A repo can run and still be hard to trust.

That sounds strange at first. If the app starts, the build completes, or the tests pass, the repo is working, right?

Not always.

A runnable repo proves that something executed under some conditions. A trustworthy repo explains those conditions, makes the path repeatable, and gives humans, CI, automation, and AI agents enough evidence to understand what happened.

That difference matters more as software teams rely on AI-assisted development.