# A copy-paste completion protocol for AI coding agents.

> Source: <https://gist.github.com/sshlg/5aa710ee253cb109ea82bb482a699b8f>
> Published: 2026-08-25 23:41:30+00:00

The standard for building software with AI agents.

This is the compact, operational version of [The Proof of Done Manifesto](https://podmanifesto.org/). It is designed to be pasted into `AGENTS.md`

, `CLAUDE.md`

, or the context of a coding agent.

It does not replace tests, review, CI, or product validation. It defines what an agent must show before it may claim that software work is done.

I started formalizing this after a real agent run in which the task inventory was empty while a monitor process was still alive and polling.

Both observations were accurate. They were observations of different things, and the completion signal was looking at the wrong one ([the recorded case](https://github.com/ssheleg/task-pipeline/blob/f0402c22b147d6d143c55833ef906fb817972ab9/plugins/task-pipeline/skills/task-pipeline/references/residue.md#L28-L62)).

An AI agent can produce code, tests, documentation, and a convincing final report from the same misunderstanding. Agreement between those artifacts is useful, but it is not independent verification.

The agent's final message is an interface, not a source of truth.

`Done`

cannot mean that the agent stopped working or that a task list became empty. It must mean that the current state supports a bounded completion claim that another actor can check.

Every final report must contain four fields:

```
DONE
  What became true.

PROOF
  What was executed or observed, and where the result lives.

SCOPE
  The commit, environment, requirements, and surfaces covered.

NOT VERIFIED
  What was not checked, could not be checked, or remains uncertain.
```