/verify - Verification Before Completion

Evidence before claims. Always.

Target: $ARGUMENTS

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.

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

When to Use

Before committing code
Before creating a pull request
Before marking a task as complete
Before moving to the next task in a plan
After fixing a bug (prove it's actually fixed)
NOT for: research or exploration tasks

The Gate Function

BEFORE claiming any status:

1. IDENTIFY - What command proves this claim?
2. RUN - Execute the FULL command (fresh, complete, not cached)
3. READ - Full output, check exit code, count failures
4. VERIFY - Does output ACTUALLY confirm the claim?
   → If NO: State actual status with evidence
   → If YES: State claim WITH the evidence
5. ONLY THEN - Make the claim

Skip any step = lying, not verifying.

Verification Matrix

Claim	Required Command	NOT Sufficient
"Tests pass"	`npm test` output: 0 failures	Previous run, "should pass"
"Lint clean"	`npm run lint` output: 0 errors	"I fixed the warning"
"Build succeeds"	`npm run build` exit code 0	"Lint passed so build should too"
"Bug fixed"	Test that reproduces bug: PASS	"Code changed, should work"
"Types correct"	`npx tsc --noEmit` exit code 0	"I added the types"
"No regressions"	Full test suite: 0 failures	"Only changed one file"
"Requirements met"	Line-by-line checklist verified	"Tests pass"

Operations

/verify test

npm test 2>&1
# Read FULL output
# Count: X passed, Y failed, Z skipped
# Exit code: 0 or non-zero

/verify build

npm run build 2>&1
# Check: exit code 0?
# Check: no error output?

/verify lint

npm run lint 2>&1
# Count: 0 errors, 0 warnings

/verify types

npx tsc --noEmit 2>&1
# Count: 0 errors

/verify all

Run ALL of the above in sequence. Stop at first failure.

/verify (no args)

Auto-detect what to verify based on package.json scripts.

Output

──── /verify ────
Command: npm test
Exit code: 0
Result: 42/42 tests passed, 0 failed

VERIFIED ✓ - All tests pass (evidence above)

Or:

──── /verify ────
Command: npm test
Exit code: 1
Result: 40/42 tests passed, 2 failed

FAILED ✗ - 2 tests failing:
  - src/auth.test.ts: "should validate token" - Expected true, got false
  - src/user.test.ts: "should create user" - Timeout after 5000ms

DO NOT claim completion. Fix failures first.

Red Flags - STOP

If you catch yourself thinking:

"Should work now"
"I'm confident this is correct"
"Just this once I can skip verification"
"Lint passed, so build will too"
"I only changed one line"
"The agent said it succeeded"
"I'll verify after committing"
"It's obvious this works"

ALL of these mean: RUN THE COMMAND. READ THE OUTPUT.

Rationalization Prevention

Excuse	Reality
"Should work now"	RUN the verification
"I'm confident"	Confidence is not evidence
"Just this once"	No exceptions, ever
"Lint passed"	Lint is not build is not test
"Agent said success"	Verify independently
"I only changed a comment"	Comments can break builds (JSX, directives)
"Previous run passed"	State changed since then. Run again.
"Partial check is enough"	Partial proves nothing
"Too slow to run full suite"	Slow verification beats fast regression

Integration

This skill is a cross-cutting concern. It applies to:

@builder - Before claiming module is complete
@executor - Before marking task checkpoint
@tdd - Before claiming GREEN phase
@reviewer - Before giving verdict
@debugger - Before claiming bug is fixed
@migrator - Before claiming migration is complete

Rules

Evidence before claims - Non-negotiable
Fresh runs only - Never cite previous runs
Full output - Don't truncate or summarize
Exit codes matter - 0 = success, anything else = failure
Read warnings - Warnings can indicate real problems
One claim per verification - Don't bundle claims

verify