Task Completion Protocol for AI Coding Agents Prevents Silent Failures

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AI coding agents often declare a task 'done' after running only limited checks, leaving lint errors or failing tests undetected in the broader codebase. A software developer proposes a structured approach called the Task Completion Protocol, stored in a repository's AGENTS.md file, to enforce stricter verification before completion is claimed. The protocol requires agents to run the project's actual lint and test commands, fix any failures, and report concrete evidence of results. It distinguishes between coding and non-coding tasks to avoid unnecessary test runs, such as skipping backend tests for documentation-only changes. The goal is to catch broken states earlier in the development workflow, before they propagate to pull requests or subsequent agent sessions.

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