Hallucination guard

Hallucination Guard — Anti-Hallucination Wrapper for the Orchestra System

"Don't make things up. Assume your work is wrong until you've cross-checked it. Verify before you're confident, and test."

This skill operationalizes that into a mandatory wrapper invoked at every orchestra entry, every handoff, and before every completion claim.

When to use

Invoke automatically:

• Before activating any orchestra (entry gate)
• Before any agent/skill claims DONE
• Before any handoff between orchestras (passing work along)
• Before any user-facing claim of success, completion, or correctness
• When drafting a response that uses phrases like "done", "works", "should pass", "great", "perfect", "looks good"

Do not skip even when the task seems trivial. "Just this once" is rationalization — see Red Flag table below.

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The 5 layers of protection

Layer	Source	What it does
1. Karpathy 4 principles	Andrej Karpathy	Surface assumptions, simplicity first, surgical changes, goal-driven
2. The Iron Law	Superpowers verification-before-completion	No completion claims without fresh verification evidence
3. Red Flag table	Superpowers + Karpathy combined	14 rationalization patterns that mean STOP
4. ASK_HUMAN as 5th status	NEW (orchestra v2)	First-class "I'm uncertain" output, not buried in DONE_WITH_CONCERNS
5. Evidence requirements	NEXUS Reality Checker	Each completion type requires specific proof artifact

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Layer 1 — Karpathy's 4 principles

Principle 1: Think Before Coding

Don't assume. Don't hide confusion. Surface tradeoffs.

• State assumptions explicitly. If uncertain, ASK.
• If multiple interpretations exist, present them — don't pick silently.
• If a simpler approach exists, say so. Push back when warranted.
• If something is unclear, stop. Name what's confusing. Ask.

Principle 2: Simplicity First

Minimum code that solves the problem. Nothing speculative.

• No features beyond what was asked.
• No abstractions for single-use code.
• No "flexibility" or "configurability" that wasn't requested.
• No error handling for impossible scenarios.
• If you write 200 lines and it could be 50, rewrite it.

The test: Would a senior engineer say this is overcomplicated? If yes, simplify.

Principle 3: Surgical Changes

Touch only what you must. Clean up only your own mess.

• Don't "improve" adjacent code, comments, or formatting.
• Don't refactor things that aren't broken.
• Match existing style, even if you'd do it differently.
• If you notice unrelated dead code, mention it — don't delete it.
• Remove imports/variables/functions that YOUR changes made unused.

The test: Every changed line should trace directly to the user's request.

Principle 4: Goal-Driven Execution

Define success criteria. Loop until verified.

Instead of...	Transform to...
"Add validation"	"Write tests for invalid inputs, then make them pass"
"Fix the bug"	"Write a test that reproduces it, then make it pass"
"Refactor X"	"Ensure tests pass before and after"

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Layer 2 — The Iron Law (verbatim from Superpowers)

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 required evidence

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 of original symptom: passes	Code changed, assumed fixed
Feature works	End-to-end test or screenshot	Function exists, "should work"
Agent completed	VCS diff shows changes	Agent reports "success"
Requirements met	Line-by-line checklist	Tests passing

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Layer 3 — The Red Flag table

If your draft response contains any of these, STOP and re-verify.

Phrase / thought	Why it's a red flag
"should work" / "should pass"	Did you run it?
"probably" / "seems to" / "looks correct"	Confidence without evidence
"Great!" / "Perfect!" / "Done!" before showing output	Premature claim
"trust me" / "I'm confident"	Evidence beats confidence
"I remember this" / "I know this works"	Re-verify, don't recall
"just this once"	No exceptions
"linter passed" → "build passes"	Linter ≠ compiler
"agent reported success"	Verify independently (diff, output)
"This is just a simple question"	Questions are tasks — verify
"Let me explore first"	Use this skill BEFORE exploration
"I need more context first"	Skill check comes BEFORE clarifying
"I'll just do this one thing first"	Check BEFORE doing anything
"This feels productive"	Undisciplined action wastes time
"The skill is overkill"	Simple things become complex

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Layer 4 — ASK_HUMAN as a first-class status

Standard agent statuses are five (not four):

Status	When to use
DONE	Work complete, verification command run, evidence captured
DONE_WITH_CONCERNS	Complete but flagged doubts — list them explicitly
NEEDS_CONTEXT	Missing info; please provide and I'll proceed
BLOCKED	Cannot proceed — structural problem, beyond my reach
ASK_HUMAN	Uncertain about intent or choice — cannot pick without disambiguation

When to trigger ASK_HUMAN

• Skill-selector confidence < 70% (two or more skills could fit equally)
• Two valid interpretations of the user's prompt exist
• A hidden assumption surfaced (e.g., "you said X, but did you mean A or B?")
• Scope expanded beyond the stated request
• About to make an irreversible action (delete, push, deploy)
• The user's word is a synonym for multiple possible technical things

ASK_HUMAN format

🤚 ASK_HUMAN: <one-sentence question>

Options I see:
  1. <option A> — best for <use case>
  2. <option B> — best for <use case>

(If you're unsure, say "your call" and I'll pick the top option + explain why.)

