Verification Before Completion
Core principle: Evidence before claims, always.
Violating the letter of this rule is violating the spirit of this rule.
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 output: 0 failures | Previous run, "should pass" |
| Linter clean | Linter output: 0 errors | Partial check, extrapolation |
| Build succeeds | Build: exit 0 | Linter passing |
| Bug fixed | Original symptom: passes | Code changed, assumed fixed |
| 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
- •About to commit/push/PR without verification
- •Trusting agent success reports
- •Relying on partial verification
- •ANY wording implying success without having run verification
Rationalization Prevention
| Excuse | Reality |
|---|---|
| "Should work now" | RUN the verification |
| "I'm confident" | Confidence is not evidence |
| "Just this once" | No exceptions |
| "Linter passed" | Linter is not compiler |
| "Agent said success" | Verify independently |
| "Partial check is enough" | Partial proves nothing |
Key Patterns
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Tests: Run -> See "34/34 pass" -> THEN claim "All tests pass" Red-Green: Write -> Run (pass) -> Revert -> Run (MUST FAIL) -> Restore -> Run (pass) Build: Run build -> See exit 0 -> THEN claim "Build passes" Requirements: Re-read plan -> Checklist -> Verify each -> Report Agent: Agent reports -> Check VCS diff -> Verify changes -> Report actual state
When To Apply
ALWAYS before: Any success/completion claim, any positive statement about work state, committing, PR creation, task completion, moving to next task, delegating to agents.
No shortcuts. Run the command. Read the output. THEN claim the result.