Make coding agents verify their own work before saying done
Reticle is an open-source tool that makes AI coding agents check their own output instead of just claiming a task is finished.
Source
dshekhar17 on Hacker News · 2026-10-20 · Project link
Written in our own words. Credit to the original author. Link checked 2026-10-22.
What they did
Reticle is an open-source tool that makes AI coding agents check their own output instead of just claiming a task is finished.
Result (as claimed)
Fewer "done" claims that turn out broken.
Tools they used
Cost: Claude Code: from $17/mo; OpenAI Codex: free plan, paid from $8/mo; Cursor: free plan, paid from $8/mo.
Set it up
Pick a contained repo or task
Start on a branch or side project where mistakes are cheap.
Install and configure
Set up Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor. Read what it can run on your machine and limit permissions where possible.
Run it on a real task
Give it a well-scoped issue and let it work. Review the diff like any pull request.
Add guardrails
Keep tests and CI in the loop, and never let an agent push to main or touch production secrets unattended.
Copy the full setup prompt
Paste into your agent and it will walk you through the setup, asking before anything that sends, posts or spends.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Claude Code. Goal: Make coding agents verify their own work before saying done What the original author did: Reticle is an open-source tool that makes AI coding agents check their own output instead of just claiming a task is finished. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Fewer "done" claims that turn out broken. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50163896 Tools they used: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor Category: Dev & ops Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Codex. Goal: Make coding agents verify their own work before saying done What the original author did: Reticle is an open-source tool that makes AI coding agents check their own output instead of just claiming a task is finished. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Fewer "done" claims that turn out broken. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50163896 Tools they used: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor Category: Dev & ops Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Grok Bot. Goal: Make coding agents verify their own work before saying done What the original author did: Reticle is an open-source tool that makes AI coding agents check their own output instead of just claiming a task is finished. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Fewer "done" claims that turn out broken. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50163896 Tools they used: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor Category: Dev & ops Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
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Guides for this use case
How to run multiple coding agents together · How to use Claude Code and Codex together · How to use Cursor agents and automations · How to vibe code an app with Claude Code
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