Completion Validation

Overview

Claiming work is complete without verification is dishonesty, not efficiency.

Core principle: Evidence before claims, always.

Violating the letter of this rule is violating the spirit of this rule. Paraphrases, hedges, and implications of success are all bound by it.

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. Previous runs do not count — code may have changed since.

The Gate Function

Before claiming any status, expressing satisfaction, committing, or moving on:

1. IDENTIFY — What command proves this claim?
2. RUN — Execute the FULL command (fresh, complete — no --bail, no partial scope)
3. READ — Full output. Check exit code. Count failures.
4. VERIFY — Does the output confirm the claim?
   • If NO: state actual status with evidence
   • If YES: state claim WITH evidence (paste the proof)
5. ONLY THEN — Make the claim

Skipping any step = lying, not verifying.

🗣 Say: "Running verification… [paste output] — N/N pass, exit 0. Confirmed."

Common Failures

Red Flags — STOP

• Using "should", "probably", "seems to", "I think it works"
• Expressing satisfaction before verification ("Great!", "Perfect!", "Done!", "✅")
• About to commit / push / open PR without verification
• Trusting agent success reports without checking diff
• Relying on partial verification (one test file ≠ suite)
• Thinking "just this once"
• Tired and wanting the work over with
• ANY wording implying success without having run verification this turn

Rationalization Prevention

Key Patterns

Tests:

✅ [Run test command] → [See: 34/34 pass, exit 0] → "All tests pass"
❌ "Should pass now" / "Looks correct" / "Tests passed earlier"

Regression tests (TDD Red-Green):

✅ Write test → Run (pass) → Revert fix → Run (MUST FAIL) → Restore fix → Run (pass)
❌ "I've written a regression test" (without red-green verification — test may pass for unrelated reasons)

Build:

✅ [Run build] → [See: exit 0] → "Build passes"
❌ "Linter passed" (linter doesn't check compilation or runtime)

Requirements (Full mode features):

✅ Re-read requirements.md → Create line-by-line checklist → Verify each → Report gaps OR completion
❌ "Tests pass, phase complete"

Agent delegation:

✅ Agent reports success → Check `git diff` / `git status` → Read changed files → Report actual state
❌ Trust agent report verbatim

UI/frontend changes:

✅ Start dev server → Open browser → Exercise the feature → Check golden path + edge cases
❌ "Type-check passed, frontend works"

Kisune-Specific Patterns

Status Reporting block (🔄 Checkpoint Update): Every line is its own claim and needs its own fresh evidence in the same turn.

✅ Tests: 48/48 passing      → ran `npm test` this turn, paste output
✅ Type check: No errors     → ran `tsc --noEmit` this turn
✅ Lint: Clean               → ran lint command this turn
💾 Committed: "..."          → ran `git log -1` this turn

A status block built from runs scattered across earlier turns is a fabricated report. Re-run before posting.

Long-running commands under PM2 / docx/logs/: Per kisune's command-execution convention, anything >30s runs under PM2 or redirects to docx/logs/. The verification workflow:

1. pm2 list                              → confirm process exited (status: stopped/online?)
2. pm2 logs <name> --nostream --lines N  → read FULL output, not a tail
3. Check exit code (PM2: `pm2 describe <name>` → exit_code field, OR check the log)
4. ONLY THEN claim pass/fail

"Process is still running" is NOT a pass. "PM2 says online" is NOT a pass. Wait for completion, read logs, verify exit code.

Confidence score ([Confidence: X.X]): The score reflects how certain you are about claims you've already verified. It is NOT a hedge to bypass verification.

✅ "Tests pass [output: 48/48, exit 0] [Confidence: 0.95]"
❌ "Should work [Confidence: 0.6]"   ← unverified, score doesn't redeem it

If you haven't verified, the honest report is "not verified yet" — not a lower number.

Full-mode phase gate (Requirements check): Before marking any Full-mode phase complete, write the checklist as an artifact, not in your head:

✅ Re-open requirements.md → For each EARS requirement, paste the line +
   evidence (test name / file / output) → If any gap, list it explicitly
❌ "I read it, looks covered, moving on"

The written checklist is the verification. Skipping the artifact = skipping the gate.

User Action Tasks (docx/UserInstructions/*.md): Writing the instruction document IS NOT completing the underlying task. The doc is a hand-off, not a deliverable for the work it describes.

✅ "Created docx/UserInstructions/setup-supabase.md.
    Status: pending user action — Supabase is NOT yet configured."
❌ "Supabase is set up." (when only the doc exists)

When To Apply

ALWAYS before:

• ANY variation of success / completion claims
• ANY expression of satisfaction
• ANY positive statement about work state
• Committing, opening PR, marking task complete
• Moving to the next task or phase
• Reporting back after delegating to an agent
• Marking a - [ ] checkbox in plan.md or tasks.md as [x]

Rule applies to:

• Exact success phrases
• Paraphrases and synonyms ("looks good", "all set", "ready", "wrapped up")
• Implications of success
• ANY communication suggesting completion or correctness
• Silent handoffs: ending a turn without an explicit "not yet verified" qualifier counts as a claim. If you haven't verified, say so out loud.

Integration With Other Kisune Skills

• spec-driven-implementation — Each task's Verify step IS this skill in action. Run the exact command, paste the output, only then check the box.
• test-driven-development — RED phase verification: confirm the test FAILS for the right reason before writing code. GREEN phase: confirm the test passes by running it, not by reading the diff.
• git-workflow — Before any commit, the working state must be verified. No "commit then run tests".
• review — Reviewer claims like "no security issues" require evidence (grep output, scan results), not assertion.

Why This Matters

False completion claims cost more time than verification ever would:

• The user catches the lie → trust broken, work redone under suspicion
• The lie ships → broken code in production, regression in main
• "Tests pass" with stale output → real failures hidden until the next change blames itself
• Agent reports trusted blindly → silent regressions because no one read the diff

Honesty is non-negotiable. A 30-second verification beats an hour of unwinding a false claim.

The Bottom Line

No shortcuts for verification.

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

This is non-negotiable.