Verification Before Completion
The Iron Law
NO COMPLETION CLAIMS WITHOUT FRESH VERIFICATION EVIDENCE
If you have not run the verification command in this turn, you cannot claim it passes. The superpowers-evaluator reads narration and runs commands independently — your unverified "done" can be waved through unless it self-evidences.
Violating the letter of this rule is violating the spirit of this rule.
The Gate Function
Run this before claiming any status, expressing satisfaction, or returning a PASS-shaped verdict to the coordinator:
- IDENTIFY — What command proves this claim? (the task file's
## Verification Commands) - RUN — Execute the FULL command, fresh, in this turn. Not a previous run, not "should pass".
- READ — Full output, check exit code, count failures. Last 20-30 lines pasted into your return.
- VERIFY — Does the output confirm the claim?
- NO → state the actual status with evidence (exit code, failure count)
- YES → state the claim WITH evidence (exit 0, N/N pass)
- ONLY THEN make the claim.
Skipping any step is 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 | Original-symptom test passes | Code changed, assumed fixed |
| Regression test works | Red-green cycle verified | Test passes once |
| Sub-agent completed | VCS diff shows changes + your re-run | Sub-agent reports "success" |
| Requirements met | Line-by-line checklist vs spec | Tests passing alone |
Red Flags — STOP
- Using "should", "probably", "seems to"
- Expressing satisfaction before verification ("Done!", "Great!", "Perfect!")
- About to commit, push, or return a PASS verdict without verification
- Trusting a sub-agent's success report without re-running verification yourself
- Relying on partial verification (only one of several test files)
- Thinking "just this once"
- ANY wording implying success without having run verification this turn
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 test runner |
| "The sub-agent said success" | Verify independently — sub-agents hallucinate done |
| "Partial check is enough" | Partial proves nothing |
| "Different words so the rule doesn't apply" | Spirit over letter |
| "The evaluator will catch it anyway" | The evaluator reads narration; an unverified "done" can slip past. Self-verify first. |
Relationship to the superpowers-evaluator
This skill is the implementer-side pre-gate. The superpowers-evaluator is the independent read-only post-gate that re-runs verification commands itself. They do not overlap:
- You (implementer) self-prove with this skill before returning a done verdict to the coordinator.
- The evaluator independently re-verifies after the batch passes the Verification Gate.
An unverified "done" from you can be waved through by the evaluator (it reads narration, not always files). Self-evidence closes that gap. Do not lean on the evaluator as a safety net — produce the evidence yourself first.
The Bottom Line
Run the command. Read the output. Paste the evidence. THEN claim the result.
This is non-negotiable.