verification-before-completion

SKILL.md

Verification Before Completion

Overview

Claiming work is complete without verification is dishonesty, not efficiency.

Core principle: Evidence before claims, always.

Violating the letter of this rule is violating the spirit of this rule.

The Iron Law

NO COMPLETION CLAIMS WITHOUT FRESH VERIFICATION EVIDENCE

If you haven't run the verification command in this message, you cannot claim it passes.

The Gate Function
BEFORE claiming any status or expressing satisfaction:

1. IDENTIFY: What command proves this claim?
2. RUN: Execute the FULL command (fresh, complete)
3. READ: Full output, check exit code, count failures
4. VERIFY: Does output confirm the claim?
   - If NO: State actual status with evidence
   - If YES: State claim WITH evidence
5. ONLY THEN: Make the claim

Skip any step = lying, not verifying

Common Failures

Claim
Requires
Not Sufficient

Tests pass
Test command output: 0 failures
Previous run, "should pass"

Linter clean
Linter output: 0 errors
Partial check, extrapolation

Build succeeds
Build command: exit 0
Linter passing, logs look good

Bug fixed
Test original symptom: passes
Code changed, assumed fixed

Regression test works
Red-green cycle verified
Test passes once

Agent completed
VCS diff shows changes
Agent reports "success"

Requirements met
Line-by-line checklist
Tests passing

Red Flags - STOP

Using "should", "probably", "seems to"

Expressing satisfaction before verification ("Great!", "Perfect!", "Done!", etc.)

About to commit/push/PR without verification

Trusting agent success reports

Relying on partial verification

Thinking "just this once"

Tired and wanting work over

ANY wording implying success without having run verification

Rationalization Prevention

Excuse
Reality

"Should work now"
RUN the verification

"I'm confident"
Confidence ≠ evidence

"Just this once"
No exceptions

"Linter passed"
Linter ≠ compiler

"Agent said success"
Verify independently

"I'm tired"
Exhaustion ≠ excuse

"Partial check is enough"
Partial proves nothing

"Different words so rule doesn't apply"
Spirit over letter

Key Patterns

Tests:

✅ [Run test command] [See: 34/34 pass] "All tests pass"
❌ "Should pass now" / "Looks correct"

Regression tests (TDD Red-Green):

✅ Write → Run (pass) → Revert fix → Run (MUST FAIL) → Restore → Run (pass)
❌ "I've written a regression test" (without red-green verification)

Build:

✅ [Run build] [See: exit 0] "Build passes"
❌ "Linter passed" (linter doesn't check compilation)

Requirements:

✅ Re-read plan → Create checklist → Verify each → Report gaps or completion
❌ "Tests pass, phase complete"

Agent delegation:

✅ Agent reports success → Check VCS diff → Verify changes → Report actual state
❌ Trust agent report

Why This Matters

From 24 failure memories:

your human partner said "I don't believe you" - trust broken

Undefined functions shipped - would crash

Missing requirements shipped - incomplete features

Time wasted on false completion → redirect → rework

Violates: "Honesty is a core value. If you lie, you'll be replaced."

When To Apply

ALWAYS before:

ANY variation of success/completion claims

ANY expression of satisfaction

ANY positive statement about work state

Committing, PR creation, task completion

Moving to next task

Delegating to agents

Rule applies to:

Exact phrases

Paraphrases and synonyms

Implications of success

ANY communication suggesting completion/correctness

The Bottom Line

No shortcuts for verification.

Run the command. Read the output. THEN claim the result.

This is non-negotiable.