# 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

Source: https://skillsagentes.com/skills/obra/superpowers/verification-before-completion
Repository: https://github.com/obra/superpowers
Author: obra
License: MIT
Updated: el mes pasado
Context cost: 56 tok installed, 912 tok once triggered, 912 tok with every bundled file
Bundle: 1 file, 4 KB
Permissions requested: none declared

## Install

```bash
npx -y skills add obra/superpowers --skill verification-before-completion --agent claude-code
```

## What it does

- Obliga a ejecutar comandos de verificación completos y frescos antes de afirmar que algo está terminado, corregido o pasando
- Exige leer la salida completa, revisar el código de salida y contar fallos antes de hacer la afirmación
- Define una tabla de excusas comunes ('debería funcionar', 'estoy cansado') y las marca como inválidas
- Requiere verificación independiente incluso cuando un agente delegado reporta éxito

## Use it when

- Antes de afirmar que el trabajo está completo, corregido o pasando
- Antes de hacer commit o crear un PR
- Antes de expresar satisfacción o pasar a la siguiente tarea
- Antes de confiar en el reporte de éxito de un agente delegado

## What triggers it

- "Ya arreglé el bug, voy a hacer commit"
- "Creo que los tests ahora pasan, cierra la tarea"
- "El agente dijo que terminó, marca esto como completo"

## Files

- SKILL.md — 4 KB

## SKILL.md

Reproduced verbatim from obra/superpowers under MIT. This section is the upstream document and is in English.

# 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

| 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:**
```
✅ [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

---

Skills Agentes — https://skillsagentes.com/skills/obra/superpowers/verification-before-completion