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openclaw/docs/help/testing.md
Peter Steinberger 6a00be5f90
fix(update): complete channel switch follow-up work
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summary read_when title
Testing kit: unit/e2e/live suites, Docker runners, and what each test covers
Running tests locally or in CI
Adding regressions for model/provider bugs
Debugging gateway + agent behavior
Testing

OpenClaw has three Vitest suites (unit/integration, e2e, live) and a small set of Docker runners. This doc is a "how we test" guide:

  • What each suite covers (and what it deliberately does not cover).
  • Which commands to run for common workflows (local, pre-push, debugging).
  • How live tests discover credentials and select models/providers.
  • How to add regressions for real-world model/provider issues.

Quick start

Most days:

  • Full gate (expected before push): pnpm build && pnpm check && pnpm check:test-types && pnpm test
  • Faster local full-suite run on a roomy machine: pnpm test:max
  • Direct Vitest watch loop: pnpm test:watch
  • Direct file targeting now routes extension/channel paths too: pnpm test extensions/discord/src/monitor/message-handler.preflight.test.ts
  • Prefer targeted runs first when you are iterating on a single failure.
  • Docker-backed QA site: pnpm qa:lab:up
  • Linux VM-backed QA lane: pnpm openclaw qa suite --runner multipass --scenario channel-chat-baseline

When you touch tests or want extra confidence:

  • Coverage gate: pnpm test:coverage
  • E2E suite: pnpm test:e2e

When debugging real providers/models (requires real creds):

  • Live suite (models + gateway tool/image probes): pnpm test:live
  • Target one live file quietly: pnpm test:live -- src/agents/models.profiles.live.test.ts
  • Docker live model sweep: pnpm test:docker:live-models
    • Each selected model now runs a text turn plus a small file-read-style probe. Models whose metadata advertises image input also run a tiny image turn. Disable the extra probes with OPENCLAW_LIVE_MODEL_FILE_PROBE=0 or OPENCLAW_LIVE_MODEL_IMAGE_PROBE=0 when isolating provider failures.
    • CI coverage: daily OpenClaw Scheduled Live And E2E Checks and manual OpenClaw Release Checks both call the reusable live/E2E workflow with include_live_suites: true, which includes separate Docker live model matrix jobs sharded by provider.
    • For focused CI reruns, dispatch OpenClaw Live And E2E Checks (Reusable) with include_live_suites: true and live_models_only: true.
    • Add new high-signal provider secrets to scripts/ci-hydrate-live-auth.sh plus .github/workflows/openclaw-live-and-e2e-checks-reusable.yml and its scheduled/release callers.
  • Native Codex bound-chat smoke: pnpm test:docker:live-codex-bind
    • Runs a Docker live lane against the Codex app-server path, binds a synthetic Slack DM with /codex bind, exercises /codex fast and /codex permissions, then verifies a plain reply and an image attachment route through the native plugin binding instead of ACP.
  • Codex app-server harness smoke: pnpm test:docker:live-codex-harness
    • Runs gateway agent turns through the plugin-owned Codex app-server harness, verifies /codex status and /codex models, and by default exercises image, cron MCP, sub-agent, and Guardian probes. Disable the sub-agent probe with OPENCLAW_LIVE_CODEX_HARNESS_SUBAGENT_PROBE=0 when isolating other Codex app-server failures. For a focused sub-agent check, disable the other probes: OPENCLAW_LIVE_CODEX_HARNESS_IMAGE_PROBE=0 OPENCLAW_LIVE_CODEX_HARNESS_MCP_PROBE=0 OPENCLAW_LIVE_CODEX_HARNESS_GUARDIAN_PROBE=0 OPENCLAW_LIVE_CODEX_HARNESS_SUBAGENT_PROBE=1 pnpm test:docker:live-codex-harness. This exits after the sub-agent probe unless OPENCLAW_LIVE_CODEX_HARNESS_SUBAGENT_ONLY=0 is set.
  • Crestodian rescue command smoke: pnpm test:live:crestodian-rescue-channel
    • Opt-in belt-and-suspenders check for the message-channel rescue command surface. It exercises /crestodian status, queues a persistent model change, replies /crestodian yes, and verifies the audit/config write path.
  • Crestodian planner Docker smoke: pnpm test:docker:crestodian-planner
    • Runs Crestodian in a configless container with a fake Claude CLI on PATH and verifies the fuzzy planner fallback translates into an audited typed config write.
  • Crestodian first-run Docker smoke: pnpm test:docker:crestodian-first-run
    • Starts from an empty OpenClaw state dir, routes bare openclaw to Crestodian, applies setup/model/agent/Discord plugin + SecretRef writes, validates config, and verifies audit entries. The same Ring 0 setup path is also covered in QA Lab by pnpm openclaw qa suite --scenario crestodian-ring-zero-setup.
  • Moonshot/Kimi cost smoke: with MOONSHOT_API_KEY set, run openclaw models list --provider moonshot --json, then run an isolated openclaw agent --local --session-id live-kimi-cost --message 'Reply exactly: KIMI_LIVE_OK' --thinking off --json against moonshot/kimi-k2.6. Verify the JSON reports Moonshot/K2.6 and the assistant transcript stores normalized usage.cost.

