Compatibility and data formats

This is the release contract for SaveTether 1.0.0.

Supported environment

SaveTether supports the Unreal Engine 5.8 Windows 64-bit Editor. The exact package was built and installed with UE 5.8.2 (CL 56702186). It is Editor-only; it never opens or migrates saved-game data. Optional AI tools use Unreal Toolset Registry/Python only when the user enables those engine plugins; neither is bundled or required for the core panel.

Public integration

SaveTether 1.0.0 does not declare a supported external C++/Blueprint API. USaveTetherAISubsystem is an internal reflected Editor bridge. The documented optional automation surface is the Toolset Registry toolset: review_with_baseline, review_initial_declarations, get_review_status, get_review_page, export_report, and capture_release.

Within the 1.0.x line, existing tool names, argument meanings, and safety behavior remain stable. Compatible releases may add result fields or tools, but will not silently change or remove an existing field or operation. Ignore result fields you do not consume. Binary compatibility is not promised across Unreal Engine versions/builds; rebuild for the target UE 5.8 Editor installation.

Persisted data

• User-authored declarations use schemaVersion: 1 and documentType: "SaveTetherDeclarations", with releaseId, typed identifiers, and optional mapping proposals.
• Captured baselines use schemaVersion: 1 and documentType: "SaveTetherRelease", with releaseId, contentFingerprint, and identifiers (kind, identifier, nullable assetPath). This is identity history, not a save-game migration or compatibility certificate.
• Review exports use schemaVersion: 1 and documentType: "SaveTetherChangeReport", with plugin/engine versions, status/coverage, fingerprints, changes, mappings, and findings. Review reports may contain project identifiers and paths.
• Profile and local-selection files use schemaVersion: 1 with documentType: "SaveTetherProfile" or "SaveTetherPreferences". Preferences include selected input/output paths and are machine-local.

Readers accept schema version 1 and reject unknown future versions rather than guessing or silently rewriting them. Captured releases are immutable; settings writes preserve existing files when a new name is required. No automatic schema migration is performed. Any future incompatible format must use a new schema version and include explicit upgrade instructions. The 1.0.x line keeps schema-1 documents readable.

Scope of the guarantee

Version 1.0.0 is the initial compatibility baseline. Breaking changes to the documented Toolset Registry contract or persisted formats require a new major product version and an explicit migration path; compatible additions remain optional. A completed review describes evaluation coverage only; it does not prove existing saved games remain compatible or load successfully.