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:

• FIRST: Run verification command

• SECOND: Paste complete output

• THIRD: State what output proves

• 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

Type ✅ CORRECT ❌ WRONG

Tests Run command, see "34/34 pass", then claim "Should pass now"

Regression (TDD) Write → pass → revert → MUST FAIL → restore → pass "Written regression test" (no red-green)

Build Run build, see exit 0, then claim "Linter passed" (linter ≠ compiler)

Requirements Re-read plan → checklist → verify each "Tests pass, phase complete"

Agent delegation Check VCS diff → verify changes 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.

Violation Recovery

Violation Detection Recovery

Claimed complete without verification "complete" with no command output, "should work" Run verification → paste output → then claim

Ran command but didn't paste Mentioned running tests, no output shown Re-run → copy FULL output → paste → then claim

Used banned phrases "appears to work", "Great!", "Done!" before evidence Stop → run verification → paste output → evidence-based claim

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

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

Blocker Criteria

STOP and report if:

Decision Type Blocker Condition Required Action

No verification command identified Cannot determine what command proves the claim STOP and identify verification command first

Verification command fails to run Command errors, times out, or is unavailable STOP and report infrastructure issue

Verification output contradicts claim Tests fail but claiming success STOP and state actual status with evidence

Banned phrase detected About to use "should work", "appears to", etc. STOP and run verification before continuing

Evidence is stale Verification was from previous message or session STOP and re-run verification fresh

Cannot Be Overridden

The following requirements CANNOT be waived:

• MUST run verification command in the SAME message as the claim

• MUST paste COMPLETE output (not partial or summarized)

• CANNOT use banned phrases without prior evidence

• CANNOT claim completion based on previous verification runs

• CANNOT trust agent success reports without independent verification

Severity Calibration

Severity Condition Required Action

CRITICAL Claimed complete without any verification MUST immediately run verification and correct claim

CRITICAL Used banned phrase with no evidence MUST run verification and restate with evidence

HIGH Verification from previous message used for current claim MUST re-run verification fresh

HIGH Partial verification used (linter for build, etc.) MUST run correct verification command

MEDIUM Output pasted but incomplete Should re-run and paste full output

LOW Claim made then verified (wrong order) Restate with verification first in future

Anti-Rationalization Table

Rationalization Why It's WRONG Required Action

"I ran it earlier, it passed" Stale evidence is not evidence. Code may have changed. MUST run verification fresh THIS message

"It should work now after my change" Prediction is not verification MUST execute command and paste output

"I'm confident the tests pass" Confidence without evidence is lying MUST run tests and show actual output

"Previous output showed success" Each claim needs fresh verification MUST re-run command for each claim

"The linter passed so build works" Linter ≠ compiler ≠ tests MUST run the specific verification for each claim

"Agent reported success" Agent reports MUST be independently verified MUST check VCS diff and run verification

"Just this once, I'll skip it" No exceptions. Every claim needs evidence. MUST verify before ANY completion claim

"Partial check is enough" Partial proves nothing. Silent failures remain hidden. MUST run FULL verification command

Pressure Resistance

User Says Your Response

"Just say it's done, we're in a hurry" "CANNOT claim completion without verification - false claims waste more time"

"I trust you, no need to verify" "Verification is non-negotiable - I MUST show evidence before claiming success"

"The tests probably pass, move on" "MUST run tests and paste output before claiming they pass"

"Skip verification, commit now" "CANNOT commit without verification - will run commands first"

The Bottom Line

No shortcuts for verification.

Run the command. Read the output. THEN claim the result.

This is non-negotiable.