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. REFLECT: Pause to consider tool results before next action
6. 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

If you find yourself:

• 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

STOP. Run verification. Get evidence. THEN speak.

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
"I already tested it manually"	Manual ≠ automated evidence
"The code looks correct"	Looking ≠ running

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

From real failure patterns:

• Your user said "I don't believe you" - trust broken
• Undefined functions shipped - would crash in production
• 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

Self-Critique Gate (BEFORE Verification Commands)

MANDATORY: Check these BEFORE running verification commands:

Code Quality

• Follows patterns from reference files?
• Naming matches project conventions?
• Error handling in place?
• No debug artifacts (console.log, TODO)?
• No commented-out code?
• No hardcoded values that should be constants?

Implementation Completeness

• All required files modified?
• No unexpected files changed?
• Requirements fully met?
• No scope creep?

Self-Critique Verdict

PROCEED: [YES/NO] CONFIDENCE: [High/Medium/Low]

• If NO → Fix issues before verification
• If YES → Proceed to verification commands below

---

Validation Levels

Match validation depth to task complexity:

Level	Name	Commands	When to Use
1	Syntax & Style	npm run lint, tsc --noEmit	Every task
2	Unit Tests	npm test	Low-Medium risk tasks
3	Integration Tests	npm run test:integration	Medium-High risk tasks
4	Manual Validation	User flow walkthrough	High-Critical risk tasks

Include the appropriate validation level for each verification step.

Verification Checklist

Before marking work complete:

• All relevant tests pass (exit 0) - with fresh evidence
• Build succeeds (exit 0) - with fresh evidence
• Feature functionality verified - with command output
• No regressions introduced - with test output
• Evidence captured for each check - in this message
• Deviations from plan documented - if implementation differed from design
• Appropriate validation level applied for task risk

Output Format

## Verification Summary

### Scope
[What was completed]

### Criteria
[What was verified]

### Evidence

| Check | Command | Exit Code | Result |
|-------|---------|-----------|--------|
| Tests | `npm test` | 0 | PASS (34/34) |
| Build | `npm run build` | 0 | PASS |
| Feature | `npm test -- --grep "feature"` | 0 | PASS (3/3) |

### Deviations from Plan (if any)
| Planned | Actual | Reason |
|---------|--------|--------|
| [Original design] | [What changed] | [Why] |

### Status
COMPLETE - All verifications passed with fresh evidence

The Bottom Line

No shortcuts for verification.

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

This is non-negotiable.