Verification Before Completion

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

Skip any step = lying, not verifying

Common Verification Requirements

Claim	Requires	Not Sufficient
Tests pass	Test output: 0 failures	Previous run, "should pass"
Linter clean	Linter output: 0 errors	Partial check
Build succeeds	Build command: exit 0	Linter passing
Bug fixed	Test symptom: passes	Code changed
Regression test	Red-green 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
•About to commit/push/PR without verification
•Trusting agent success reports
•Relying on partial verification
•Thinking "just this once"
•ANY wording implying success without running verification

Key Patterns

Tests:

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DO:   [Run test] [See: 34/34 pass] "All tests pass"
DON'T: "Should pass now" / "Looks correct"

Regression tests (TDD Red-Green):

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DO:   Write -> Run (pass) -> Revert fix -> Run (MUST FAIL) -> Restore -> Run (pass)
DON'T: "I've written a regression test" (without red-green)

Build:

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DO:   [Run build] [See: exit 0] "Build passes"
DON'T: "Linter passed" (linter != compiler)

Requirements:

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DO:   Re-read plan -> Create checklist -> Verify each -> Report
DON'T: "Tests pass, phase complete"

Agent delegation:

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DO:   Agent reports -> Check VCS diff -> Verify changes -> Report
DON'T: Trust agent report

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
"Partial check is enough"	Partial proves nothing

When to Apply

ALWAYS before:

•ANY success/completion claims
•ANY expression of satisfaction
•Committing, PR creation, task completion
•Moving to next task
•Delegating to agents

Integration

Use with:

•code-test - Run tests before claiming they pass
•code-debug - Verify fix before claiming bug resolved
•task-dispatch - Verify each task before marking complete
•git-worktree-use - Verify baseline before and after