Tip: when you only need one failing case, prefer narrowing live tests via the allowlist env vars described below.

QA-specific runners

These commands sit beside the main test suites when you need QA-lab realism:

CI runs QA Lab in dedicated workflows. Parity gate runs on matching PRs and from manual dispatch with mock providers. QA-Lab - All Lanes runs nightly on main and from manual dispatch with the mock parity gate, live Matrix lane, and Convex-managed live Telegram lane as parallel jobs. OpenClaw Release Checks runs the same lanes before release approval.

  • pnpm openclaw qa suite

    • Runs repo-backed QA scenarios directly on the host.
    • Runs multiple selected scenarios in parallel by default with isolated gateway workers. qa-channel defaults to concurrency 4 (bounded by the selected scenario count). Use --concurrency <count> to tune the worker count, or --concurrency 1 for the older serial lane.
    • Exits non-zero when any scenario fails. Use --allow-failures when you want artifacts without a failing exit code.
    • Supports provider modes live-frontier, mock-openai, and aimock. aimock starts a local AIMock-backed provider server for experimental fixture and protocol-mock coverage without replacing the scenario-aware mock-openai lane.

  • pnpm openclaw qa suite --runner multipass

    • Runs the same QA suite inside a disposable Multipass Linux VM.
    • Keeps the same scenario-selection behavior as qa suite on the host.
    • Reuses the same provider/model selection flags as qa suite.
    • Live runs forward the supported QA auth inputs that are practical for the guest: env-based provider keys, the QA live provider config path, and CODEX_HOME when present.
    • Output dirs must stay under the repo root so the guest can write back through the mounted workspace.
    • Writes the normal QA report + summary plus Multipass logs under .artifacts/qa-e2e/....

  • pnpm qa:lab:up

    • Starts the Docker-backed QA site for operator-style QA work.

  • pnpm test:docker:npm-onboard-channel-agent

    • Builds an npm tarball from the current checkout, installs it globally in Docker, runs non-interactive OpenAI API-key onboarding, configures Telegram by default, verifies enabling the plugin installs runtime dependencies on demand, runs doctor, and runs one local agent turn against a mocked OpenAI endpoint.
    • Use OPENCLAW_NPM_ONBOARD_CHANNEL=discord to run the same packaged-install lane with Discord.

  • pnpm test:docker:session-runtime-context

    • Runs a deterministic built-app Docker smoke for embedded runtime context transcripts. It verifies hidden OpenClaw runtime context is persisted as a non-display custom message instead of leaking into the visible user turn, then seeds an affected broken session JSONL and verifies openclaw doctor --fix rewrites it to the active branch with a backup.

  • pnpm test:docker:npm-telegram-live

    • Installs a published OpenClaw package in Docker, runs installed-package onboarding, configures Telegram through the installed CLI, then reuses the live Telegram QA lane with that installed package as the SUT Gateway.
    • Defaults to OPENCLAW_NPM_TELEGRAM_PACKAGE_SPEC=openclaw@beta.
    • Uses the same Telegram env credentials or Convex credential source as pnpm openclaw qa telegram. For CI/release automation, set OPENCLAW_NPM_TELEGRAM_CREDENTIAL_SOURCE=convex plus OPENCLAW_QA_CONVEX_SITE_URL and the role secret. If OPENCLAW_QA_CONVEX_SITE_URL and a Convex role secret are present in CI, the Docker wrapper selects Convex automatically.
    • OPENCLAW_NPM_TELEGRAM_CREDENTIAL_ROLE=ci|maintainer overrides the shared OPENCLAW_QA_CREDENTIAL_ROLE for this lane only.
    • GitHub Actions exposes this lane as the manual maintainer workflow NPM Telegram Beta E2E. It does not run on merge. The workflow uses the qa-live-shared environment and Convex CI credential leases.

