Verifier Profile

Verifier Profile#

The verifier profile is a built-in gptme profile for subagents whose job is to validate, test, or audit work produced by another subagent or the parent session.

Motivation#

Subagent delegation follows a natural pattern: one agent builds, another reviews. Without an explicit verifier profile, callers had to encode verification posture indirectly through prompt phrasing and parameter bundles. The verifier profile makes the contract explicit.

Behavior#

Attribute

Value

System prompt

“You are in VERIFIER mode.” — focuses on validation, testing, and correctness

Tool access

read, shell, ipython, chats — can read code, execute tests, analyze results, and query conversation history. No network access (no browser), no file modification (no save/patch)

Behavior rules

read_only=True — soft prompting only, not hard-enforced at the tool level for subprocess/ACP modes

Usage#

# Auto-detected from agent_id or alias
subagent("verifier", "Check that the refactored module passes all existing tests")

# Auto-detected from alias
subagent("verify", "Review the PR diff for correctness issues")

# Via explicit role parameter (recommended for typed delegation)
subagent("my-reviewer", "Review this code", role="verify")

# Explicit profile parameter overrides auto-detection
subagent("my-reviewer", "Review this code", profile="verifier")

The role="verify" parameter additionally sets use_subprocess=True and isolated=True by default — the verifier runs in a subprocess with a throwaway worktree so it cannot accidentally modify the parent workspace. Explicit use_subprocess and isolated arguments override these defaults.

Implementation#

  • Defined in gptme/profiles.py in the BUILTIN_PROFILES dict

  • Tool restrictions: ["read", "shell", "ipython", "chats"] — can analyze and test but not modify files or browse

  • Behavior: read_only=True (soft prompt, not hard-enforced in subprocess mode)

  • Alias "verify" mapped via profile_aliases dict in gptme/tools/subagent/api.py

Precedence#

Role resolution follows deterministic priority:

  1. Explicit profile= parameter (highest priority)

  2. role= parameter profile (e.g., role="verify" → "verifier", overrides agent_id auto-detection)

  3. agent_id auto-detection (profile name match or alias, e.g., "verify" → "verifier")

  4. Existing base defaults (no profile applied)

Note: role= overrides agent_id auto-detection so typed delegation is unambiguous. An explicit profile= still wins over everything, including role=.