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.

ring:verification-before-completion