verifying-before-completion

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.

Protocol Threshold (Required)

Follow the [CP Protocol Threshold] injected by hooks:

• Before the first Task call: output a standalone [CP1 Assessment] block (the block itself must not include tool calls; tool calls may follow in the same reply)
• Before claiming verification passed / completion / ready to commit or open a PR: output a standalone [CP3 Assessment] block (the block itself must not include tool calls; the claim may follow in the same reply)

If unmet -> immediately perform the CP assessment, then continue the flow right away; do not stop or interrupt.

The Gate Function

Hard reminder: before claiming “verification passed/completed/fixed” or any similar conclusion, you must output a standalone 【CP3 Assessment】 block (fixed format with fields).

► Checkpoint 3 (Quality Gate): Before claiming completion, apply checkpoint logic from coordinating-multi-model-work/checkpoints.md:

• Critical changes complete → invoke domain expert for independent verification
• Full-stack changes → invoke cross-validation for comprehensive check

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 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

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

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 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

The Bottom Line

No shortcuts for verification.

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

This is non-negotiable.

Multi-Model Cross-Verification

Related skill: superpowers:coordinating-multi-model-work

At checkpoint, apply semantic routing using coordinating-multi-model-work/routing-decision.md:

• Backend-only critical → CODEX verification (Codex MCP mcp__codex__codex)
• Frontend-only critical → GEMINI verification (Gemini MCP mcp__gemini__gemini)
• Full-stack/architectural → CROSS_VALIDATION (call both MCP tools)

Full checkpoint logic: See coordinating-multi-model-work/checkpoints.md

See coordinating-multi-model-work/INTEGRATION.md for invocation templates.

CRITICAL: Cross-model verification is additional to, not a replacement for running actual commands. Never claim success based solely on model confirmation.

Fallback (Fail-Closed): If external models are unavailable or time out, STOP and follow coordinating-multi-model-work/GATE.md (do not claim verification).