  • pnpm test:docker:bundled-channel-deps

    • Packs and installs the current OpenClaw build in Docker, starts the Gateway with OpenAI configured, then enables bundled channel/plugins via config edits.
    • Verifies setup discovery leaves unconfigured plugin runtime dependencies absent, the first configured Gateway or doctor run installs each bundled plugin's runtime dependencies on demand, and a second restart does not reinstall dependencies that were already activated.
    • Also installs a known older npm baseline, enables Telegram before running openclaw update --tag <candidate>, and verifies the candidate's post-update doctor repairs bundled channel runtime dependencies without a harness-side postinstall repair.

  • pnpm test:parallels:npm-update

    • Runs the native packaged-install update smoke across Parallels guests. Each selected platform first installs the requested baseline package, then runs the installed openclaw update command in the same guest and verifies the installed version, update status, gateway readiness, and one local agent turn.

    • Use --platform macos, --platform windows, or --platform linux while iterating on one guest. Use --json for the summary artifact path and per-lane status.

    • The OpenAI lane uses openai/gpt-5.5 for the live agent-turn proof by default. Pass --model <provider/model> or set OPENCLAW_PARALLELS_OPENAI_MODEL when deliberately validating another OpenAI model.

    • Wrap long local runs in a host timeout so Parallels transport stalls cannot consume the rest of the testing window:

      timeout --foreground 150m pnpm test:parallels:npm-update -- --json
timeout --foreground 90m pnpm test:parallels:npm-update -- --platform windows --json

    • The script writes nested lane logs under /tmp/openclaw-parallels-npm-update.*. Inspect windows-update.log, macos-update.log, or linux-update.log before assuming the outer wrapper is hung.

    • Windows update can spend 10 to 15 minutes in post-update doctor/runtime dependency repair on a cold guest; that is still healthy when the nested npm debug log is advancing.

    • Do not run this aggregate wrapper in parallel with individual Parallels macOS, Windows, or Linux smoke lanes. They share VM state and can collide on snapshot restore, package serving, or guest gateway state.

    • The post-update proof runs the normal bundled plugin surface because capability facades such as speech, image generation, and media understanding are loaded through bundled runtime APIs even when the agent turn itself only checks a simple text response.

  • pnpm openclaw qa aimock

    • Starts only the local AIMock provider server for direct protocol smoke testing.

  • pnpm openclaw qa matrix

    • Runs the Matrix live QA lane against a disposable Docker-backed Tuwunel homeserver.
    • This QA host is repo/dev-only today. Packaged OpenClaw installs do not ship qa-lab, so they do not expose openclaw qa.
    • Repo checkouts load the bundled runner directly; no separate plugin install step is needed.
    • Provisions three temporary Matrix users (driver, sut, observer) plus one private room, then starts a QA gateway child with the real Matrix plugin as the SUT transport.
    • Uses the pinned stable Tuwunel image ghcr.io/matrix-construct/tuwunel:v1.5.1 by default. Override with OPENCLAW_QA_MATRIX_TUWUNEL_IMAGE when you need to test a different image.
    • Matrix does not expose shared credential-source flags because the lane provisions disposable users locally.
    • Writes a Matrix QA report, summary, observed-events artifact, and combined stdout/stderr output log under .artifacts/qa-e2e/....
    • Emits progress by default and enforces a hard run timeout with OPENCLAW_QA_MATRIX_TIMEOUT_MS (default 30 minutes). Cleanup is bounded by OPENCLAW_QA_MATRIX_CLEANUP_TIMEOUT_MS and failures include the recovery docker compose ... down --remove-orphans command.

  • pnpm openclaw qa telegram

    • Runs the Telegram live QA lane against a real private group using the driver and SUT bot tokens from env.
    • Requires OPENCLAW_QA_TELEGRAM_GROUP_ID, OPENCLAW_QA_TELEGRAM_DRIVER_BOT_TOKEN, and OPENCLAW_QA_TELEGRAM_SUT_BOT_TOKEN. The group id must be the numeric Telegram chat id.
    • Supports --credential-source convex for shared pooled credentials. Use env mode by default, or set OPENCLAW_QA_CREDENTIAL_SOURCE=convex to opt into pooled leases.
    • Exits non-zero when any scenario fails. Use --allow-failures when you want artifacts without a failing exit code.
    • Requires two distinct bots in the same private group, with the SUT bot exposing a Telegram username.
    • For stable bot-to-bot observation, enable Bot-to-Bot Communication Mode in @BotFather for both bots and ensure the driver bot can observe group bot traffic.
    • Writes a Telegram QA report, summary, and observed-messages artifact under .artifacts/qa-e2e/.... Replying scenarios include RTT from driver send request to observed SUT reply.

