verification-before-completion

name	verification-before-completion
description	Use before claiming work is complete — run verification commands and cite output before any success claim
when_to_use	Before any "done", commit, PR, or task completion claim

Verification Before Completion

Overview

Claiming work is complete without verification is dishonesty, not efficiency.

Core principle: Evidence before claims, always.

Project rule: 100% test pass rate is mandatory. "Looks good" is not evidence.

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 = lying, not verifying

Verification Commands (gba_translator)

# Full test suite — must show 0 failures, 0 errors
pytest tests/ -v

# Unit tests only
pytest tests/unit/ -v

# Integration tests (some require mGBA — skip if not available)
pytest tests/integration/ -v

# With coverage
pytest --cov=src tests/

# Check no stray files at repo root
ls *.py 2>/dev/null && echo "FAIL: py files at root" || echo "OK"
ls *.md 2>/dev/null | grep -v README.md && echo "FAIL: md files at root" || echo "OK"

Common Failure Patterns

Claim	Requires	Not Sufficient
Tests pass	pytest tests/ → 0 failures	"Should pass", previous run
Feature works	Test exercising the feature passes	Code reviewed and looks correct
Bug fixed	Test reproducing the bug now passes	Code changed, assumed fixed
100% pass rate	pytest tests/ → 100% of N tests	"All critical tests pass"
ROM output correct	Injection + decode round-trip passes	Manual visual inspection
No regression	Full pytest tests/ after change	Subset of tests passes

Red Flags — STOP

• Using "should", "probably", "seems to"
• Expressing satisfaction before running tests ("Great!", "Done!")
• About to commit without running pytest tests/
• "All tests pass" without showing the command output
• Running only tests/unit/ and claiming full pass

Project-Specific Rules

1. 100% pass rate: If even ONE test fails, work is not done. No exceptions.
2. No skips: A skipped test is not a passing test.
3. Integration tests: If your change touches the pipeline, run pytest tests/integration/ too.
4. Root clean: Before committing, verify no .py or .md files landed at repo root.

The Bottom Line

Run the command. Read the output. THEN claim the result.

✅ $ pytest tests/
   534 passed, 0 failed, 0 errors in 12.3s
   → "All tests pass."

❌ "Tests should pass now."
❌ "I've verified the fix works."