verification

Verification (evidence gate)

Run this phase after Breaker has accepted and before Reliability scoring. No change is scored until there is evidence it works.

Rule

Every claim of success requires fresh output from this session proving it. If a smoke step was not run, it did not pass.

Process

1. Re-read the HEALTH_CHECK from the Builder's output.
2. For each smoke step, either:
   • Run it and include the output (command result, test output, build log).
   • Document why it cannot be run in the current environment (e.g., requires deployed infrastructure, CI-only step, needs credentials). Mark it as SKIPPED — <reason>.
3. Produce the verification summary.

Output format

## VERIFICATION

### Passed
- [ ] `<command>` — <outcome summary>

### Skipped (with justification)
- [ ] `<step>` — SKIPPED: <reason it cannot be run here>

### Failed
- [ ] `<command>` — <failure output>

On failure

If any smoke step fails, do not proceed to Reliability scoring. Return to Builder with the failure output as a new rejection item. This counts toward the 3-cycle rejection limit.

On all-skipped

If every smoke step is skipped, the Reliability score must reflect this: a change with zero verified steps cannot score above 6/10 regardless of code quality.

Shortcuts to avoid

Shortcut	Why it's wrong
"Tests should pass" without running them	Speculation is not evidence
Running a subset and claiming full pass	Untested paths are unknown paths
Marking steps as "verified" from prior context	Prior context may be stale; re-run in this session
Skipping verification because "the change is simple"	Simple changes break production too