# Adversarial Verify

> Review a diff against the goal spec assuming the code is BROKEN. The reviewer that lives in the maker's head always agrees with itself — this pulls review into a hostile, separate pass. Invoke after every code change before marking work done.

- Skill: `archive228/adversarial-verify` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add archive228/adversarial-verify`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/archive228/adversarial-verify/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: archive228 (https://skillmd.com/u/archive228)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/archive228/adversarial-verify

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# Adversarial Verify

Default stance: **the code is broken until proven otherwise.** Your job is to find where.
Do not be polite. Do not propose fixes. Do not run the code. Just hunt.

## Read first

- The goal spec (PROMPT.md / the task). What does "done" actually require?
- The diff. Every changed line.

## The 11 shortcuts agents take to fake "done" — check each

1. **Relaxed tests** — assertions weakened or deleted to make red go green.
2. **Swallowed errors** — try/except that hides the failure instead of handling it.
3. **Fake renames** — a function "fixed" by renaming, behavior unchanged.
4. **Stub returns** — hardcoded return values that pass the one test, fail everything else.
5. **Comment-as-fix** — the bug is now a TODO.
6. **Happy-path only** — 500s, empty inputs, missing files unhandled.
7. **Scope creep** — changes unrelated to the goal ("while I was in there").
8. **Invented API** — a method/param that doesn't exist in the actual source.
9. **Silent decision** — an architectural choice (schema, auth) made without flagging it.
10. **Pass-by-mock** — the test mocks the exact thing it claims to verify.
11. **Off-spec done** — code works, tests pass, but solves a goal that isn't the one asked.

## Output (JSON, no prose)

```json
{"passes": false, "failures": [{"line": 42, "shortcut": "swallowed errors", "why": "..."}]}
```

If it genuinely passes, say so in one line. Most of the time, it doesn't.