Live transport lanes share one standard contract so new transports do not drift:

qa-channel remains the broad synthetic QA suite and is not part of the live transport coverage matrix.

Lane Canary Mention gating Allowlist block Top-level reply Restart resume Thread follow-up Thread isolation Reaction observation Help command
Matrix x x x x x x x x
Telegram x x

Shared Telegram credentials via Convex (v1)

When --credential-source convex (or OPENCLAW_QA_CREDENTIAL_SOURCE=convex) is enabled for openclaw qa telegram, QA lab acquires an exclusive lease from a Convex-backed pool, heartbeats that lease while the lane is running, and releases the lease on shutdown.

Reference Convex project scaffold:

  • qa/convex-credential-broker/

Required env vars:

  • OPENCLAW_QA_CONVEX_SITE_URL (for example https://your-deployment.convex.site)
  • One secret for the selected role:
    • OPENCLAW_QA_CONVEX_SECRET_MAINTAINER for maintainer
    • OPENCLAW_QA_CONVEX_SECRET_CI for ci
  • Credential role selection:
    • CLI: --credential-role maintainer|ci
    • Env default: OPENCLAW_QA_CREDENTIAL_ROLE (defaults to ci in CI, maintainer otherwise)

Optional env vars:

  • OPENCLAW_QA_CREDENTIAL_LEASE_TTL_MS (default 1200000)
  • OPENCLAW_QA_CREDENTIAL_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL_MS (default 30000)
  • OPENCLAW_QA_CREDENTIAL_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT_MS (default 90000)
  • OPENCLAW_QA_CREDENTIAL_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MS (default 15000)
  • OPENCLAW_QA_CONVEX_ENDPOINT_PREFIX (default /qa-credentials/v1)
  • OPENCLAW_QA_CREDENTIAL_OWNER_ID (optional trace id)
  • OPENCLAW_QA_ALLOW_INSECURE_HTTP=1 allows loopback http:// Convex URLs for local-only development.

OPENCLAW_QA_CONVEX_SITE_URL should use https:// in normal operation.

Maintainer admin commands (pool add/remove/list) require OPENCLAW_QA_CONVEX_SECRET_MAINTAINER specifically.

CLI helpers for maintainers:

pnpm openclaw qa credentials doctor
pnpm openclaw qa credentials add --kind telegram --payload-file qa/telegram-credential.json
pnpm openclaw qa credentials list --kind telegram
pnpm openclaw qa credentials remove --credential-id <credential-id>

Use doctor before live runs to check the Convex site URL, broker secrets, endpoint prefix, HTTP timeout, and admin/list reachability without printing secret values. Use --json for machine-readable output in scripts and CI utilities.

Default endpoint contract (OPENCLAW_QA_CONVEX_SITE_URL + /qa-credentials/v1):

  • POST /acquire
    • Request: { kind, ownerId, actorRole, leaseTtlMs, heartbeatIntervalMs }
    • Success: { status: "ok", credentialId, leaseToken, payload, leaseTtlMs?, heartbeatIntervalMs? }
    • Exhausted/retryable: { status: "error", code: "POOL_EXHAUSTED" | "NO_CREDENTIAL_AVAILABLE", ... }
  • POST /heartbeat
    • Request: { kind, ownerId, actorRole, credentialId, leaseToken, leaseTtlMs }
    • Success: { status: "ok" } (or empty 2xx)
  • POST /release
    • Request: { kind, ownerId, actorRole, credentialId, leaseToken }
    • Success: { status: "ok" } (or empty 2xx)
  • POST /admin/add (maintainer secret only)
    • Request: { kind, actorId, payload, note?, status? }
    • Success: { status: "ok", credential }
  • POST /admin/remove (maintainer secret only)
    • Request: { credentialId, actorId }
    • Success: { status: "ok", changed, credential }
    • Active lease guard: { status: "error", code: "LEASE_ACTIVE", ... }
  • POST /admin/list (maintainer secret only)
    • Request: { kind?, status?, includePayload?, limit? }
    • Success: { status: "ok", credentials, count }

Payload shape for Telegram kind:

  • { groupId: string, driverToken: string, sutToken: string }
  • groupId must be a numeric Telegram chat id string.
  • admin/add validates this shape for kind: "telegram" and rejects malformed payloads.

