Fstarverifier

Invocation

This skill is used when:

• Verifying F* (.fst) or interface (.fsti) files
• Debugging verification failures
• Checking proof completeness

Core Operations

Basic Verification

# Verify a single file
fstar.exe Module.fst

# With Pulse extension
fstar.exe --include <PULSE_HOME>/out/lib/pulse Module.fst

# With include paths
fstar.exe --include <PULSE_HOME>/out/lib/pulse --include path/to/lib Module.fst

Diagnostic Options

# Show query statistics (find slow/cancelled proofs)
fstar.exe --query_stats Module.fst

# Split queries for isolation
fstar.exe --split_queries always Module.fst

# Log SMT queries for analysis
fstar.exe --log_queries Module.fst

# Refresh Z3 between queries
fstar.exe --z3refresh Module.fst

# Combined debugging
fstar.exe --include <PULSE_HOME>/out/lib/pulse --query_stats --split_queries always --z3refresh Module.fst

Resource Limits

# Set rlimit (default varies, target ≤10 for robustness)
# In file: #push-options "--z3rlimit 10"

# Set fuel for recursive functions
# In file: #push-options "--fuel 1 --ifuel 1"

Error Interpretation

"Could not prove post-condition"

Cause: SMT cannot establish the postcondition from available facts Solutions:

1. Add intermediate assert statements
2. Call relevant lemmas explicitly
3. Use Seq.equal/Set.equal for collection equality
4. Call FS.all_finite_set_facts_lemma() for FiniteSet reasoning

"Identifier not found"

Cause: Symbol not in scope Solutions:

1. Check module imports (open, module X = ...)
2. Verify definition order (F* is order-sensitive)
3. Check for typos in names

"rlimit exhausted" / Query cancelled

Cause: Proof too complex for SMT within time limit Solutions:

1. Factor proof into smaller lemmas
2. Reduce fuel: #push-options "--fuel 0 --ifuel 0"
3. Add explicit type annotations
4. Use patterns on quantifiers
5. Make definitions opaque_to_smt and instantiate manually

"Expected type X, got type Y" (Unification failure)

Cause: Type mismatch, often with refinements Solutions:

1. Add explicit type annotations
2. Cast values to base types
3. Check refinement predicates

"Application of stateful computation cannot have ghost effect"

Cause: Calling stateful function in ghost context (Pulse-specific) Solutions:

1. Ensure condition variables are concrete, not from with bindings
2. Read from actual data structures, not ghost sequences
3. Restructure to avoid ghost conditionals

Verification Strategy

For New Code

1. Start with admitted proofs to check structure
2. Remove admits one at a time
3. Add helper lemmas as needed
4. Verify interface (.fsti) before implementation (.fst)

For Failing Proofs

1. Use --query_stats to identify slow queries
2. Add assert statements to locate failure point
3. Factor out failing assertion into separate lemma
4. Reduce proof to minimal failing case
5. Add explicit lemma calls or type annotations

For Robustness

1. Keep rlimits low (≤10)
2. Split large proofs into lemmas
3. Use explicit types over inference
4. Prefer Seq.equal over == for sequences

Additional resources

Find the directory PoP-in-FStar on the local machine, or locate it here: https://github.com/FStarLang/PoP-in-FStar

This contains the sources to the Proof-oriented Programming in F* book. You can search through the book for various explanations, tips and common patterns.

Also look at FStar/ulib, FStar/doc, FStar/examples for sample code.

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