seek-verdict

seek-verdict: Independent Second-Opinion Verification

When NOT to Use

• General code review (use /codex-review-fast)
• Architecture debates (use /codex-brainstorm)
• Nit findings with no dismiss intent (use [NIT_DEFERRED])

Intent x Severity

| Intent | Purpose | Eligible Severities | Output Token | |--------|---------|-------------------|-------------| | dismiss | Is this a false positive? | All (P0/P1/P2/Nit) | [DISMISS_VERDICT] | | confirm | Does this issue actually exist? | All | [SEEK_VERDICT] | | clarify | What's the actual impact? | All | [SEEK_VERDICT] |

Default intent: dismiss (backward compatible with v1).

Dismiss Authorization

| Severity | Authorization | Gate | |----------|-------------|------| | P0 | DISMISS_CANDIDATE | Human confirmation required | | P1 | DISMISS_CANDIDATE | Human confirmation required | | P2 | DISMISS_VERIFIED | Automated | | Nit | DISMISS_VERIFIED | Automated |

P0/P1 dismiss produces a candidate, not a final authorization. See [Policy Mapping](references/policy-mapping.md) for human gate protocol.

3-Phase Protocol

sequenceDiagram
    participant C as Claude
    participant S as seek-verdict
    participant X as Codex (fresh thread)

    C->>S: Finding + intent + severity
    Note over S: Phase A: Candidate Packaging
    S->>S: Extract finding_packet<br/>(no Claude conclusions)
    S->>X: Phase B: Blind Independent Verdict
    Note over X: Independent research<br/>git status / grep / cat
    X-->>S: verdict + confidence + evidence
    Note over S: Phase C: Policy Mapping (intent x severity)
    alt intent=dismiss + P2/Nit
        S-->>C: DISMISS_VERIFIED / FIX_REQUIRED (automated)
    else intent=dismiss + P0/P1
        S-->>C: DISMISS_CANDIDATE + Need Human (human gate)
    else intent=confirm/clarify
        S-->>C: [SEEK_VERDICT] informational result
    end

Phase A: Candidate Packaging

Extract finding artifact from review output:

| Field | Source | |-------|--------| | finding_key | file + canonical_issue_text | | severity | <P0 \| P1 \| P2 \| Nit> | | intent | <dismiss \| confirm \| clarify> | | original_finding_text | Codex review original (secrets redacted) | | origin_thread_id | Review session threadId | | current_head_sha | git rev-parse HEAD | | relevant_diff | git diff HEAD -- <file> |

Critical: Record Claude's hypothesis locally. Never send it to Codex.

Phase B: Blind Independent Verdict

Use the prompt template in [Verdict Prompt](references/verdict-prompt.md).

| Requirement | Detail | |-------------|--------| | Thread | Fresh mcp__codex__codex (never reuse review thread) | | Sandbox | read-only | | Approval policy | never | | Anti-anchoring | No Claude conclusions in prompt |

Phase C: Policy Mapping

Apply thresholds from [Policy Mapping](references/policy-mapping.md).

Dismiss intent: graduated thresholds by severity (P0: 0.95/4, P1: 0.90/3, P2: 0.80/2, Nit: 0.70/1).

Confirm intent: ACTIONABLE->CONFIRMED, NON_ACTIONABLE->DISPUTED, low confidence->UNCERTAIN.

Clarify intent: HIGH_IMPACT / LOW_IMPACT / UNCERTAIN.

Output audit trail per [Policy Mapping](references/policy-mapping.md).

Rebuttal

If Codex returns FIX_REQUIRED and Claude has objective counter-evidence:

• 1 round max via mcp__codex__codex-reply (same verdict thread)
• Only objective artifacts (tests, specs, language semantics)
• After rebuttal: still FIX_REQUIRED -> fix; ambiguous -> NEED_HUMAN

Anti-Abuse Guard

See [Policy Mapping](references/policy-mapping.md) for full rules.

• Dismiss: 3 consecutive DISMISS_VERIFIED -> [DISMISS_PATTERN_WARN] + heightened thresholds
• Confirm/Clarify: per-finding cap (1 confirm + 1 clarify per finding per commit)
• Session end or branch switch resets all counters

Output

Dismiss intent:

[DISMISS_VERDICT] key=<file|canonical_issue> | severity=<P0-Nit> | verdict=<DISMISS_VERIFIED|DISMISS_CANDIDATE|FIX_REQUIRED|NEED_HUMAN> | confidence=<0..1> | codex_thread=<id> | evidence=<brief> | timestamp=<ISO8601> | intent=dismiss | authorization=<automated|human-required|human-confirmed>

Confirm/Clarify intent:

[SEEK_VERDICT] key=<file|canonical_issue> | severity=<P0-Nit> | intent=<confirm|clarify> | verdict=<CONFIRMED|DISPUTED|HIGH_IMPACT|LOW_IMPACT|UNCERTAIN> | confidence=<0..1> | codex_thread=<id> | evidence=<brief> | timestamp=<ISO8601>

Verification

• [ ] Intent is valid (dismiss / confirm / clarify)
• [ ] Codex prompt contains no Claude conclusions (anti-anchoring)
• [ ] Fresh Codex thread used (not review session thread)
• [ ] Correct audit trail token output ([DISMISS_VERDICT] or [SEEK_VERDICT])
• [ ] P0/P1 dismiss produces DISMISS_CANDIDATE + human gate (never auto-dismiss)
• [ ] Anti-abuse streak tracked (dismiss) / per-finding cap enforced (confirm/clarify)

References

| File | Purpose | |------|---------| | [Verdict Prompt](references/verdict-prompt.md) | Codex blind verification prompt template | | [Policy Mapping](references/policy-mapping.md) | Intent x severity thresholds, audit format, anti-abuse |