Adding a channel to QA

Adding a channel to the markdown QA system requires exactly two things:

  1. A transport adapter for the channel.
  2. A scenario pack that exercises the channel contract.

Do not add a new top-level QA command root when the shared qa-lab host can own the flow.

qa-lab owns the shared host mechanics:

  • the openclaw qa command root
  • suite startup and teardown
  • worker concurrency
  • artifact writing
  • report generation
  • scenario execution
  • compatibility aliases for older qa-channel scenarios

Runner plugins own the transport contract:

  • how openclaw qa <runner> is mounted beneath the shared qa root
  • how the gateway is configured for that transport
  • how readiness is checked
  • how inbound events are injected
  • how outbound messages are observed
  • how transcripts and normalized transport state are exposed
  • how transport-backed actions are executed
  • how transport-specific reset or cleanup is handled

The minimum adoption bar for a new channel is:

  1. Keep qa-lab as the owner of the shared qa root.
  2. Implement the transport runner on the shared qa-lab host seam.
  3. Keep transport-specific mechanics inside the runner plugin or channel harness.
  4. Mount the runner as openclaw qa <runner> instead of registering a competing root command. Runner plugins should declare qaRunners in openclaw.plugin.json and export a matching qaRunnerCliRegistrations array from runtime-api.ts. Keep runtime-api.ts light; lazy CLI and runner execution should stay behind separate entrypoints.
  5. Author or adapt markdown scenarios under the themed qa/scenarios/ directories.
  6. Use the generic scenario helpers for new scenarios.
  7. Keep existing compatibility aliases working unless the repo is doing an intentional migration.

The decision rule is strict:

  • If behavior can be expressed once in qa-lab, put it in qa-lab.
  • If behavior depends on one channel transport, keep it in that runner plugin or plugin harness.
  • If a scenario needs a new capability that more than one channel can use, add a generic helper instead of a channel-specific branch in suite.ts.
  • If a behavior is only meaningful for one transport, keep the scenario transport-specific and make that explicit in the scenario contract.

Preferred generic helper names for new scenarios are:

  • waitForTransportReady
  • waitForChannelReady
  • injectInboundMessage
  • injectOutboundMessage
  • waitForTransportOutboundMessage
  • waitForChannelOutboundMessage
  • waitForNoTransportOutbound
  • getTransportSnapshot
  • readTransportMessage
  • readTransportTranscript
  • formatTransportTranscript
  • resetTransport

Compatibility aliases remain available for existing scenarios, including:

  • waitForQaChannelReady
  • waitForOutboundMessage
  • waitForNoOutbound
  • formatConversationTranscript
  • resetBus

New channel work should use the generic helper names. Compatibility aliases exist to avoid a flag day migration, not as the model for new scenario authoring.

Test suites (what runs where)

Think of the suites as “increasing realism” (and increasing flakiness/cost):

Unit / integration (default)

