/skill-verification-gate

name: skill-verification-gate
description: "Use when about to declare work complete, fixed, passing, or done"
disable-model-invocation: true

> **Host: Codex CLI** — This skill was designed for Claude Code and adapted for Codex. > Cross-reference commands use installed skill names in Codex rather than `/octo:*` slash commands. > Use the active Codex shell and subagent tools. Do not claim a provider, model, or host subagent is available until the current session exposes it. > For host tool equivalents, see `skills/blocks/codex-host-adapter.md`.

Verification Gate

The Iron Law

<HARD-GATE> NO COMPLETION CLAIMS WITHOUT FRESH VERIFICATION EVIDENCE </HARD-GATE>

If you haven't run the verification command in this turn, you cannot claim it passes.

The Gate

Before claiming any success or expressing satisfaction:

1. **IDENTIFY** — What command proves this claim? 2. **RUN** — Execute the full command (fresh, not cached) 3. **READ** — Full output, check exit code, count failures 4. **VERIFY** — Does output actually confirm the claim? 5. **ONLY THEN** — State the claim WITH evidence

Skip any step = the claim is unverified.

Rationalization Table

| Excuse | Reality | |--------|---------| | "I ran the tests earlier this session" | Earlier is not fresh. Code changed since. Run again. | | "The edit was trivial, it can't break anything" | Trivial edits break builds daily. The gate has no size exemption. | | "The subagent reported success" | Agent reports are claims, not evidence. Verify independently. | | "CI will catch it anyway" | CI is the safety net, not the verification. Verify before push. | | "I'm confident this works" | Confidence is not evidence. Run the command. | | "Running the full suite is slow" | Then run the targeted suite — but run something, fresh. |

What Counts as Evidence

| Claim | Requires | NOT Sufficient | |-------|----------|----------------| | Tests pass | Test command output showing 0 failures | Previous run, "should pass" | | Build succeeds | Build command exit 0 | Linter passing | | Bug fixed | Reproduce original symptom: now passes | "Code changed, should work" | | Regression test works | Red (fail without fix) → Green (pass with fix) | Test passes once | | Subagent completed task | `git diff` shows expected changes | Subagent says "done" | | Requirements met | Line-by-line checklist against spec | Tests passing | | Provider dispatch worked | Output contains expected content | No error ≠ success |

Red Flags — STOP and Verify

If you catch yourself thinking any of these, STOP:

| Thought | What to do instead | |---------|-------------------| | "Should work now" | Run the verification | | "I'm confident" | Confidence ≠ evidence | | "Just this once" | No exceptions | | "The linter passed" | Linter ≠ tests ≠ build | | "The agent said it worked" | Verify independently | | "It's a small change" | Small changes cause big bugs |

Multi-Provider Context

In Claude Octopus workflows, verification is especially critical because:

• **Provider outputs can be hallucinated** — Codex, Antigravity, Copilot, and other providers may claim success without evidence
• **Consensus ≠ correctness** — three models agreeing doesn't mean they're right
• **Synthesis files may be stale** — check timestamps, don't assume freshness
• **orchestrate.sh exit code 0 ≠ quality** — the script ran, but did it produce good output?

After any multi-provider workflow:

# Verify synthesis file exists and is recent
ls -la ~/.claude-octopus/results/*-synthesis-*.md | tail -1

# Verify it has content (not just headers)
wc -l ~/.claude-octopus/results/*-synthesis-*.md | tail -1

When to Apply

**ALWAYS before:**

• Committing code
• Creating PRs
• Marking tasks complete
• Moving to next workflow phase
• Reporting results to user
• Claiming a bug is fixed

**In orchestrate.sh workflows:**

• After `probe` (discover) — verify synthesis file exists
• After `grasp` (define) — verify consensus score meets threshold
• After `tangle` (develop) — verify tests pass, not just that code was written
• After `ink` (deliver) — verify review actually ran, not just that it was dispatched

Examples

Correct: Evidence-Based Claim

$ npm test
  ✓ user.create() saves to database (45ms)
  ✓ user.create() validates email (12ms)
  Tests: 2 passed, 2 total

All 2 tests pass. ← Claim backed by output.

Incorrect: Claim Without Evidence

I've implemented the feature. It should work now. The tests should pass.
← No test was run. "Should" is not evidence.

Correct: Regression Test Red-Green

1. Write test → run → FAIL (expected, proves test detects the bug)
2. Implement fix → run → PASS (proves fix works)
3. Revert fix → run → FAIL (proves test isn't false-positive)
4. Restore fix → run → PASS (final confirmation)

Integration with Other Skills

This skill is referenced by:

• `flow-develop.md` — verification gate after implementation
• `flow-deliver.md` — verification gate before delivery
• `skill-code-review.md` — verify review findings before reporting
• `skill-tdd.md` — red-green cycle requires evidence at each step
• `skill-factory.md` — autonomous pipeline must verify at every phase