A checked signature is the body-independent cross-item interface. Consumers obtain the types, generic binder, and parameter environment needed to use a definition without checking that definition’s body. No signature query reads any function body. This is the signature-phase consequence of Cross-item dependencies stop at semantic interfaces.

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Interface detail is split at semantic reuse boundaries. Fields and associated-item enumeration remain independently keyed from the owner signature, and selecting one associated item reads only that item’s signature. Enumeration never checks sibling signatures or bodies eagerly.

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Generic identities are minted once by their owner and reused. An owner signature creates its parameters under one binder. Associated-item, field, and body queries reopen that binder and add only genuinely new item-level parameters; they never reconstruct an existing GenericParam or owner Self identity.

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Checked interfaces are self-contained semantic values. Signature lowering reads CST from one stash and writes all checked types, binders, predicates, and retained alias applications into a separate result stash. No checked value points into tree-sitter state or the source CST stash. This is the signature-level ownership boundary established by Stash for type-level interning.

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