  • Command: pnpm test
  • Config: untargeted runs use the vitest.full-*.config.ts shard set and may expand multi-project shards into per-project configs for parallel scheduling
  • Files: core/unit inventories under src/**/*.test.ts, packages/**/*.test.ts, test/**/*.test.ts, and the whitelisted ui node tests covered by vitest.unit.config.ts
  • Scope:
    • Pure unit tests
    • In-process integration tests (gateway auth, routing, tooling, parsing, config)
    • Deterministic regressions for known bugs
  • Expectations:
    • Runs in CI
    • No real keys required
    • Should be fast and stable
- Untargeted `pnpm test` runs twelve smaller shard configs (`core-unit-fast`, `core-unit-src`, `core-unit-security`, `core-unit-ui`, `core-unit-support`, `core-support-boundary`, `core-contracts`, `core-bundled`, `core-runtime`, `agentic`, `auto-reply`, `extensions`) instead of one giant native root-project process. This cuts peak RSS on loaded machines and avoids auto-reply/extension work starving unrelated suites.
- `pnpm test --watch` still uses the native root `vitest.config.ts` project graph, because a multi-shard watch loop is not practical.
- `pnpm test`, `pnpm test:watch`, and `pnpm test:perf:imports` route explicit file/directory targets through scoped lanes first, so `pnpm test extensions/discord/src/monitor/message-handler.preflight.test.ts` avoids paying the full root project startup tax.
- `pnpm test:changed` expands changed git paths into the same scoped lanes when the diff only touches routable source/test files; config/setup edits still fall back to the broad root-project rerun.
- `pnpm check:changed` is the normal smart local gate for narrow work. It classifies the diff into core, core tests, extensions, extension tests, apps, docs, release metadata, live Docker tooling, and tooling, then runs the matching typecheck/lint/test lanes. Public Plugin SDK and plugin-contract changes include one extension validation pass because extensions depend on those core contracts. Release metadata-only version bumps run targeted version/config/root-dependency checks instead of the full suite, with a guard that rejects package changes outside the top-level version field.
- Live Docker ACP harness edits run a focused local gate: shell syntax for the live Docker auth scripts, live Docker scheduler dry-run, ACP bind unit tests, and the ACPX extension tests. `package.json` changes are included only when the diff is limited to `scripts["test:docker:live-*"]`; dependency, export, version, and other package-surface edits still use the broader guards.
- Import-light unit tests from agents, commands, plugins, auto-reply helpers, `plugin-sdk`, and similar pure utility areas route through the `unit-fast` lane, which skips `test/setup-openclaw-runtime.ts`; stateful/runtime-heavy files stay on the existing lanes.
- Selected `plugin-sdk` and `commands` helper source files also map changed-mode runs to explicit sibling tests in those light lanes, so helper edits avoid rerunning the full heavy suite for that directory.
- `auto-reply` has dedicated buckets for top-level core helpers, top-level `reply.*` integration tests, and the `src/auto-reply/reply/**` subtree. CI further splits the reply subtree into agent-runner, dispatch, and commands/state-routing shards so one import-heavy bucket does not own the full Node tail.

- When you change message-tool discovery inputs or compaction runtime
  context, keep both levels of coverage.
- Add focused helper regressions for pure routing and normalization
  boundaries.
- Keep the embedded runner integration suites healthy:
  `src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/compact.hooks.test.ts`,
  `src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/run.overflow-compaction.test.ts`, and
  `src/agents/pi-embedded-runner/run.overflow-compaction.loop.test.ts`.
- Those suites verify that scoped ids and compaction behavior still flow
  through the real `run.ts` / `compact.ts` paths; helper-only tests are
  not a sufficient substitute for those integration paths.

- Base Vitest config defaults to `threads`.
- The shared Vitest config fixes `isolate: false` and uses the
  non-isolated runner across the root projects, e2e, and live configs.
- The root UI lane keeps its `jsdom` setup and optimizer, but runs on the
  shared non-isolated runner too.
- Each `pnpm test` shard inherits the same `threads` + `isolate: false`
  defaults from the shared Vitest config.
- `scripts/run-vitest.mjs` adds `--no-maglev` for Vitest child Node
  processes by default to reduce V8 compile churn during big local runs.
  Set `OPENCLAW_VITEST_ENABLE_MAGLEV=1` to compare against stock V8
  behavior.

- `pnpm changed:lanes` shows which architectural lanes a diff triggers.
- The pre-commit hook is formatting-only. It restages formatted files and
  does not run lint, typecheck, or tests.
- Run `pnpm check:changed` explicitly before handoff or push when you
  need the smart local gate. Public Plugin SDK and plugin-contract
  changes include one extension validation pass.
- `pnpm test:changed` routes through scoped lanes when the changed paths
  map cleanly to a smaller suite.
- `pnpm test:max` and `pnpm test:changed:max` keep the same routing
  behavior, just with a higher worker cap.
- Local worker auto-scaling is intentionally conservative and backs off
  when the host load average is already high, so multiple concurrent
  Vitest runs do less damage by default.
- The base Vitest config marks the projects/config files as
  `forceRerunTriggers` so changed-mode reruns stay correct when test
  wiring changes.
- The config keeps `OPENCLAW_VITEST_FS_MODULE_CACHE` enabled on supported
  hosts; set `OPENCLAW_VITEST_FS_MODULE_CACHE_PATH=/abs/path` if you want
  one explicit cache location for direct profiling.