Don't ask trivial questions. ASK_HUMAN is for genuine ambiguity, not laziness.

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Layer 5 — Evidence requirements per claim type

When an orchestra claims DONE, it must produce evidence matching the work type. AUDIT orchestra checks this before letting the chain advance.

Orchestra type	Required evidence
Code change (BUILD)	Test run + output captured + linter clean + no console errors
Security (SECURITY)	Scan output + zero critical/high vulnerabilities
Finance/Investment	Source citations for every number; no fabricated stats
Decision/Advisory (EXEC)	Options enumerated + tradeoffs surfaced + recommendation justified
Hook / Workflow file	Dry-run output + scope statement + rollback path
Documentation	Renders correctly + links work + no fabricated APIs/commands
Research / Analysis	Source URLs cited inline + claim-to-source mapping

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Mandatory invocation points (where this skill MUST fire)

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ORCHESTRA LIFECYCLE — guard fires at each ●                 │
│                                                              │
│  user prompt → ● ENTRY GUARD                                 │
│              ↓                                               │
│         orchestra activated                                  │
│              ↓                                               │
│         conductor sequences players                          │
│              ↓                                               │
│         player completes work → ● PRE-CLAIM GUARD            │
│              ↓                                               │
│         handoff to next orchestra? → ● HANDOFF GUARD         │
│              ↓                                               │
│         response drafted → ● USER-FACING GUARD               │
│              ↓                                               │
│         response shown to user                               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Entry guard (before activating any orchestra)

Check:

• Is the user's goal clearly defined? If vague → ASK_HUMAN
• Are there hidden assumptions in the prompt? If yes → state them
• Is the right orchestra selected? If unsure → ASK_HUMAN or fall through to next-best

Pre-claim guard (before any agent says DONE)

Check the Iron Law: run the verification command, capture output, only then claim.

Handoff guard (before passing work to next orchestra)

Check:

• Evidence captured? (per layer 5)
• Handoff payload populated with concrete values, not assertions?
• No claims in the handoff that haven't been verified?

User-facing guard (before any success claim shown to user)

Check the Red Flag table. If any phrase matches your draft → STOP, re-verify, rewrite.

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Examples

❌ BAD: Skipping the guard

User: "Did the migration work?"
Assistant: "Yes, all looks good!"  ← Iron Law violated. No command run.

✅ GOOD: Following the guard

User: "Did the migration work?"
Assistant: [Identifies command] Let me check.
[Runs: psql -c "SELECT version FROM schema_migrations ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT 1;"]
[Output: "20260525_add_user_roles"]
"Migration ran. Current schema version is 20260525_add_user_roles. ✓"

❌ BAD: Hidden assumption

User: "Add a delete button to the user page"
Assistant: [silently picks soft-delete]
        [implements it]
        "Done! Delete button added."  ← User wanted hard-delete. Wrong assumption.

✅ GOOD: Surfacing assumption

User: "Add a delete button to the user page"
Assistant: 🤚 ASK_HUMAN: Two ways to interpret "delete":
   1. Soft delete (set deleted_at, hide from queries) — recoverable
   2. Hard delete (DROP from database) — irreversible
   Which? (If unsure: I'd default to soft-delete for users, with a separate
   admin flow for hard-delete.)

❌ BAD: "Should work"

User: "Fix the login bug"
Assistant: [changes code] "Should work now — try logging in."  ← Iron Law violated.

✅ GOOD: Verified

User: "Fix the login bug"
Assistant: [changes code]
        [runs: npm test -- login.test.ts]
        [output: "Tests: 12 passed, 12 total"]
        "Login bug fixed — all 12 login tests pass. Verified with: npm test -- login.test.ts"

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When NOT to invoke this skill

Skip when:

• The current message is purely conversational ("good morning", "thanks") with no action implied
• You're literally still asking clarifying questions (you haven't claimed anything yet)
• The user explicitly said "just guess" or "don't verify, ship it"

These are the only exceptions. Default = invoke.

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Integration with the orchestra system

This skill is loaded as a mandatory wrapper by orchestra-router v2. Every orchestra activation auto-invokes hallucination-guard.entry(). Every completion auto-invokes hallucination-guard.exit(). AUDIT orchestra uses the same patterns to evaluate evidence.

Until orchestra-router v2 ships, invoke manually via:

Skill(hallucination-guard) before any orchestra activation or success claim.

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Credits

• Karpathy 4 principles — derived from Andrej Karpathy's observations on LLM coding pitfalls (https://x.com/karpathy/status/2015883857489522876)
• The Iron Law + Red Flag table — derived from Superpowers verification-before-completion and using-superpowers skills (claude-plugins-official, MIT)
• Evidence requirements — derived from NEXUS Reality Checker pattern
• ASK_HUMAN status — orchestra v2 original

MIT licensed. Use freely. Improve and PR back to claude-orchestra.