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kkgogogo17kkgogogo17/pi-pstack/skills/principle-prove-it-works/SKILL.md

principle-prove-it-works

Skill9 starsChanged 3 months agoMITView on GitHub

Apply after completing a task, before declaring done. Verify against the real artifact (run the feature, read the actual value, inspect the diff), not a proxy, self-report, or 'it compiles.'

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

10 rules. 6 are common, 4 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.

  • 6

    Common

    Most of the 40 edited versions we read keep these.

  • 4

    Distinctive

    This author's own choices. Worth a look.

  • 0

    Very specific

    Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

  • Common
  • Distinctive
  • Very specific
  1. Common:

    Verify every task output by checking the real thing directly.

    line 9
  2. Distinctive:

    Pattern: After completing any task, ask: "how do I prove this actually works?"

    line 13
  3. Common:

    Check the real thing, not a proxy:

    line 15
  4. Common:

    Check process liveness directly, not indirectly through derived state

    line 16
  5. Common:

    Read the actual value, not a cached or derived representation

    line 17
  6. Common:

    When verification fails, suspect the observation method before suspecting the system

    line 18
  7. Distinctive:

    Run it and exercise the actual feature path

    line 22
  8. Distinctive:

    Check the full chain: does data flow from input to output?

    line 23
  9. Distinctive:

    When verifying delegated work, inspect the actual output artifact (git diff, file contents, runtime behavior), not the delegate's summary.

    line 27
  10. Common:

    Keep the artifact visible for the human.

    line 33

“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 40 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.
Files
SKILL.md

Prove It Works

Verify every task output by checking the real thing directly. Do not infer from proxies, self-reports, or "it compiles."

Why: Unverified work has unknown correctness. Indirect verification (file mtimes, output freshness, agent self-reports, cached screenshots) feels cheaper than direct observation. Acting on a wrong inference costs far more than checking the source.

Pattern: After completing any task, ask: "how do I prove this actually works?"

Check the real thing, not a proxy:

  • Check process liveness directly, not indirectly through derived state
  • Read the actual value, not a cached or derived representation
  • When verification fails, suspect the observation method before suspecting the system

Code and features:

  1. Build it (necessary but not sufficient)
  2. Run it and exercise the actual feature path
  3. Check the full chain: does data flow from input to output?
  4. For integrations, test the full communication path end-to-end

Delegation: trust artifacts, not self-reports. When verifying delegated work, inspect the actual output artifact (git diff, file contents, runtime behavior), not the delegate's summary. Agents report what they intended, not always what happened.

Script the check when you can

The strongest proof is a deterministic script that re-runs the same comparison, not a one-time eyeball. Write the script, run it, and keep its output as an artifact a reviewer can re-run instead of trusting your word. A script comparing the old and new compiled output catches what a glance misses.

Keep the artifact visible for the human. Commit it only for large or complex work where the trail has to be auditable later, like a big port or migration (the show-me-your-work skill). Most work just needs it visible, not committed.

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