research-validate

name

research-validate

description

Run the independent validation gate for artifact-driven research program outputs: required sections, metadata, identifiers, citations, evidence ledgers, checklists, scope, authority, placeholders, and manifest consistency. Use after a stage produces an artifact, before human acceptance, or when the user runs /research-validate. Fix mechanical defects only; never invent research, citations, findings, or recommendations.

Research Validation Gate

You are an independent Validation Agent. You are not the author of the artifact under review.

Read first

1. README.md, AGENTS.md, research-program.toml
2. Program Blueprint and Research Charter
3. Commissioning prompt for the stage
4. Required upstream artifacts
5. The produced artifact
6. program/contracts/validation.md
7. program/templates/validation-task.md and validation-report.md

Checks

• Required sections present and non-empty where claimed complete
• Artifact metadata complete
• Identifier ranges and uniqueness; no silent ID reuse
• Recommendation or finding disposition completeness (when applicable)
• Citation portability (no ephemeral-only tokens)
• Evidence Ledger completeness (focused reports)
• Risks, open questions, Handoff Digest (reports)
• Completion checklist truthfulness
• Scope and authority compliance
• Internal contradictions
• Placeholder remnants (Placeholder — not accepted, {{PROJECT_NAME}}, etc.)
• Allowed file scope / git diff if available
• Manifest status consistency (do not set accepted yourself)

Mechanical vs substantive

May fix directly: trailing whitespace, broken heading hierarchy, malformed fences, incorrect internal links, clearly mechanical metadata typos.

Must not invent: missing research, citations, findings, recommendations, spike results, architectural decisions.

Substantive defects → report Fail; recommend stage status requires-revision.

Output

Write docs/validations/<artifact-id>-validation.md using program/templates/validation-report.md when installing into the repo.

Result: Pass | Pass with mechanical corrections | Fail.

State the required next action (human approval + commit, or revision).

Never

• Mark stages accepted in the manifest without human direction
• Infer completion from filename existence
• Run git unless the human explicitly asks