verification-before-completion

Overview

"Done" means proven done, not believed done. This skill is the final gate before any task is declared complete. It prevents the most damaging agent behavior: confidently declaring success when the code doesn't actually work.

When to Use

• Before EVERY task completion declaration
• Before saying "done," "complete," "finished," or "ready"
• Before marking a plan task as complete
• Before opening a PR
• This skill is NON-NEGOTIABLE. There are no exceptions.

Process

The Verification Checklist

Before declaring completion, confirm ALL of these:

1. Tests pass.

   npm test        # or pytest, go test ./..., cargo test, etc.
   

   If there are no tests, you haven't followed codehands:test-driven-development. Go back and add them.

2. Build succeeds.

   npm run build   # or equivalent
   

   TypeScript compiles. No warnings treated as errors. No build failures.

3. Requirements met. Re-read the spec/task. Compare each requirement against what you built. Every requirement must have evidence.

4. No regressions. The FULL test suite passes, not just your new tests.

5. Code is committed. All changes are committed with a descriptive message. Nothing is left in an uncommitted state.

Evidence Requirement

For each completed task, provide evidence:

## Completion Evidence
- Tests: 47 passing, 0 failing (output attached)
- Build: Clean build with 0 warnings
- Requirements: FR-001 ✅, FR-002 ✅, FR-003 ✅
- Commit: abc1234 "Add user registration with email verification"

Common Rationalizations

Rationalization	Reality
"I know it works — I just wrote it"	You believe it works. Belief is not evidence. Run the tests.
"Tests are passing in my head"	Run them for real. "Passing in your head" is the leading cause of broken deployments.
"The build will pass — I only changed one file"	One file change can break the build via type errors, import cycles, or missing exports. Confirm it.
"I'll verify at the end after all tasks are done"	Each task must independently pass verification. Deferring creates compound verification debt.
"The user is in a hurry"	Breaking the user's build to save 30 seconds is not a favor. Verify.

Red Flags

• "Done!" without test output
• Declaring completion on a task that has no tests
• Not running the full test suite (only new tests)
• Build not run before declaring complete
• Spec requirements not individually verified

Verification

• All tests pass (full suite, not just new tests)
• Build succeeds with no errors
• Every spec requirement has been verified against implementation
• No regressions introduced (full test suite passing)
• All changes committed with descriptive message
• Completion evidence provided (test output, build output, requirement mapping)

See Also

• codehands:test-driven-development — Tests that power verification
• codehands:code-review-and-quality — Review before final completion
• codehands:systematic-debugging — When verification reveals issues