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verification-before-completion
Use when about to claim work is complete, fixed, or passing — for any reason, including before commits, PRs, or general success assertions — requires running verification commands and confirming output before making any success claims; evidence before assertions always

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

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

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

Why This Matters

False completion claims cause:

  • Trust breakdown with the user
  • Undefined or broken code shipped
  • Features released incomplete
  • Rework cost that exceeds the original task

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.