Evidence Verification

Ensures all claims are backed by executable proof: test results, coverage metrics, build success, and deployment verification.

Key Principle: Show, don't tell. No task is complete without verifiable evidence.

Overview

Auto-Activate Triggers

• Completing code implementation

• Finishing code review

• Marking tasks complete in Squad mode

• Before agent handoff

• Production deployment verification

Manual Activation

• When user requests "verify this works"

• Before creating pull requests

• During quality assurance reviews

• When troubleshooting failures

Evidence Verification

Core Concepts

1. Evidence Types

Test Evidence

• Exit code (must be 0 for success)

• Test suite results (passed/failed/skipped)

• Coverage percentage (if available)

• Test duration

Build Evidence

• Build exit code (0 = success)

• Compilation errors/warnings

• Build artifacts created

• Build duration

Deployment Evidence

• Deployment status (success/failed)

• Environment deployed to

• Health check results

• Rollback capability verified

Code Quality Evidence

• Linter results (errors/warnings)

• Type checker results

• Security scan results

• Accessibility audit results

2. Evidence Collection Protocol

Evidence Collection Steps

1. Identify Verification Points

   • What needs to be proven?
   • What could go wrong?
   • What does "complete" mean?

2. Execute Verification

   • Run tests
   • Run build
   • Run linters
   • Check deployments

3. Capture Results

   • Record exit codes
   • Save output snippets
   • Note timestamps
   • Document environment

4. Store Evidence

   • Add to shared context
   • Reference in task completion
   • Link to artifacts

5. Verification Standards

Minimum Evidence Requirements:

• ✅ At least ONE verification type executed

• ✅ Exit code captured (0 = pass, non-zero = fail)

• ✅ Timestamp recorded

• ✅ Evidence stored in context

Production-Grade Requirements:

• ✅ Tests run with exit code 0

• ✅ Coverage >70% (or project standard)

• ✅ Build succeeds with exit code 0

• ✅ No critical linter errors

• ✅ Security scan passes

Evidence Verification

Evidence Collection Templates

Template 1: Test Evidence

Use this template when running tests:

Test Evidence

Command: npm test (or equivalent) Exit Code: 0 ✅ / non-zero ❌ Duration: X seconds Results:

• Tests passed: X
• Tests failed: X
• Tests skipped: X
• Coverage: X%

Output Snippet:

[First 10 lines of test output]

Timestamp: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS Environment: Node vX.X.X, OS, etc.

Template 2: Build Evidence

Use this template when building:

Build Evidence

Command: npm run build (or equivalent) Exit Code: 0 ✅ / non-zero ❌ Duration: X seconds Artifacts Created:

• dist/bundle.js (245 KB)
• dist/styles.css (18 KB)

Errors: X Warnings: X

Output Snippet:

[First 10 lines of build output]

Timestamp: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS

Template 3: Code Quality Evidence

Use this template for linting and type checking:

Code Quality Evidence

Linter: ESLint / Ruff / etc. Command: npm run lint Exit Code: 0 ✅ / non-zero ❌ Errors: X Warnings: X

Type Checker: TypeScript / mypy / etc. Command: npm run typecheck Exit Code: 0 ✅ / non-zero ❌ Type Errors: X

Timestamp: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS

Evidence Verification

Quality Standards

Minimum Acceptable

✅ Tests executed with captured exit code ✅ Timestamp recorded ✅ Evidence stored in context

Production-Grade

✅ Tests pass (exit code 0) ✅ Coverage ≥70% (or project standard) ✅ Build succeeds (exit code 0) ✅ No critical linter errors ✅ Type checker passes ✅ Security scan shows no critical issues

Gold Standard

✅ All production-grade requirements ✅ Coverage ≥80% ✅ No linter warnings ✅ Performance benchmarks within thresholds ✅ Accessibility audit passes (WCAG 2.1 AA) ✅ Integration tests pass ✅ Deployment verification complete

Evidence Verification

Common Pitfalls

❌ Don't Skip Evidence Collection

Bad:

"I've implemented the login feature. It should work correctly."

Good:

"I've implemented the login feature. Evidence:

• Tests: Exit code 0, 12 tests passed, 0 failed
• Build: Exit code 0, no errors
• Coverage: 89% Task complete with verification."

❌ Don't Fake Evidence

Bad:

"Tests passed" (without actually running them)

Good:

"Tests passed. Exit code: 0 Command: npm test Output: Test Suites: 3 passed, 3 total Timestamp: 2025-11-02 10:30:15"

❌ Don't Ignore Failed Evidence

Bad:

"Build failed with exit code 1, but the code looks correct so marking complete."

