Verification Before Completion

Overview

Claiming work is complete without verification is dishonest, not efficient.

Core principle: evidence first, always.

Violating the literal wording of this rule is equivalent to violating its spirit.

Iron rule

No completion claims without fresh verification evidence.

If you did not run verification commands in this message, you cannot claim it passed.

Gatekeeping mechanism

Before making any status claim or expressing satisfaction:

1. Identify: which command proves the claim?
2. Execute: run the full command (fresh, complete)
3. Read: review full output, check exit code, count failures
4. Verify: does the output confirm the claim?
   - If no: state the actual status and provide evidence
   - If yes: confirm the claim and attach evidence
5. Only then: make the claim

Skipping any step = lying, not verifying

Common mistakes

Claim	Needs	Not enough
Tests pass	Test output: 0 failures	Last run result, or "should pass"
Lint is clean	Lint output: 0 errors	Partial checks, or inference
Build succeeds	Build exit code: 0	Lint passes, or logs look fine
Issue fixed	Original symptom test: passes	Code changed, but assumed fixed
Regression test valid	Red-green cycle verified	Test only passes once
Agent task done	VCS diff shows changes	Agent reports "success"
Requirements met	Checklist verified item by item	Tests pass

Red alert - stop!

Using "should", "maybe", "looks like"
Expressing satisfaction before verification ("Great!", "Perfect!", "Done!", etc.)
Preparing to commit/push/create PR without verification
Trusting an agent's success report
Relying on partial verification
Thinking "just this once"
Tired and wanting to quit
Any wording that implies success without running verification

Prevent rationalization

Excuse	Reality
"It should work now"	Must run verification
"I am confident"	Confidence != evidence
"Just this once"	No exceptions
"Lint passed"	Lint != compiler
"Agent said it worked"	Must verify independently
"I am tired"	Tired != exemption
"Partial checks are enough"	Partial checks prove nothing
"Different wording, so rule does not apply"	Follow spirit, not letter

Key patterns

Tests:

OK [run test command] [see: 34/34 passed] "All tests pass"
NO "It should pass now" / "Looks correct"

Regression testing (TDD red-green cycle):

OK Write -> run (pass) -> undo fix -> run (must fail) -> restore -> run (pass)
NO "I wrote a regression test" (without red-green verification)

Build:

OK [run build] [see: exit code 0] "Build passed"
NO "Lint passed" (lint does not compile)

Requirement satisfaction:

OK Re-read plan -> make checklist -> verify each -> report gaps or completion
NO "Tests pass, phase done"

Agent delegation:

OK Agent reports success -> check VCS diff -> verify changes -> report actual status
NO Trust agent report

Why this matters

Based on 24 failure experiences:

Teammate said: "I do not believe you" - trust is broken
Shipped undefined functions -> crashes
Shipped missing requirements -> incomplete feature
Wasted time on false completion -> context switch -> rework
Violated: "Honesty is a core value. If you lie, you will be replaced."

When it applies

Always before:

Any success/completion claim variants
Any expression of satisfaction
Any positive statement about work status
Committing code, creating PR, task completion
Switching to the next task
Delegating to an agent

This rule applies to:

Exact phrases
Synonyms or paraphrases
Implied success meaning
Any communication that hints completion or correctness

Summary

There are no shortcuts in verification.

Run the command, read the output, then make the claim.

This is non-negotiable.

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