outthislife Visual Verify
Never report a visual, layout, or theme change as done based on the diff or a passing test. Look at the running surface.
Steps
- Run the actual surface (dev server, app, TUI/GUI, Storybook — whatever shows this UI). Don't start one the user already has running.
- Capture what it looks like — screenshot it, or tell the user exactly how to see it.
- Compare against the reference: the design (Figma/mock), the sibling surface it should match, or the before state. Name the specific things you checked (color values, spacing, border, active state, contrast).
- If it doesn't match, keep the debug logging and iterate. Only say "done" once it visibly matches.
Don't
- Claim a theme/color change works because the token math looks right — verify the rendered value.
- Delete instrumentation while the visual is still wrong.
- Trust unit tests as proof a UI renders correctly.