# Scan configuration

> How parts of the inspect.software methodology can be switched off per scan — and how every report documents exactly what was and was not measured.


A scan can switch off any part of the methodology — a single **component**, a
whole **metric**, or an entire **category**. This exists for legitimate
narrowing (an internal policy that excludes popularity signals, a
security-only certification) while keeping every published result honest:
the configuration is **embedded in the report itself**, so it is always
explicit what was and was not measured.

## How disabling works

Disabling behaves exactly like missing data (see
[the health index](/wiki/health-index)): the disabled item is excluded and
the remaining weights are **renormalized**. The result stays on the 1–100
scale and is never dragged down by a zero for something deliberately not
measured. Disabling every metric in a category — or the category itself —
drops that category from the overall index, with its weight redistributed.

```jsonc
// scan-config.json
{
  "disabled_categories": ["security"],
  "disabled_metrics": ["popularity"],
  "disabled_components": {
    "documentation": ["Wiki", "Topics"]
  }
}
```

Category and metric keys are the identifiers documented in each wiki article
(`security`, `popularity`, `security_posture`, …); component names are the
exact display names shown on metric cards (`Wiki`, `Stars`, `README`, …).
Unknown keys are reported as warnings and ignored.

## What configuration cannot do

Configuration selects *which* parts of the fixed methodology are active — it
never changes a formula, a weight, or a band threshold. Those remain governed
by the versioned methodology (see
[methodology versions](/wiki/methodology-versions)). There is no mechanism,
paid or otherwise, to adjust how an active metric is computed.

## How a configured scan reads

- Every report carries its configuration at the top level, so the result is
  reproducible as published.
- The report renders a **scan configuration** section listing everything that
  was disabled — or states that the full methodology ran.
- Each affected metric's `note` records the renormalization, at the exact
  place a reader would look.

<div class="md-callout"><span class="md-callout-icon">◇</span><div><b>Transparency rule.</b> A narrowed scan is a valid measurement of a narrower question — and the report always says which question was asked.</div></div>

Related: [the health index](/wiki/health-index) ·
[signals, not warranties](/wiki/signals-not-warranties)