Sanity Check

When to Run

Checks

1. Run with Real Data

• Execute the program with real inputs (dry-run if available).
• Check output makes sense — wrong numbers, weird dates, implausible results → investigate.
• If no dry-run mode exists, call real endpoints in a throwaway script and confirm the response matches your code's assumptions.

2. Cross-Check External APIs

• Verify every field name, enum value, and response shape against actual API docs.
• Don't trust what you "know" — open the docs and confirm.
• If you can't verify a field, response shape, or identifier from docs or real responses, stop and ask. A wrong guess that passes tests is worse than a blocker that gets flagged.

3. Smell Test

• Does the output look right to a human?
• Are the numbers in the right ballpark?
• Would you trust this if you saw it in production?

4. Contract Boundaries

• Changed a public API/interface? Verify all callers still work.
• Touched persistence/state? Verify read/write roundtrip with real data.
• Changed config? Verify the program starts with the new config.
• Schema/state changes must be forward-compatible. Document rollback path.

If Something Smells Off

Output

• Verified: what you checked and how
• Gaps: things you couldn't verify and why
• Confidence:

  ship it

  /

  needs review

  /

  blocked