Verification before completion

Verification Before Completion

NO COMPLETION CLAIMS WITHOUT FRESH VERIFICATION EVIDENCE

Core Protocol

Evidence before claims, always. If you haven't run the verification command in this message, you cannot claim it passes.

BEFORE any completion claim:
1. IDENTIFY: What verification 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?
   - NO → State actual status with evidence
   - YES → State claim WITH evidence
5. ONLY THEN: Make the claim

Command Selection

When multiple verification options exist (mono-repo, multiple suites):

• Run the most specific command that covers the changed code
• When uncertain, run the broadest command (full test suite > single file)
• Lint ≠ build ≠ test — each verifies different claims

Evidence Format

✅ Ran: npm test
   Exit: 0
   Result: 47 passed, 0 failed
   "All tests pass."

❌ "Tests should pass now" (no command output)

Verification Requirements by Claim Type

Claim	Required Evidence	Insufficient
Tests pass	Test output: 0 failures	Previous run, "should pass"
Linter clean	Linter output: 0 errors	Partial check, extrapolation
Build succeeds	Build exit code: 0	Linter passing
Bug fixed	Original symptom test passes	Code changed
Regression test	Red-green cycle verified	Single green
Agent completed	VCS diff shows changes	Agent "success" report
Requirements met	Line-by-line checklist	Tests passing

Red Flags — STOP

• Words: "should", "probably", "seems to"
• Satisfaction before verification: "Great!", "Perfect!", "Done!"
• About to commit/push/PR without verification
• Trusting agent success reports
• Partial verification
• ANY wording implying success without verification output

Rationalization Prevention

Excuse	Response
"Should work now"	Run the verification
"I'm confident"	Confidence ≠ evidence
"Just this once"	No exceptions
"Linter passed"	Linter ≠ build
"Agent said success"	Verify independently
"Partial check enough"	Partial proves nothing

Key Patterns

Tests:

✅ [Run test] → [See: 34/34 pass] → "All tests pass"
❌ "Should pass now"

Regression (TDD):

✅ Write → Run (pass) → Revert fix → Run (MUST FAIL) → Restore → Run (pass)
❌ "Wrote regression test" (no red-green)

Requirements:

✅ Re-read plan → Checklist each item → Report gaps or completion
❌ "Tests pass, phase complete"

Agent delegation:

✅ Agent reports → Check VCS diff → Verify changes → Report actual state
❌ Trust agent report