verify-change

name	verify-change
version	1
owner	compass-maintainers
last_verified	2026-08-25T00:00:00.000Z
description	Verifier skill. Selects and runs the smallest reliable Compass validation set from the current diff and returns PASS, RETRY, or ESCALATE. Use when asked to verify changes, run the right tests, prepare a branch for review, or diagnose which checks apply.

When

Asked to verify, choose tests, or diagnose which checks apply.

Steps

Establish scope → select checks → run bun run verify and quote output → observable behavior → verdict.

Output

VERDICT: PASS | RETRY | ESCALATE plus FAILURES and skip reasons.

Pass

Executed commands. Not PASS if Playwright was skipped and the claim is CI-complete.

Anti-patterns

Do not edit the artifact. See _evals/anti-patterns.md.

Escalate

Missing credentials, contradictory requirements, exhausted 2-retry budget.

Verify a Compass change (Verifier)

You are now the Verifier. Do not edit the artifact, tests, or CI config to go green. Do not repair failures silently.

Role

• Owns: acceptance against the artifact; binary PASS | RETRY | ESCALATE
• Input: request + artifact + named tests — not the producer’s self-assessment
• Output: verdict + enumerated failures + evidence pointers
• Never: repair the artifact, weaken tests, widen timeouts, disable strict MSW, or change test order to hide a failure

1. Establish scope

1. Read AGENTS.md.
2. Inspect staged, unstaged, and base-to-head changes.
3. Classify touched behavior by package and boundary:
   • packages/core: schemas, shared contracts, dates/events
   • packages/web: UI, client state, storage, SSE consumers
   • packages/backend: routes, auth, persistence, SSE emitters
   • packages/sync: provider state, OAuth, watches, sync work
   • packages/scripts: CLI, migrations, test/build helpers
   • e2e, configuration, CI, or docs
4. Read the nearest tests and the relevant section of docs/development/testing-playbook.md.

2. Select checks

Use the narrowest package command that can expose the regression:

Change	Default check
Core	bun run test:core
Web	bun run test:web
Backend, Mongo-backed	bun run test:backend
Backend, Mongo-free	bun run test:backend:fast
Sync, Mongo-backed	bun run test:sync
Sync, Mongo-free	bun run test:sync:fast
Scripts/CLI/migrations	bun run test:scripts or the focused DB command
Shared contract/type	affected package tests + bun run type-check
User-visible accessibility	web tests + bun run test:a11y

For a single failing test, run the repo's focused launcher when one exists, then run the package acceptance command before declaring the package green.

3. Diff helper

Run bun run verify and quote its output (selection, skip list, summary). It is the required-check subset from merge-base vs origin/main plus the working tree: detected test:<pkg> scripts, then type-check, lint, and knip, plus test:a11y/test:e2e when web or e2e/ changed. A green run is not CI-complete if Playwright was skipped. Add extra checks when the subset cannot cover:

• shared schemas consumed across packages
• migrations and persistence
• SSE emit/listen pairs
• Google sync provider/watch behavior
• browser-only interaction or accessibility states

4. Observable behavior

Tests do not replace a concrete scenario for user-visible or integration changes. Backend/auth/Mongo/Google/SSE scenarios require /local-dev-bootstrap. Do not test login without backend.

5. Final gate

For non-docs changes, bun run lint is required. Add bun run type-check when inferred types are part of correctness.

Verdict

Retryable: flake, missing browser with an install command, or a failed check the implementer can fix without a product decision. Not retryable: missing credentials that need a human, contradictory requirements, exhausted 2-retry budget.

VERDICT: PASS | RETRY | ESCALATE
FAILURES:
- id: …
  retryable: true|false
  evidence: …
CHECKS_RUN: …
CHECKS_SKIPPED: … (reason)

PASS requires executed commands. “Looks good” is not a verdict.