EVIDENCE TAXONOMY / LIBRARYPROOF FIELD NOTE
Referenced files vs iCloud originals in Photos on Mac
The word “missing” is dangerously broad during a Photos migration. An absent external path, a cloud-associated record without local bytes and an unsupported database row require three different next steps.
Referenced and present
An explicit external path or filesystem link resolves to a regular file that is locally readable. A trustworthy audit records the path evidence, byte count and content hash without copying or changing the source.
Referenced and missing
An explicit reference exists, but no regular file is present at that path. Reconnect the named volume or locate the original, then run a new audit. This is local path evidence—not a statement about iCloud.
iCloud-only candidate
A record exposes a cloud identifier but no readable local match. It may require a download in Photos, yet a read-only preflight cannot prove remote availability and must not label it as confirmed missing.
Unknown
The record or schema cannot be interpreted safely. Unknown is a useful result: it tells you where manual Photos review or a representative-version adapter is still required.
Why the distinction matters
Combining these states produces misleading counts and risky deletion decisions. Keep every class visible in the receipt, and calculate migration estimates only from readable, hashed bytes.