# Principle Prove It Works

Apply after completing a task, before declaring done.

- Repository: https://github.com/nightly-labs/openbot (4509 stars)
- Category: Engineering
- License: see repository
- Last updated: 2026-11-01
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add nightly-labs/openbot --skill principle-prove-it-works -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add nightly-labs/openbot --skill principle-prove-it-works -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add nightly-labs/openbot --skill principle-prove-it-works -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add nightly-labs/openbot --skill principle-prove-it-works -g -a gemini-cli -y`

## Description

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.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# 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.

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

## 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.

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).