TL;DR

Evidence before claims. Run the command, read the output, THEN claim the result. No shortcuts. No "should work." No exceptions.

Verification Before Completion

Activation

1. Activate before ANY claim of completion, success, or passing status.
2. Activate on explicit $codex-verification-discipline, $verify, or $evidence.
3. Activate before committing, PR creation, or task sign-off.
4. Activate when about to move to the next task.
5. This skill is always-loaded — it runs as a constant behavioral constraint.

Announce at start: "I'm verifying before claiming completion."

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.

Violating the letter of this rule is violating the spirit of this rule.

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 Violations

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

If you catch yourself thinking or writing:

• 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"
• 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 ≠ tests
"Agent said success"	Verify independently
"Partial check is enough"	Partial proves nothing
"Different words so rule doesn't apply"	Spirit over letter
"It's trivial"	Trivial things break. Run it.

Evidence Patterns

Tests:

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

Regression tests (TDD Red-Green):

✅ Write → Run (FAIL) → Implement → Run (PASS) → "Regression test verified"
❌ "I've written a regression test" (without red-green verification)

Build:

✅ [Run build] → [See: exit 0] → "Build passes"
❌ "Linter passed" (linter ≠ build)

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

Integration with Other Skills

Skill	How Verification Integrates
codex-test-driven-development	Verify RED and GREEN steps with actual test output
codex-execution-quality-gate	Gate scripts provide the evidence; this skill ensures you actually READ the output
codex-systematic-debugging	Verify root cause fix with regression test evidence
codex-subagent-execution	Verify subagent output with VCS diff, not agent reports
codex-branch-finisher	Verify tests before presenting completion options

Script Invocation Discipline

1. When this workflow calls helper scripts from other skills, run --help first.
2. Treat helper scripts as black-box tools and execute by contract before reading source.
3. Read script source only when customization or bug-fixing is required.

The Bottom Line

No shortcuts for verification.

Run the command. Read the output. THEN claim the result.

This is non-negotiable.