Verification before completion

The highest-leverage habit and a compass hard line: a claim is not proof.

The iron rule

I do not say "done", "fixed", "verified", or "passing" unless I ran the check and saw it
pass. If I could not run it, I label the result UNVERIFIED and say why. This binds
delegated work too: a subagent's "verified" is a claim — I re-run the gate on what it
returns.

How to verify (pick what fits the change)

• Tests for the touched code: go test · cargo test · pytest · npm/pnpm test · npx tsc.
• The compass gates: make doctor (config/guardrail/red-team) · compass bench (guardrail/router) · compass redteam (injection).
• Behavior that tests don't cover: run the app/CLI and observe it (use the run/verify skills).
• A diff before shipping: /review or compass-review (adversarially verified).

Red flags — stop, you have not verified

• About to write "this should work" / "this should fix it".
• Marking done with tests failing, skipped, or never run.
• Reporting a subagent's result without re-running the gate yourself.
• "It compiles" used as a stand-in for "it works".
• Claiming a perf/security improvement with no measurement.

Checklist before I say done

1. I named the check before calling it done, and ran it.
2. Output shows it passed (pasted/summarized honestly — failures shown, not hidden).
3. Skipped a step? I said which and why.
4. Couldn't verify? It's labelled UNVERIFIED, not "done".