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verification-before-completion

Use when about to claim work is complete, fixed, or passing, before committing or creating PRs - requires running verification commands and confirming output before making any success claims; evidence before assertions always

Published by obra ↗obra/superpowers

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Verify one completion claim

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Use the verification-before-completion skill to check one claim about my current change, such as whether its tests pass or its build succeeds. Identify the full verification command, run it fresh, inspect the complete output and exit code, and report only the status supported by that evidence. Stop after reporting.

Required inputs

  • Access to the project and current change
  • One specific claim to verify
  • The project's documented verification command or enough project context to identify it
  • A configured environment capable of running that check

Previously published starter task based on a pinned source version; check the source and required inputs before running. Task evidence ↗

SKILL.md

name: verification-before-completiondescription: Use when about to claim work is complete, fixed, or passing, before committing or creating PRs - requires running verification commands and confirming output before making any success claims; evidence before assertions always

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

ClaimRequiresNot Sufficient
Tests passTest command output: 0 failuresPrevious run, "should pass"
Linter cleanLinter output: 0 errorsPartial check, extrapolation
Build succeedsBuild command: exit 0Linter passing, logs look good
Bug fixedTest original symptom: passesCode changed, assumed fixed
Regression test worksRed-green cycle verifiedTest passes once
Agent completedVCS diff shows changesAgent reports "success"
Requirements metLine-by-line checklistTests passing

Red Flags - STOP

  • Using "should", "probably", "seems to"
  • Expressing satisfaction before verification ("Great!", "Perfect!", "Done!", etc.)
  • About to commit/push/PR without verification
  • Trusting agent success reports
  • Relying on partial verification
  • Thinking "just this once"
  • Tired and wanting work over
  • ANY wording implying success without having run verification

Rationalization Prevention

ExcuseReality
"Should work now"RUN the verification
"I'm confident"Confidence ≠ evidence
"Just this once"No exceptions
"Linter passed"Linter ≠ compiler
"Agent said success"Verify independently
"I'm tired"Exhaustion ≠ excuse
"Partial check is enough"Partial proves nothing
"Different words so rule doesn't apply"Spirit over letter

Key Patterns

Tests:

✅ [Run test command] [See: 34/34 pass] "All tests pass"
❌ "Should pass now" / "Looks correct"

Regression tests (TDD Red-Green):

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

Build:

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

Requirements:

✅ Re-read plan → Create checklist → Verify each → Report gaps or completion
❌ "Tests pass, phase complete"

Agent delegation:

✅ Agent reports success → Check VCS diff → Verify changes → Report actual state
❌ Trust agent report

When To Apply

ALWAYS before:

  • ANY variation of success/completion claims
  • ANY expression of satisfaction
  • ANY positive statement about work state
  • Committing, PR creation, task completion
  • Moving to next task
  • Delegating to agents

Rule applies to:

  • Exact phrases
  • Paraphrases and synonyms
  • Implications of success
  • ANY communication suggesting completion/correctness