- `pnpm test:perf:imports` enables Vitest import-duration reporting plus
  import-breakdown output.
- `pnpm test:perf:imports:changed` scopes the same profiling view to
  files changed since `origin/main`.
- Shard timing data is written to `.artifacts/vitest-shard-timings.json`.
  Whole-config runs use the config path as the key; include-pattern CI
  shards append the shard name so filtered shards can be tracked
  separately.
- When one hot test still spends most of its time in startup imports,
  keep heavy dependencies behind a narrow local `*.runtime.ts` seam and
  mock that seam directly instead of deep-importing runtime helpers just
  to pass them through `vi.mock(...)`.
- `pnpm test:perf:changed:bench -- --ref <git-ref>` compares routed
  `test:changed` against the native root-project path for that committed
  diff and prints wall time plus macOS max RSS.
- `pnpm test:perf:changed:bench -- --worktree` benchmarks the current
  dirty tree by routing the changed file list through
  `scripts/test-projects.mjs` and the root Vitest config.
- `pnpm test:perf:profile:main` writes a main-thread CPU profile for
  Vitest/Vite startup and transform overhead.
- `pnpm test:perf:profile:runner` writes runner CPU+heap profiles for the
  unit suite with file parallelism disabled.

Stability (gateway)

  • Command: pnpm test:stability:gateway
  • Config: vitest.gateway.config.ts, forced to one worker
  • Scope:
    • Starts a real loopback Gateway with diagnostics enabled by default
    • Drives synthetic gateway message, memory, and large-payload churn through the diagnostic event path
    • Queries diagnostics.stability over the Gateway WS RPC
    • Covers diagnostic stability bundle persistence helpers
    • Asserts the recorder remains bounded, synthetic RSS samples stay under the pressure budget, and per-session queue depths drain back to zero
  • Expectations:
    • CI-safe and keyless
    • Narrow lane for stability-regression follow-up, not a substitute for the full Gateway suite

E2E (gateway smoke)

  • Command: pnpm test:e2e
  • Config: vitest.e2e.config.ts
  • Files: src/**/*.e2e.test.ts, test/**/*.e2e.test.ts, and bundled-plugin E2E tests under extensions/
  • Runtime defaults:
    • Uses Vitest threads with isolate: false, matching the rest of the repo.
    • Uses adaptive workers (CI: up to 2, local: 1 by default).
    • Runs in silent mode by default to reduce console I/O overhead.
  • Useful overrides:
    • OPENCLAW_E2E_WORKERS=<n> to force worker count (capped at 16).
    • OPENCLAW_E2E_VERBOSE=1 to re-enable verbose console output.
  • Scope:
    • Multi-instance gateway end-to-end behavior
    • WebSocket/HTTP surfaces, node pairing, and heavier networking
  • Expectations:
    • Runs in CI (when enabled in the pipeline)
    • No real keys required
    • More moving parts than unit tests (can be slower)

E2E: OpenShell backend smoke

  • Command: pnpm test:e2e:openshell
  • File: extensions/openshell/src/backend.e2e.test.ts
  • Scope:
    • Starts an isolated OpenShell gateway on the host via Docker
    • Creates a sandbox from a temporary local Dockerfile
    • Exercises OpenClaw's OpenShell backend over real sandbox ssh-config + SSH exec
    • Verifies remote-canonical filesystem behavior through the sandbox fs bridge
  • Expectations:
    • Opt-in only; not part of the default pnpm test:e2e run
    • Requires a local openshell CLI plus a working Docker daemon
    • Uses isolated HOME / XDG_CONFIG_HOME, then destroys the test gateway and sandbox
  • Useful overrides:
    • OPENCLAW_E2E_OPENSHELL=1 to enable the test when running the broader e2e suite manually
    • OPENCLAW_E2E_OPENSHELL_COMMAND=/path/to/openshell to point at a non-default CLI binary or wrapper script

Live (real providers + real models)

