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verify

The verify skill performs a self-diagnostic test of Citadel's hook pipeline by exercising core hooks through sequential tool operations, measuring telemetry changes, and reporting health status. Use it after updating hooks, when tools behave unexpectedly, or following fresh Citadel installation to confirm hooks are firing correctly and capturing audit and timing data.

Install in Claude Code
Copy
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/SethGammon/Citadel /tmp/verify && cp -r /tmp/verify/skills/verify ~/.claude/skills/verify
Then start a new Claude Code session; the skill loads automatically.

SKILL.md

# /verify — Hook Pipeline Self-Test

Use this when:
- Hooks were recently updated and you want a live sanity check
- Something feels wrong (tools seem too slow, quality-gate not firing)
- After installing Citadel in a new project

## Protocol

### Step 1: Baseline

Read the current telemetry state:
```
.planning/telemetry/hook-timing.jsonl  → count lines (baseline_timing)
.planning/telemetry/audit.jsonl        → count lines (baseline_audit)
.planning/telemetry/hook-errors.log    → size in bytes (baseline_errors)
```

If telemetry directory doesn't exist, note it (init-project may not have run).

### Step 2: Exercise hooks

Run these tool calls in sequence. Each exercises a different hook:

1. **Write** a temp file at `.planning/verify-temp.ts`:
   ```typescript
   // citadel verify probe
   export const verifyProbe = true;
   ```
   → Exercises: PreToolUse (protect-files, governance), PostToolUse (post-edit)

2. **Edit** the same file — change `true` to `false`:
   → Exercises: PreToolUse (protect-files, governance), PostToolUse (post-edit)

3. **Bash** a harmless read command: `echo "verify-probe"`
   → Exercises: PreToolUse (governance)

4. **Read** the temp file back
   → Exercises: PreToolUse (protect-files — should allow, it's not .env)

5. **Delete** the temp file: `rm .planning/verify-temp.ts` or equivalent
   → Cleanup

### Step 3: Check side effects

After all tool calls complete, read telemetry again:

| Check | Expected | Result |
|---|---|---|
| hook-timing.jsonl grew | +2 or more lines (Write + Edit post-hooks) | PASS/FAIL |
| audit.jsonl grew | +3 or more lines (Write + Edit + Bash pre-hooks) | PASS/FAIL |
| hook-errors.log unchanged | same size as baseline | PASS/FAIL |

### Step 4: Report

Output a results block:

```
=== HOOK HEALTH CHECK ===

hook-timing.jsonl:  +N lines  [PASS / FAIL]
audit.jsonl:        +N lines  [PASS / FAIL]
hook-errors.log:    no errors [PASS / FAIL — N new errors]

HOOK HEALTH: PASS
```

Or if any check fails:

```
HOOK HEALTH: FAIL

Failing checks:
- hook-timing.jsonl did not grow: PostToolUse hooks may not be firing
  → Verify hooks are installed: node scripts/verify-hooks.js
  → Check settings.json: cat .claude/settings.json | grep PostToolUse

- audit.jsonl did not grow: governance hook may not be firing
  → Check: node hooks_src/governance.js <<< '{}'
```

## Edge Cases

**No .planning/telemetry/ directory**: Init-project may not have run.
Output: "HOOK HEALTH: FAIL — .planning/telemetry/ not found. Run: node hooks_src/init-project.js"

**Hooks installed but telemetry still zero**: The project may have a harness.json
that disables telemetry. Check `features.telemetry` in .claude/harness.json.

**First-time run (no baseline)**: If the files don't exist before the test,
they should be created during the test. Treat "file created" as equivalent to "grew".

## What This Does NOT Test

- Hook correctness on edge cases (use verify-hooks.js for that)
- Full PreToolUse → tool → PostToolUse sequence isolation (use integration-test.js)
- Skill output quality (use skill-bench.js --execute)

## Quality Gates

- All 3 telemetry checks must pass: timing grew, audit grew, no new errors
- Temp file must be cleaned up regardless of pass/fail outcome
- Report must include exact counts (+N lines), not just PASS/FAIL
- If .planning/telemetry/ does not exist, FAIL immediately — do not fabricate counts

## Contextual Gates

**Disclosure:** Creates and deletes `.planning/verify-temp.ts` during the test. No other files modified.
**Reversibility:** green — temp file deleted on completion; no persistent changes.
**Trust gates:** Any — no restrictions.

## Exit Protocol

```
---HANDOFF---
- Hook pipeline: PASS / FAIL
- hook-timing.jsonl: +N lines
- audit.jsonl: +N lines
- hook-errors.log: N new errors (0 expected)
- Reversibility: green — no persistent changes; verify-temp.ts cleaned up
- Next: if FAIL, run node scripts/verify-hooks.js for deeper diagnostics
---
```