Understand the output

CRADLE produces different outputs during compilation, generation, and runtime execution. Checking each layer helps identify where a workflow succeeded or failed.

Output locations

Stage	Default output	What it contains
Compilation	files/output/<scenario>.yml	The compiler's structured interpretation of the scenario.
Generation	assembler/bin/output/<scenario>/Deployment_For_<testbed>/<scenario>-experiment/localhost/	Provider-specific deployment files.
Execution	/mnt/hdd/cradle/dataset/<scenario>/<date>/<time>/	Extracted evidence and timing information.
Host setup	/var/log/cradle/deployment-report.yml	Managed-host installation and smoke-test results.

Deployment profiles can override runtime and dataset paths.

Check compiler output

For MyScenario:

$ ls files/output/MyScenario.yml
$ sed -n '1,220p' files/output/MyScenario.yml

Confirm that the compiled instances, networks, objects, event phases, and references match the authored .cradle file.

Check generated deployment files

For libvirt:

$ cd assembler/bin/output/MyScenario/Deployment_For_local/MyScenario-experiment/localhost
$ ls
$ vagrant validate

The generated file set depends on the provider and scenario. It commonly contains a Vagrant configuration, inventory, bootstrap scripts, and Ansible material.

Find the runtime dataset

List run directories without guessing their timestamps:

$ find /mnt/hdd/cradle/dataset/MyScenario \
    -mindepth 2 -maxdepth 2 -type d \
    | sort

A dataset can include:

• packet captures below instance-specific network directories;
• Linux system or audit log archives;
• Windows event log archives; and
• a timing-<scenario>-<timestamp>.yml record.

Exact contents depend on the scenario's configurations and whether extraction completed successfully.

Verification checklist

A complete run should satisfy the checks that apply to the scenario:

• the intermediary YAML exists and matches the source scenario;
• provider-specific deployment files exist;
• vagrant status lists the expected instances;
• the terminal reports successful provisioning;
• the terminal reports successful extraction;
• the dataset contains expected log archives and packet captures; and
• the timing YAML exists in the run directory.

An existing directory alone does not prove success. Review command messages and validate the expected contents.

Handle evidence safely

Logs and packet captures can contain sensitive data. Restrict access, follow the experiment's retention policy, and remove secrets before sharing evidence with support. Record the CRADLE version, scenario revision, provider, and host profile with any retained dataset.

Next step

After verification, clean up the environment.