verification-before-completion

name	verification-before-completion
description	Pre-completion verification checklist that mandates running tests, linting, and build commands before claiming work is done, fixed, or passing. Use before any commit, PR creation, or completion claim — evidence must precede assertions; triggers: done, complete, finished, working, before committing, before PR.
allowed-tools	Read, Bash
metadata	{"triggers":"verification, done, complete, finished, working, before committing, before PR, verify before claiming","related-skills":"test-driven-development, systematic-debugging, pr-review","domain":"workflow","role":"specialist","scope":"review","output-format":"report"}
last-reviewed	2026-03-15

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.

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

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
PR task complete	GitHub Actions CI green + deployment workflow succeeded	PR merged

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

Post-merge deployment (GitHub Actions via github MCP):

✅ PR merged → Check Actions run → CI green + deploy workflow succeeded → Task complete
❌ "PR merged" (deployment may have failed silently)

Post-Merge Verification

When a task involves a PR that has been merged, "done" means the deployment succeeded — not just that the code was merged. Use the github MCP (already configured) to check:

1. gh run list --branch main --limit 5          # list recent workflow runs
2. gh run view <run-id>                         # inspect CI + deploy workflow
3. All jobs: ✅ green → task is complete
   Any job: ❌ failed → task is NOT complete — investigate and fix

This costs nothing — the github MCP is already in .mcp.json. The agent can check deployment status directly without leaving the session.

Trigger: Apply this check whenever:

• A PR was merged as part of the task
• The task description included deployment or release
• The human says "it's merged" or "it's deployed"

Do NOT skip this step by assuming merge = success. CI can pass locally and fail in the pipeline (environment variables, container build, migration runner).

Test Command by Stack

When about to claim tests pass, first confirm you're running the right command. Pick by what files are in the changed set:

Project marker / changed files	Test command
pom.xml or *.java	mvn test -q
nest-cli.json or *.ts with NestJS imports	npm test
pyproject.toml or *.py (FastAPI / plain Python)	pytest -q
pubspec.yaml or *.dart	flutter test
angular.json or *.ts with Angular imports	ng test --watch=false
pyproject.toml + LangGraph/LangChain imports	pytest -q

If multiple markers match (e.g., a monorepo with Java + TypeScript), run the test command for each changed service separately.

Never run the wrong stack's test command — npm test in a Python project exits 0 with no output, giving false confidence.

Why This Matters

Verification failures lead to:

• Broken trust ("I don't believe you")
• Undefined functions shipped — would crash
• Missing requirements shipped — incomplete features
• Time wasted on false completion → redirect → rework

This rule exists because honesty is a core value. Unverified claims are not efficiency — they are debt.

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.