and is not validated for this alpha; terrain/measurement claims are inherited from VALIDATION_REPORT_v0.5.9.md).

What the artifact is

A local-first, browser-native LiDAR and point-cloud viewer with terrain analysis, validation-aware exports, and (as of v0.5.9) a Contour Studio deliverable workflow. Files stay on the reviewer's device; no upload or account is required.

Requirements

• Node.js 22 (see .nvmrc / package.json engines).
• A Chromium-based browser with WebGPU for the interactive and end-to-end portions (a WebGL2 fallback exists). The unit/integration suite and the reproduction pack need only Node.

Reproduce (no device beyond Node)

nvm use
npm ci
npm run typecheck
npm run test:unit && npm run test:export && npm run test:terrain && npm run test:ui && npm run test:slow
npm run repro          # regenerates the analytic figures under benchmarks/out/
npm run build:live && npm run check:bundle

npm run test:release runs the whole gate in one command.

Claims and their evidence

• Every scientific claim is registered in docs/validation/claim-register.yaml with its current evidence level, the level required to be called validated, the tests that support it, and the wording that is allowed or prohibited. scripts/lint-claim-register.mjs fails the build if the runtime registry drifts from that file or if prohibited wording appears.
• The evidence ladder (E0–E6) is defined in docs/validation/EVIDENCE_MODEL.md. Nothing in this release is at or above E4 (cross-implementation independence). Synthetic known-truth checks are E3.
• VALIDATION_REPORT_v0.6.0-alpha.1.md lists exactly what was and was not tested for this alpha (inheriting the terrain/measurement evidence from VALIDATION_REPORT_v0.5.9.md); docs/validation/THREATS_TO_VALIDITY.md aggregates the limitations.

Integrity

Release archives are produced by npm run package, which emits SHA256SUMS and a release-manifest-vX.json (version, commit, node, per-zip SHA256). A checksum verifies file integrity only; it does not prove authorship.

Data availability

No proprietary dataset is required. Bundled fixtures are synthetic or explicitly licensed (THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md); external point clouds are user-supplied or streamed from third-party open-data hosts and are not redistributed here (DATA_AVAILABILITY.md).

Scope of evaluation

Evaluable in this artifact: build, type safety, the full unit/integration suite, deterministic analytic reproduction, bundle budget, and the honesty lints. Not evaluable here without a device or external reference data: GPU performance figures, the full browser end-to-end suite, and cross-implementation / field accuracy comparisons.