The problem in their words
Coding agents report a task as done when it is not. The end-of-run summary is written by "the same model that wants to be done," and an agent that reviews its own work approves its own work. Checks that only look at the surface pass anyway, like a gate that passed because a file existed even though it held the error message.
Who's asking
- r/claudecode: 5 posts
- r/claudeai: 3 posts
- r/cursor: 1 post
- r/promptengineering: 1 post
What they use today
- Plan file the agent must diff its changes against
- Running the test command and taking screenshots
- Scrolling up to check the commands actually run
- One-line file check in a script
- Graders that check run output, not the summary
All 10 posts
how do you get claude code to actually check its work before saying "done"?
“my current setup: the plan goes in a file, and before it finishes it has to diff what it changed against that plan and list anything it skipped.”
r/claudecode · 19 Oct 2026 · Read it on Reddit (how do you get claude code to actually check its work before saying "done"?) "all tests pass" in the summary vs what it actually ran
“the end of run summary is written by the same model that wants to be done.”
r/claudecode · 15 Oct 2026 · Read it on Reddit ("all tests pass" in the summary vs what it actually ran) “Our gate passed because the file existed. The file contained the error message.”
r/claudecode · 11 Oct 2026 · Read it on Reddit (Our gate passed because the file existed. The file contained the error message.) How do you decide when a Cursor-built feature is actually ready?
“One thing I've been running into with AI-assisted development is that "working" and "ready" seem to be becoming two different things.”
r/cursor · 7 Oct 2026 · Read it on Reddit (How do you decide when a Cursor-built feature is actually ready?) What do you consider "done" when Claude Code says a task is finished?
“It can build the feature, run the tests, fix the failures, and tell you everything is working.”
r/claudecode · 7 Oct 2026 · Read it on Reddit (What do you consider "done" when Claude Code says a task is finished?) What do you consider "done" when Claude Code says a task is finished?
“It can build the feature, run the tests, fix the failures, and tell you everything is working.”
r/claudeai · 7 Oct 2026 · Read it on Reddit (What do you consider "done" when Claude Code says a task is finished?) “When AI writes both the code and the tests, how do you catch the mistakes?”
r/claudeai · 6 Oct 2026 · Read it on Reddit (When AI writes both the code and the tests, how do you catch the mistakes?) My agent passed its own quality check nine days in a row. I thought that meant it was working.
“The last step was the agent reading the email it had just written and telling me whether it was good enough. It always said yes.”
r/claudeai · 26 Sep 2026 · Read it on Reddit (My agent passed its own quality check nine days in a row. I thought that meant it was working.) 5 of our 8 headless agent runs built the thing, validated it, reported success, and never ran it. The prompt said "Do NOT ask for approval".
“The graders caught it because they check the run output, not the summary.”
r/claudecode · 24 Sep 2026 · Read it on Reddit (5 of our 8 headless agent runs built the thing, validated it, reported success, and never ran it. The prompt said "Do NOT ask for approval".) An agent that reviews its own work approves its own work. It already convinced itself.
“An agent that reviews its own work approves its own work.”
r/promptengineering · 10 Sep 2026 · Read it on Reddit (An agent that reviews its own work approves its own work. It already convinced itself.)
If you tested it
A headline for the page: “Know if your agent's task is actually done”
Test first: The riskiest assumption is that developers will trust and use an outside check over their own habits, shown by sign-ups after the page shows a claimed-versus-ran report.
- Build a page with a sample report that puts what the agent claimed beside what it actually ran, with skipped tests flagged.
- Share it in agent coding communities like the ones in these posts, in threads about agents saying work is done.
- Treat a steady stream of sign-ups, plus replies asking to try it on a real run, as a yes.
Test this idea
Edit it to make it yours, then see who's asking this week. If you want, Ghostlaunch builds the page and runs the 7-day test.