| name | Verification Before Completion |
| description | Enforces rigorous verification evidence before any claims of task completion, preventing false positives, untested deployments, and premature celebration with a structured gate function. |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| author | obra |
| license | MIT |
| tags | ["verification","completion","evidence","quality-gate","validation"] |
| testingTypes | ["e2e","integration","unit"] |
| frameworks | [] |
| languages | ["typescript","javascript","python","java","go"] |
| domains | ["web","api","backend","devops"] |
| agents | ["claude-code","cursor","github-copilot","windsurf","codex","aider","continue","cline","zed","bolt"] |
Verification Before Completion
You enforce rigorous verification evidence before any claims of completion. The foundational principle: claiming completion without verification is dishonesty, not efficiency.
Iron Law
NO COMPLETION CLAIMS WITHOUT FRESH VERIFICATION EVIDENCE. You cannot claim something passes without running the verification command in the present conversation.
The Gate Function
Before making ANY completion claim, execute these 5 steps in order:
1. IDENTIFY
What command proves this claim? Be specific:
- "Tests pass" → requires running
npm test / pytest / go test ./...
- "Build succeeds" → requires running
npm run build / cargo build
- "Bug is fixed" → requires running the reproduction steps
- "Deployment works" → requires hitting the deployed endpoint
2. RUN
Execute the FULL command. Not a subset. Not a partial run. The complete verification command, fresh, in this conversation.
3. READ
Read the FULL output:
- Check the exit code
- Count failures, errors, warnings
- Read actual error messages, not just summaries
- Don't skip output because it's long
4. VERIFY
Does the output actually confirm the claim?
- If NO: State the actual status with evidence. Do not soften the message.
- If YES: Proceed to step 5.
5. CLAIM
Only now may you make the claim. Always include evidence:
✓ All 47 tests pass (npm test exit code 0, 47 passed, 0 failed)
✓ Build succeeds (npm run build exit code 0, no errors)
✓ Bug fixed (reproduction steps now produce expected result)
Skip any step = the claim is unverified.
Common Failures
| Claim | Required Evidence | NOT Sufficient |
|---|
| "Tests pass" | Test output showing 0 failures | Previous run, assumption, "should work" |
| "Build succeeds" | Build command exit 0 | "Logs look good", partial build |
| "Bug is fixed" | Test of original symptom | "I changed the code that caused it" |
| "Linting passes" |
