mexxi

0010. Each repository names its verify command ​

Status: Superseded by 0014 · Date: 2026-10-22

Supersedes 0005.

Context ​

0005 made npm run verify the one command that defines "mechanically healthy" for a repository. The interface was right, but its spelling tied it to npm. A Python, Go or Rust repository had to add a package.json that existed only to hold that script. /lesti added one even when the repository already had a reliable single command for its whole gate, such as make check, cargo test or tox.

Decision ​

  • A repository that uses mexxi has one verify command that defines "mechanically healthy" for it. The repository owns what it contains; mexxi only depends on the interface.
  • The command is npm run verify unless the repository's committed .mexxi.json names another as "verify". ibni prepare reads it from the commit the task starts from and reports it as verifyCommand. A verify that is not a non-empty string, or a .mexxi.json that is not a JSON object, stops prepare rather than falling back to the default.
  • Verifika stays the recommended engine, backing npm run verify with verifika --all. /lesti wires it into npm repositories and repositories with no gate, but records an existing reliable command in .mexxi.json rather than adding npm or Verifika.
  • /wettaq requires a green verify command before work starts and again before delivery. A failure means the work is not finished; checks are fixed, never weakened.
  • While working, agents run only the checks their change affects (vfk --changed where the repository uses Verifika). That is feedback, never a substitute for the final full run.
  • A repository can skip the local baseline run by naming, as ciCheck in .mexxi.json, the CI check that runs its full verify command. ibni prepare reuses that check's result only when it passed on the exact commit the task starts from.
  • /lesti is the one place mexxi installs this contract into a repository, by request and through a reviewed pull request.

Consequences ​

  • npm repositories behave exactly as before: with no verify in .mexxi.json, the command is npm run verify.
  • Other repositories keep their own tooling and need no package.json for mexxi's sake.
  • A repository without Verifika has no selective runs, so agents get slower feedback while working. The final gate is unchanged.
  • Instructions say "the verify command" instead of a literal command, so agents must carry verifyCommand from prepare or adopt through the run.
  • Because .mexxi.json is read from the base commit, a branch that changes verify takes effect only once it is merged.
  • A retained workspace keeps the verify command it was prepared with. A follow-up after the default branch changes verify still runs the old command until a fresh prepare.

Alternatives considered ​

  • Keep npm run verify everywhere: one spelling, but it forces npm onto repositories that have no other use for it.
  • Name the command in mexxi's user config: it would differ by machine, while the command belongs to the repository and its CI.
  • Detect the command from the stack: convenient, but a guess is exactly the inconsistency the contract exists to remove.