Verification Before Completion
Overview
Claiming work is complete without verification is dishonesty, not efficiency.
Core principle: Evidence before claims, always.
The Iron Law
code
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
code
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" |
| Build succeeds | npm run build: exit 0 | "Linter passed", "logs look good" |
| Bug fixed | Test original symptom: passes | Code changed, assumed fixed |
| Dev server works | npm run dev: no errors | "Should work" |
Red Flags — STOP
- •Using "should", "probably", "seems to"
- •Expressing satisfaction before verification ("Great!", "Done!")
- •About to commit/push without verification
- •Relying on partial verification
- •ANY wording implying success without having run verification
Verification Commands for This Project
bash
# Build check npm run build # Dev server npm run dev # Playwright e2e (if configured) npx playwright test # TypeScript check npx tsc --noEmit
The Bottom Line
No shortcuts for verification.
Run the command. Read the output. THEN claim the result.