Verification Before Completion
Core Principle: No completion claims without fresh verification evidence.
The Verification Gate
BEFORE any claim of success, completion, or satisfaction:
Copy this checklist and track your progress:
Verification Checklist:
- [ ] IDENTIFY: What command proves this claim?
- [ ] RUN: Execute the verification command (fresh, complete)
- [ ] READ: Check full output, exit code, failure counts
- [ ] VERIFY: Does output confirm the claim?
- If NO → State actual status with evidence
- If YES → State claim WITH evidence- IDENTIFY - What command proves this claim?
- RUN - Execute the full verification command (fresh, complete)
- READ - Check full output, exit code, failure counts
- VERIFY - Does output confirm the claim?
- NO → State actual status with evidence - YES → State claim WITH evidence from step 2-3
Skip any step = invalid claim.
When This Applies
ALWAYS before:
- Claiming "tests pass", "build succeeds", "linter clean", "bug fixed"
- Expressing satisfaction ("Great!", "Done!", "Perfect!")
- Using qualifiers ("should work", "probably fixed", "seems to")
- Committing, creating PRs, marking tasks complete
- Moving to next task or delegating work
- ANY statement implying success or completion
Common Verification Requirements
| Claim | Required Evidence | Not Sufficient |
|---|---|---|
| Tests pass | yarn test output: 0 failures | Previous run, "looks correct" |
| Build succeeds | Build command: exit 0 | Linter clean, "should work" |
| Bug fixed | Test reproducing bug: now passes | Code changed, assumed fix |
| Linter clean | Linter output: 0 errors | Partial check, spot test |
| Regression test works | Red→Green cycle verified | Test passes once |
| Agent task complete | VCS diff shows expected changes | Agent reports "success" |
Red Flags
Stop and verify if you're about to:
- Use hedging language ("should", "probably", "seems to")
- Express satisfaction before running verification
- Trust agent/tool success reports without independent verification
- Rely on partial checks or previous runs
- Think "just this once" or "I'm confident it works"
Key Examples
Regression test (TDD Red-Green):
✅ Write test → Run (fail) → Fix code → Run (pass) → Revert fix → Run (MUST fail) → Restore → Run (pass)
❌ "I've written a regression test" (without verifying red-green cycle)Build vs Linter:
✅ Run `npm run build` → See "exit 0" → Claim "build passes"
❌ Run linter → Claim "build will pass" (linter ≠ compiler)Agent delegation:
✅ Agent reports success → Check `git diff` → Verify changes → Report actual state
❌ Trust agent's success message without verificationWhy It Matters
Unverified claims break trust and ship broken code:
- Undefined functions that crash production
- Incomplete features missing requirements
- Lost time on rework after false completion
- Partner distrust: "I don't believe you"
Violating this skill violates core honesty requirements.
No Exceptions
Run the command. Read the output. THEN claim the result.
Evidence before assertions, always.