Done Gate

Done-Gate — Verify Before Claiming Done

The Rule

No completion claims without fresh verification evidence.

Before saying "done", "fixed", "passing", "works", or "complete":

1. IDENTIFY — What command proves this claim?
2. RUN — Execute it now. Fresh. Not from memory or cache.
3. READ — Full output. Check exit code. Don't skim.
4. CONFIRM — Does the output actually prove what you're about to claim?
5. REPORT — Include the verification evidence in your response.

What Counts as Verification

Banned Language (Before Verification)

These phrases are NOT allowed until you have evidence:

• "should work", "probably fixed", "seems to pass", "likely resolved"
• "Done!", "All good!", "That should do it!"
• "I believe this fixes...", "This should resolve..."

Instead say: "Let me verify..." and then run the command.

When You Can't Verify

Sometimes verification isn't possible (no test suite, requires manual UI check, external dependency). In that case, say so explicitly:

"I've made the change but can't verify automatically because [reason]. You'll need to [specific manual check]."

Never pretend you verified when you didn't.

Logging (MANDATORY)

After verification (pass or fail), log it via Bash:

echo '{"ts":"'$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)'","skill":"done-gate","project":"<project>","result":"<pass|fail>","task":"<brief task description>"}' >> ~/vault/logs/workflow.jsonl

Task Tracking Check (MANDATORY)

Before reporting completion, verify the task list is up to date:

1. Call TaskList to see all tracked tasks.
2. Confirm the current task is marked completed (use TaskUpdate if not).
3. Confirm no tasks are stuck in in_progress that should be completed or need attention.
4. If all tasks for the plan/feature are done, state: "All tasks complete — [X/X] done."
5. If tasks remain, state what's next.

Never claim a feature is "done" while tracked tasks are still pending or in_progress.

After Verification

Report concisely with evidence:

• "Tests pass (42 passed, 0 failed, exit code 0)"
• "Bug fixed — reproduction case now returns expected 200 instead of 500"
• "Build succeeds (docker build completed in 23s)"

Self-Review Checklist (Run Before Claiming Done)

After verification passes, run this quick scan on changed files to catch leftover code smells:

# Get changed files and scan for common issues
git diff --name-only HEAD~1 2>/dev/null | xargs grep -nE \
  'TODO|FIXME|HACK|XXX|NotImplementedError|raise NotImplemented|console\.log\(|print\(.*debug|debugger;|\.only\(|_unused|PLACEHOLDER' \
  2>/dev/null || echo "Clean — no code smells found"

What to check

Rules

• Quick tasks: Skip this checklist (overkill for typo fixes)
• Small+ tasks: Run the grep scan. Fix any hits or justify why they should stay.
• If hits are intentional (e.g., a TODO for a future ticket), note it in the completion message.
• Do NOT add this as a pre-commit hook — it's advisory, not blocking.

Vault Push — After Successful Verification (Small+ Tasks)

After verification passes for Small, Medium, or Large tasks, push a completion note to the vault. Skip for Quick tasks.

What to push

Append an entry to ~/vault/notes/<project>-completed.md (create if it doesn't exist):

### YYYY-MM-DD — <task title>
- **Tier:** Small/Medium/Large
- **What:** One-line summary of what was done
- **Decisions:** Key architectural or design choices made (if any)
- **Files:** Main files touched (3-5 max)
- **Learnings:** Anything worth remembering for next time (if any)

How to push

1. Write/append the entry to ~/vault/notes/<project>-completed.md
2. Run qmd update && qmd embed via Bash
3. Mention briefly: "Pushed completion note to vault."

Rules

• Keep entries short — 3-5 lines max per task
• Use the project name from the working directory (e.g., todo, ai-data-analyst-v2, ladder)
• If project is unclear, use general-completed.md
• Don't push duplicate entries — check if the task was already logged