Every project marked Tested on CESXY was opened and used by a CESXY editor. That is the core of how we work, and it is a modest claim on purpose. A badge is an honest use note, not a certification. This guide explains what editors check, what each badge means, why we do not certify, and how labels change over time.
What an editor checks
Our review tries to answer the questions a sensible visitor would ask before opening an unfamiliar project. We look at four things.
The address. The editor confirms that the link loads, leads to the project described and does not redirect somewhere unrelated.
The core action. Every project has one main job, such as converting a file, planning a trip or answering a question. The editor tries that job the way an ordinary visitor would. A project with a good landing page and a core action that fails will not be marked Tested.
Access and login. The editor records what you must do to use the project. Does it need an account? Does it ask you to sign in with another service? Does it ask for payment details? Are parts of it locked? These notes feed the quick tags, such as no-login, login-required and free.
Mobile use. The editor notes whether the project works on a phone, whether it is built for one platform and whether small screens cause problems.
Along the way the editor writes down clear limits. These include missing features the description implies, usage caps, language limits and anything else you should know first.
Sensitive categories
Health & Fitness, Finance and Family & Kids are sensitive categories. Submissions in these areas get extra review. We look harder at what data a project asks for and what it claims to do. Listings in these categories point to our Safety page.
The badges
Published. The project passed editorial review and is in the catalogue.
Tested. An editor used the core action personally. The listing records the setup and the date of the test.
Community. The main testing evidence comes from community test notes. CESXY has not done a full test, and the listing says so.
Fresh. The creator submitted it and no editor has reviewed it yet. What you see is creator-provided.
Heads-up. Something needs your attention first, such as a login, a paywall, data collection, a regional limit or a content limit. The editor adds a one-line reason and removes the badge once the reason is gone.
A project cannot be Published and Fresh at the same time, or Tested and Community at the same time. Heads-up can appear on any project.
Broken is a marking, not a badge. It means the project cannot complete its core action right now. It appears after repeated failed checks, or after an editor confirms a problem report. It comes off when a re-test passes.
Why a use note and not a certification
CESXY does not certify external projects. A review is a record of one person using a project at one point in time. It can confirm that the core action worked and that a login was or was not needed. It cannot promise that the project will keep working, that its creator handles data well or that it is fit for medical, legal or financial decisions.
External projects are their creators' responsibility and run under their own terms. A certification would claim an assurance we cannot give. A use note tells you what was observed and leaves the decision with you.
How a label changes
Small projects change often. A creator may add a login, change the price, move to a new address or stop maintaining the project. A label describes the project as it was when last checked.
Labels change in three ways. An editor may re-check a listing. A visitor may use Report a problem on the project page, which can lead an editor to re-check it. A creator may tell us a problem is fixed and ask for a fresh look.
A Tested project that fails a re-test, or goes too long without one, is set back to awaiting a re-test.
Independence
Badges are earned by testing. They are never sold. Criticism is never removed for payment. Creators don't preview verdicts. Factual corrections are welcome.
If a listing gets a fact wrong, email [EMAIL TBD] with the project link, the line that is wrong and what is true now. An editor will check it. If we were wrong, we fix the listing.
Paid testing is a separate service. It does not grant, speed up or change any badge.
The short version
When you see Tested on CESXY, a person opened the project, used it and wrote down what happened. It does not mean the project is endorsed, guaranteed or certified. That limit is what makes the label useful.