Verification Before Completion

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

Visual Verification (Frontend)

When frontend code is modified and browser tools are available, visual verification is part of the gate function. Triggers when: browser tools exist, frontend files changed (.tsx, .jsx, .vue, .svelte, .css), dev server running. Skip silently if not applicable.

See references/visual-verification.md for full protocol.

Gap Closure Loop

When verification fails, don't just report — fix and re-verify:

IF verification fails:
  1. CREATE gap-fix task
  2. CREATE re-verification task (blocked by fix)
  3. WAIT for gap fix completion
  4. RUN re-verification
  5. IF still fails AND attempt < 3: → Increment attempt, GOTO step 1
  6. IF still fails AND attempt >= 3: → ESCALATE to human

See references/gap-closure-protocol.md for TaskCreate blocks and attempt tracking.

Verification Task Enforcement

Before making ANY completion claim, create a verification task:

TaskCreate: "Verify: [specific claim]"
  description: "Evidence required: [verification command]. Must capture command output and exit code."
  activeForm: "Verifying [claim]"

ENFORCEMENT:

• Task description MUST specify the verification command
• Task CANNOT be marked completed without evidence in the conversation
• Evidence = actual command output showing pass/fail
• Subsequent completion claims blocked until verification task completed

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
UI renders correctly	Visual smoke test: page loads, no console errors	"Code looks right", build passes

Red Flags — STOP

Using "should", "probably", "seems to". Expressing satisfaction before verification ("Great!", "Perfect!", "Done!"). About to commit/push/PR without verification. Trusting agent success reports. Relying on partial verification. Thinking "just this once". 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

Reference Files

• references/visual-verification.md: Full visual/frontend verification protocol
• references/gap-closure-protocol.md: Gap-fix → re-verify → escalate enforcement
• references/key-patterns-examples.md: Verification patterns with examples
• references/why-this-matters.md: Context from failure memories
• references/when-to-apply.md: When verification is required
• references/SKILL.test.md: Pressure test scenarios