feat(prompt): add verification discipline to default identity#97
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State changes (file writes, patches, mutating shell commands) are only 'done' once a deterministic check — build, tests, or read-back — has run and passed. The section defines what counts as a decisive check, requires read-only self-contained verification, forbids claiming success before observing the result, and sets the failure protocol: diagnose the root cause, never weaken the check, stop after two failures on the same target and report the blocker. Prompt-only change (Layer 0): no engine machinery, so it composes with any identity override and costs nothing when the model already verifies.
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| Status | Name | Latest Commit | Preview URL | Updated (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✅ Deployment successful! View logs |
odek | 7ce4ac1 | Commit Preview URL Branch Preview URL |
Jul 25 2026, 11:11 AM |
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What
Adds a Verification discipline section to the compiled-in default system prompt (
cmd/odek/main.go), plus a matching line in the prompt's doc comment.Prompt-only change ("Layer 0"): no engine machinery, no config, no new tool arguments.
Why
The ReAct loop treats "tool returned without error" as success, and the model can declare a change done without ever observing a check. This section makes verification an explicit standard:
test -f fileis not a check; prefer build + tests > build > syntax > read-back).Deliberately not included
Engine-enforced verification (auto-derived checks executed per iteration, rollback) was evaluated and deferred: it enforces the link that already works, adds an unapproved LLM-derived command execution path (against odek's deny-by-default posture), and has fuzzy coverage semantics with parallel tool batches. If this prompt proves insufficient, the next step is a single final-answer gate, not per-iteration enforcement.
Testing
go build ./...go test ./cmd/odek/ -run 'TestDefaultSystemPrompt|TestLoadIdentityFile|TestBuildSystemPrompt|TestIdentity' -count=1— passSuggested follow-up: A/B the AIEB benchmark suite with/without this prompt to measure the behavioral delta.