richfrem/verification-before-completion

Source: Ported from obra/superpowers by Jesse Vincent. Adapted for the agent-plugins-skills ecosystem. Original concepts and Iron Laws credit belongs to Jesse.

Verification Before Completion

Overview

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

Core principle: Evidence before claims, always.

Violating the letter of this rule is violating the spirit of this rule.

The Iron Law

NO COMPLETION CLAIMS WITHOUT FRESH VERIFICATION EVIDENCE

If you haven't run the verification command in this message, you cannot claim it passes.

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

Common Failures

| 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 | | Agent completed | VCS diff shows changes | Agent reports "success" | | Requirements met | Line-by-line checklist | Tests passing |

Red Flags - STOP

• Using "should", "probably", "seems to"
• Expressing satisfaction before verification ("Great!", "Perfect!", "Done!", etc.)
• About to commit/push/PR without verification
• Trusting agent success reports
• Relying on partial verification
• Thinking "just this once"
• Tired and wanting work over
• ANY wording implying success without having run verification

Rationalization Prevention

| Excuse | Reality | |--------|---------| | "Should work now" | RUN the verification | | "I'm confident" | Confidence is not evidence | | "Just this once" | No exceptions | | "Linter passed" | Linter is not the compiler | | "Agent said success" | Verify independently | | "I'm tired" | Exhaustion is not an excuse | | "Partial check is enough" | Partial proves nothing | | "Different words so rule doesn't apply" | Spirit over letter |

Key Patterns

Tests:

OK  [Run test command] [See: 34/34 pass] "All tests pass"
NO  "Should pass now" / "Looks correct"

Regression tests (TDD Red-Green):

OK  Write -> Run (pass) -> Revert fix -> Run (MUST FAIL) -> Restore -> Run (pass)
NO  "I've written a regression test" (without red-green verification)

Build:

OK  [Run build] [See: exit 0] "Build passes"
NO  "Linter passed" (linter does not check compilation)

Requirements:

OK  Re-read plan -> Create checklist -> Verify each -> Report gaps or completion
NO  "Tests pass, phase complete"

Agent delegation:

OK  Agent reports success -> Check VCS diff -> Verify changes -> Report actual state
NO  Trust agent report

Why This Matters

From observed failure patterns:

• Trust broken when claims precede evidence
• Undefined functions shipped - would crash at runtime
• Missing requirements shipped - incomplete features delivered
• Time wasted on false completion then redirect then rework
• Friction events of type false_completion_claim accumulate in the improvement ledger

When To Apply

ALWAYS before:

• ANY variation of success/completion claims
• ANY expression of satisfaction
• ANY positive statement about work state
• Committing, PR creation, task completion
• Moving to next task
• Delegating to agents

Rule applies to:

• Exact phrases
• Paraphrases and synonyms
• Implications of success
• ANY communication suggesting completion/correctness

The Bottom Line

No shortcuts for verification.

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

This is non-negotiable.