Part

Automated checks

You might say: deterministic gates, CI checks

Repeatable checks such as type checks, lint, tests, builds, security scans, and scenario tests. They return evidence that a run or pull request can read.

What it does
Catches deterministic failures early and gives rework a concrete signal.
Ask
What must pass before merge, and can the check expose a failure without a human reading the diff?

What to look for

  1. Green or red check dots on a pull request
  2. A check name, command, duration, and artifact on a run page
  3. A required status check blocking the merge control

Pattern

Defense in depth

Connections

Sources

  1. Anthropic, Best practices for Claude Code, Give Claude a way to verify its workGive Claude a check it can run: tests, a build, a screenshot to compare.
  2. GitHub, About protected branches, Require status checks before mergingAfter enabling required status checks, all required status checks must pass before collaborators can merge changes into the protected branch.
  3. Titus Winters et al., Software Engineering at Google, Continuous IntegrationEach integration is verified by an automated build (including test) to detect integration errors as quickly as possible.
  4. Martin Fowler, Continuous Integration, Every Push to Mainline Should Trigger a BuildWe thus need to ensure that every commit is verified in a reference environment.
  5. Martin Fowler, Continuous Delivery, Continuous DeliveryAnybody can get fast, automated feedback on the production readiness of their systems any time somebody makes a change to them
  6. Neal Ford et al., Building Evolutionary Architectures, 2nd Edition, Chapter 1, Evolving Software Architecture (free chapter PDF)The fitness function metaphor encompasses a variety of mechanisms we employ to ensure architecture doesn’t change in undesirable ways, including metrics, tests, and other verification tools.
  7. Lauren Tan, pstack, Script the check when you canThe strongest proof is a deterministic script that re-runs the same comparison, not a one-time eyeball.
  8. Matt Pocock, 11 Tips For AI Coding With Ralph Wiggum, 5. Use Feedback LoopsThe best setup blocks commits unless everything passes. Ralph can't declare victory if the tests are red.
  9. Matt Pocock, AI Coding Dictionary, Automated checkDeterminism is what makes the loop trustworthy
  10. Matt Pocock, software-factory skill (pull request #1316), Start slowdeterministic gates (types, lint, tests) that every run must pass.

Use it on your project

teardown-apply: hold "Automated checks" (automated-checks) from the teardown at https://teardownatlas.com/software-factory/ against my project

Paste it into a coding agent that has the teardown skills.

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