Agent skill · software engineering · pedronauck
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
Why this skill is useful
Codifies a verification process for completion claims that the AI could infer but now doesn't have to guess.
What it needs
About 2k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-01. 564 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
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 If you haven't run the verification command in this message, you cannot claim it passes. The Gate Function 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 Test original symptom: passes Code changed, assumed fixed Regression test works Red-green cycle verified Test passes once Agent completed VCS diff shows changes Agent reports "success" Requirements met Line-by-line checklist Tests 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 Excuse Reality -------- --------- "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: Regression tests (TDD Red-Green): Build: Requirements: Agent delegation: 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/ …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills pedronauck/verification-before-completion