Good:

"Build failed with exit code 1. Errors:

• TypeError: Cannot read property 'id' of undefined (line 42) Fixing the error now before marking complete."

Evidence Verification

Quick Reference

Evidence Collection Checklist

Before marking task complete:

• Tests executed
• Test exit code captured (0 = pass)
• Build executed (if applicable)
• Build exit code captured (0 = pass)
• Code quality checks run (linter, types)
• Evidence documented with timestamp
• Evidence added to shared context
• Evidence summary in completion message

Common Commands by Language/Framework

JavaScript/TypeScript:

npm test # Run tests npm run build # Build project npm run lint # Run ESLint npm run typecheck # Run TypeScript compiler

Python:

pytest # Run tests pytest --cov # Run tests with coverage ruff check . # Run linter mypy . # Run type checker

Evidence Verification

Remember: Evidence-first development prevents hallucinations, ensures production quality, and builds confidence. When in doubt, collect more evidence, not less.

Related Skills

• unit-testing

• Unit test patterns for generating test evidence

• integration-testing

• Integration test patterns for component verification

• security-scanning

• Security scan evidence collection (npm audit, pip-audit)

• test-standards-enforcer

• Enforce evidence collection standards

Key Decisions

Decision Choice Rationale

Minimum Coverage 70% Industry standard for production-grade code

Exit Code Requirement 0 = pass Unix standard for success/failure indication

Gold Standard Coverage 80% Higher bar for critical paths

Retry Before Block 2 attempts Allow fix attempts before escalation

Capability Details

exit-code-validation

Keywords: exit code, return code, success, failure, status, $?, exit 0, non-zero Solves:

• How do I verify command succeeded?

• Check exit codes for evidence (0 = pass)

• Validate build/test success with exit codes

• Capture command exit status in evidence

test-evidence

Keywords: test results, test output, coverage report, test evidence, jest, pytest, test suite, passed, failed Solves:

• How do I capture test evidence?

• Record test results in session state

• Prove tests passed with exit code 0

• Document test coverage percentage

• Capture passed/failed/skipped counts

build-evidence

Keywords: build log, build output, compile, bundle, webpack, vite, cargo build, npm build Solves:

• How do I capture build evidence?

• Record build success with exit code

• Verify compilation without errors

• Document build artifacts created

• Track build duration and warnings

code-quality-evidence

Keywords: linter, lint, eslint, ruff, type check, mypy, typescript, code quality, warnings, errors Solves:

• How do I capture code quality evidence?

• Run linter and capture results

• Execute type checker and record errors

• Document linter errors and warnings count

• Prove code quality checks passed

deployment-evidence

Keywords: deployment, deploy, production, staging, health check, rollback, deployment status Solves:

• How do I verify deployment succeeded?

• Check health endpoints after deploy

• Verify application started successfully

• Document deployment status and environment

• Confirm rollback capability exists

security-scan-evidence

Keywords: security, vulnerability, npm audit, pip-audit, security scan, cve, critical vulnerabilities Solves:

• How do I capture security scan results?

• Run npm audit or pip-audit

• Document critical vulnerabilities found

• Record security scan exit code

• Prove no critical security issues

evidence-storage

Keywords: session state, state.json, evidence storage, record evidence, save results, quality_evidence, context 2.0 Solves:

• How do I store evidence in context?

• Update session/state.json with results

• Structure evidence data properly

• Add timestamp to evidence records

• Link to evidence log files

combined-evidence-report

Keywords: evidence report, task completion, verification summary, proof of completion, comprehensive evidence Solves:

• How do I create complete evidence report?

• Combine test, build, and quality evidence

• Create task completion evidence summary

• Document all verification checks run

• Provide comprehensive proof of completion

evidence-collection-workflow

Keywords: evidence workflow, verification steps, evidence protocol, collection process, verification checklist Solves:

• What steps to collect evidence?

• Follow evidence collection protocol

• Run all necessary verification checks

• Complete evidence checklist before marking done

• Ensure minimum evidence requirements met

quality-standards

Keywords: quality standards, minimum requirements, production-grade, gold standard, evidence thresholds Solves:

• What evidence is required to pass?

• Understand minimum vs production-grade standards

• Meet gold standard evidence requirements

• Know when evidence is sufficient

• Validate evidence meets project standards

evidence-pitfalls

Keywords: evidence mistakes, common errors, skip evidence, fake evidence, ignore failures Solves:

• What evidence mistakes to avoid?

• Never skip evidence collection

• Don't fake evidence results

• Don't ignore failed evidence

• Always re-collect after changes