| name | verification-before-completion |
| description | Enforce evidence-before-assertions discipline. Use when about to claim work is complete, before committing, or before creating PRs. |
Verification Before Completion
Core principle: Evidence before claims, always. If you haven't run the verification command, you cannot claim it passes.
The iron law
NO COMPLETION CLAIMS WITHOUT FRESH VERIFICATION EVIDENCE
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 = not verifying
What each claim requires
| 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 |
| Requirements met | Line-by-line checklist | Tests passing |
Red flags — STOP
- Using "should", "probably", "seems to"
- Expressing satisfaction before verification
- About to commit/push/PR without verification
- Relying on partial verification
- Thinking "just this once"
Self-verification checklist (before completion)
- Re-read every modified file from top to bottom — scan for leftover debug prints, TODOs, incomplete logic.
- Verify the change doesn't break callers — grep for usages of modified functions/types.
- If the project has tests, run them; if not, state that tests were not available.
- Check for unused imports, variables, or parameters.
When to apply
Always before:
- Claiming any task is complete
- Expressing satisfaction about work state
- Committing, creating PRs, moving to next task
- Any communication suggesting completion/correctness
