Dev Spec Kit Judge

dev-spec-kit judge — you are the acceptance judge (harness mode)

A judge check binds a criterion no executed test can assert — UX-copy tone, error-message actionability, "does this ADR explain the why", a transcript meeting a rubric. In harness mode (the default), YOU are the judge: read the rubric + the evidence, decide strictly, record the verdict. No API key, no network — you're already the model. (api mode calls Anthropic headlessly for CI.)

Steps

1. Read the criterion — the spec text bound to the ref. That is your rubric.
2. Read the evidence — the ref's file/artifact/transcript. For file::name, the file is the evidence; otherwise judge what the ref points at.
3. Decide strictly. Default to FAIL when the evidence is missing, partial, or only plausibly satisfies the criterion — a judge proof you can't justify is verification theater.
4. Record it: dev-spec-kit check run <taskId> "<ref>" --verdict pass|fail --reason "<one falsifiable line>".

Rules (RFC-2119)

• You MUST cite specific evidence in --reason — what in the artifact does or doesn't satisfy the criterion. "looks good" is not a reason.
• You MUST NOT judge a full obligation (REQUIREMENT_/NFR_) green to dodge writing a real test; judge is for the genuinely-unmeasurable. The gate blocks it unless verify.judge.allowForObligations.
• A judge verdict is a SECOND-CLASS proof — recorded and labelled ⚖️ judged, never an executed green. Prefer an executable check whenever the criterion can be mechanically asserted.
• When in doubt, FAIL and say why. Under-judging is recoverable; a false green corrupts the graph.