Verification Before Completion

Adapted from obra/superpowers for Cursor IDE.

Overview

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

Core principle: Evidence before claims, always.

The Iron Law

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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

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BEFORE claiming any status:

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

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
Bug fixed	Test original symptom: passes	Code changed, assumed fixed
Requirements met	Line-by-line checklist	Tests passing

Red Flags - STOP

•Using "should", "probably", "seems to"
•Expressing satisfaction before verification
•About to commit/push/PR without verification
•Trusting subagent success reports without independent verification
•Relying on partial verification
•Thinking "just this once"

Key Patterns

Tests:

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

Build:

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

Requirements:

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

The Bottom Line

No shortcuts for verification.

Run the command. Read the output. THEN claim the result. This is non-negotiable.