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

The Command-First Rule

EVERY completion message structure:

1. FIRST: Run verification command
2. SECOND: Paste complete output
3. THIRD: State what output proves
4. ONLY THEN: Make your claim

Example structure:

Let me verify the implementation:

$ npm test
[PASTE FULL OUTPUT]

The tests show 15/15 passing. Implementation is complete.

Wrong structure (violation):

Implementation is complete! Let me verify:
[This is backwards - claimed before 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

Banned Phrases (Automatic Violation)

NEVER use these without evidence:

• "appears to" / "seems to" / "looks like"
• "should be working" / "is now working"
• "implementation complete" (without test output)
• "successfully" (without command output)
• "properly" / "correctly" (without verification)
• "all good" / "works great" (without evidence)
• ANY positive adjective before verification

Using these = lying, not verifying

The False Positive Trap

About to say "all tests pass"?

Check:

• Did you run tests THIS message? (Not last message)
• Did you paste the output? (Not just claim)
• Does output show 0 failures? (Not assumed)

No to any = you're lying

"I ran them earlier" = NOT verification "They should pass now" = NOT verification "The previous output showed" = NOT verification

Run. Paste. Then claim.

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

Required Patterns

This skill uses these universal patterns:

• State Tracking: See skills/shared-patterns/state-tracking.md
• Failure Recovery: See skills/shared-patterns/failure-recovery.md
• Exit Criteria: See skills/shared-patterns/exit-criteria.md
• TodoWrite: See skills/shared-patterns/todowrite-integration.md

Apply ALL patterns when using this skill.

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When You Violate This Skill

Violation: Claimed complete without running verification

How to detect:

• Said "implementation is complete"
• No command output shown
• Used words like "should work" or "appears correct"

Recovery procedure:

1. Don't mark task complete yet
2. Run actual verification commands
3. Paste complete output
4. Only then claim completion

Why recovery matters: Claims without evidence create false confidence. Silent failures go undetected until production.

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Violation: Ran command but didn't paste output

How to detect:

• Mentioned running tests/build
• No output shown in response
• Said "tests passed" without proof

Recovery procedure:

1. Re-run the command
2. Copy FULL output
3. Paste output in response
4. Then make completion claim

Why recovery matters: "I ran tests and they passed" is a claim, not evidence. Paste the output to prove it.

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Violation: Used banned phrases before verification

How to detect:

• Said "appears to work" / "should be fixed" / "looks correct"
• Expressed satisfaction: "Great!", "Perfect!", "Done!"
• Implied success without evidence

Recovery procedure:

1. Recognize the violation immediately
2. Stop and run verification
3. Paste complete output
4. Replace banned phrase with evidence-based claim

Why recovery matters: Banned phrases are cognitive shortcuts that bypass verification. They signal you're claiming success without proof, which is lying to your partner.

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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.