verification-before-completion

Verification Before Completion

Force verification before claiming success or completion. Prevents false "it works" claims.

Purpose

Claude often claims things "work" or are "complete" without actually verifying. This skill ensures actual verification happens before any success claim.

Triggers

Activate this skill when you're about to say ANY of:

• "Done"
• "Complete"
• "Finished"
• "Works"
• "Fixed"
• "The implementation is ready"
• "This should work"
• "I've implemented..."

NEVER Claim Success Without

For Code Changes

• dotnet build passes (no errors)
• dotnet test passes (or explicit reason why skipped)
• No new warnings introduced
• Actually ran the code and showed output

For Factual Claims

• Verified against assertions.yaml
• WebSearch if claim involves dates/versions/status
• Source cited

For "It Works" Claims

• Actually executed the code
• Showed the output to user
• Tested at least one edge case

For "Bug Fixed" Claims

• Reproduced the original bug
• Applied the fix
• Verified bug no longer occurs
• Ran regression tests

Red Flag Thoughts (REJECT THESE)

Output Format

Before ANY completion claim, show:

## Verification Checklist

### Build Status

- [ ] `dotnet build` - [PASS/FAIL]
- [ ] `dotnet test` - [PASS/FAIL/SKIPPED: reason]

### Verification Steps Performed

1. [What you actually did]
2. [What output you saw]
3. [What edge case you tested]

### Confidence

[high/medium/low] - [why]

### Ready to Claim Complete

[YES/NO] - [if NO, what's missing]

Anti-Pattern Examples

WRONG:

"I've fixed the null reference bug. The implementation is complete."
[No build run, no test run, no verification shown]

CORRECT:

"Let me verify the fix...

$ dotnet build
Build succeeded.

$ dotnet test --filter "NullReferenceTests"
Passed! 3/3 tests passing.

Verification complete. The null reference bug is fixed."

WRONG:

"This React component should render correctly now."

CORRECT:

"Let me verify...

$ npm run dev
[Shows browser screenshot or console output]

Component renders correctly. Tested:
- Initial load
- Empty state
- Error state

Verification complete."

Integration

This skill is the FINAL checkpoint before claiming completion:

[all other skills] - analysis complete
     |
[implementation] - code written
     |
[verification-before-completion] - THIS SKILL
     |
     +-- Run build
     +-- Run tests
     +-- Show output
     +-- THEN claim success
     |
[Present to user] - "Ready to proceed?"

The Golden Rule

If you didn't run it, you don't know if it works. If you didn't verify it, don't claim it's complete.