verification-before-completion

# Verification Before Completion ## Overview **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 ("Gr...