Verification Before Completion Skill

Verification Before Completion

Overview

Core principle: Evidence before claims, always.

The Gate

BEFORE claiming any status:

1. IDENTIFY: What command proves this claim?
2. RUN: Execute the command (fresh, complete)
3. READ: Full output, check exit code
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

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 | | Build succeeds | Build command: exit 0 | "Looks good" | | Bug fixed | Original symptom: gone | Code changed, assumed fixed | | Pipeline complete | Output files exist and are valid | Tool reported success | | Notebook runs | All cells executed without error | Some cells ran |

Red Flags — STOP

If you catch yourself:

Using "should", "probably", "seems to"
Expressing satisfaction before verification ("Great!", "Done!")
About to commit without running tests
Relying on partial verification
Trusting a tool's success report without checking output

Rationalizations

| Excuse | Reality | |--------|---------| | "Should work now" | RUN the verification | | "I'm confident" | Confidence != evidence | | "Just this once" | No exceptions | | "Tool said success" | Verify independently | | "Partial check is enough" | Partial proves nothing |

Key Patterns

Tests:

CORRECT: [Run test] → [See: 34/34 pass] → "All tests pass"
WRONG:   "Should pass now" / "Looks correct"

Pipeline output:

CORRECT: [Check output file exists] → [Verify size/format] → "Pipeline produced valid output"
WRONG:   "Galaxy shows green" (without checking actual data)

Notebook:

CORRECT: [Restart kernel] → [Run All] → [Check no errors] → "Notebook runs cleanly"
WRONG:   "I updated the cell" (without re-running)

The Bottom Line

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

Attribution

Adapted from obra/superpowers verification-before-completion skill.

Agent Skills: Verification Before Completion

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