| name | verification-before-completion |
| description | Use immediately before claiming work is complete, fixed, passing, or ready to merge. Requires fresh verification evidence for every success claim. |
Verification Before Completion
Core rule
NO COMPLETION CLAIMS WITHOUT FRESH VERIFICATION EVIDENCE
Confidence, old results, a clean-looking diff, or another agent's report are not evidence.
Verification gate
Before saying that anything works:
- Identify the command or observation that proves the exact claim.
- Run the complete verification now, not from memory or an earlier turn.
- Read the full output, exit code, failure count, and warnings.
- Compare the evidence with the claim and the acceptance criteria.
- If it does not prove the claim, report the actual state and remaining gap.
- Only then state the successful result and cite the evidence.
Evidence by claim
| Claim | Required evidence |
|---|
| Tests pass | Fresh test output with zero failures |
| Build succeeds | Fresh build command with exit code 0 |
| Bug is fixed | Original reproduction or regression test now passes |
| UI behavior works | Runtime observation of the requested interaction |
| Ready to merge | Relevant tests, build, diff review, and repository checks |
| Requirement is complete | Each acceptance criterion mapped to evidence |
A narrow test proves only its narrow behavior. Typecheck is not a build; a build is not an interaction test; a screenshot is not proof of persistence or backend behavior.
Regression tests
For a new regression test, witness the red-green cycle. When practical, revert the fix temporarily, confirm the test fails, restore the fix, and confirm it passes.
Reporting
- State exactly which commands ran and their results.
- Separate verified facts from unverified assumptions.
- Mention skipped checks and why they were skipped.
- Do not use “should”, “probably”, or “looks fixed” as substitutes for evidence.