  • Command: pnpm test:live
  • Config: vitest.live.config.ts
  • Files: src/**/*.live.test.ts, test/**/*.live.test.ts, and bundled-plugin live tests under extensions/
  • Default: enabled by pnpm test:live (sets OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1)
  • Scope:
    • “Does this provider/model actually work today with real creds?”
    • Catch provider format changes, tool-calling quirks, auth issues, and rate limit behavior
  • Expectations:
    • Not CI-stable by design (real networks, real provider policies, quotas, outages)
    • Costs money / uses rate limits
    • Prefer running narrowed subsets instead of “everything”
  • Live runs source ~/.profile to pick up missing API keys.
  • By default, live runs still isolate HOME and copy config/auth material into a temp test home so unit fixtures cannot mutate your real ~/.openclaw.
  • Set OPENCLAW_LIVE_USE_REAL_HOME=1 only when you intentionally need live tests to use your real home directory.
  • pnpm test:live now defaults to a quieter mode: it keeps [live] ... progress output, but suppresses the extra ~/.profile notice and mutes gateway bootstrap logs/Bonjour chatter. Set OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST_QUIET=0 if you want the full startup logs back.
  • API key rotation (provider-specific): set *_API_KEYS with comma/semicolon format or *_API_KEY_1, *_API_KEY_2 (for example OPENAI_API_KEYS, ANTHROPIC_API_KEYS, GEMINI_API_KEYS) or per-live override via OPENCLAW_LIVE_*_KEY; tests retry on rate limit responses.
  • Progress/heartbeat output:
    • Live suites now emit progress lines to stderr so long provider calls are visibly active even when Vitest console capture is quiet.
    • vitest.live.config.ts disables Vitest console interception so provider/gateway progress lines stream immediately during live runs.
    • Tune direct-model heartbeats with OPENCLAW_LIVE_HEARTBEAT_MS.
    • Tune gateway/probe heartbeats with OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_HEARTBEAT_MS.

Which suite should I run?

Use this decision table:

  • Editing logic/tests: run pnpm test (and pnpm test:coverage if you changed a lot)
  • Touching gateway networking / WS protocol / pairing: add pnpm test:e2e
  • Debugging “my bot is down” / provider-specific failures / tool calling: run a narrowed pnpm test:live

Live (network-touching) tests

For the live model matrix, CLI backend smokes, ACP smokes, Codex app-server harness, and all media-provider live tests (Deepgram, BytePlus, ComfyUI, image, music, video, media harness) — plus credential handling for live runs — see Testing — live suites.

Docker runners (optional "works in Linux" checks)

These Docker runners split into two buckets:

  • Live-model runners: test:docker:live-models and test:docker:live-gateway run only their matching profile-key live file inside the repo Docker image (src/agents/models.profiles.live.test.ts and src/gateway/gateway-models.profiles.live.test.ts), mounting your local config dir and workspace (and sourcing ~/.profile if mounted). The matching local entrypoints are test:live:models-profiles and test:live:gateway-profiles.
  • Docker live runners default to a smaller smoke cap so a full Docker sweep stays practical: test:docker:live-models defaults to OPENCLAW_LIVE_MAX_MODELS=12, and test:docker:live-gateway defaults to OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_SMOKE=1, OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_MAX_MODELS=8, OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_STEP_TIMEOUT_MS=45000, and OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_MODEL_TIMEOUT_MS=90000. Override those env vars when you explicitly want the larger exhaustive scan.
  • test:docker:all builds the live Docker image once via test:docker:live-build, then reuses it for the live Docker lanes. It also builds one shared scripts/e2e/Dockerfile image via test:docker:e2e-build and reuses it for the E2E container smoke runners that exercise the built app. The aggregate uses a weighted local scheduler: OPENCLAW_DOCKER_ALL_PARALLELISM controls process slots, while resource caps keep heavy live, npm-install, and multi-service lanes from all starting at once. Defaults are 10 slots, OPENCLAW_DOCKER_ALL_LIVE_LIMIT=6, OPENCLAW_DOCKER_ALL_NPM_LIMIT=8, and OPENCLAW_DOCKER_ALL_SERVICE_LIMIT=7; tune OPENCLAW_DOCKER_ALL_WEIGHT_LIMIT or OPENCLAW_DOCKER_ALL_DOCKER_LIMIT only when the Docker host has more headroom. The runner performs a Docker preflight by default, removes stale OpenClaw E2E containers, prints status every 30 seconds, stores successful lane timings in .artifacts/docker-tests/lane-timings.json, and uses those timings to start longer lanes first on later runs. Use OPENCLAW_DOCKER_ALL_DRY_RUN=1 to print the weighted lane manifest without building or running Docker.
  • Container smoke runners: test:docker:openwebui, test:docker:onboard, test:docker:npm-onboard-channel-agent, test:docker:update-channel-switch, test:docker:session-runtime-context, test:docker:agents-delete-shared-workspace, test:docker:gateway-network, test:docker:browser-cdp-snapshot, test:docker:mcp-channels, test:docker:pi-bundle-mcp-tools, test:docker:cron-mcp-cleanup, test:docker:plugins, test:docker:plugin-update, and test:docker:config-reload boot one or more real containers and verify higher-level integration paths.

The live-model Docker runners also bind-mount only the needed CLI auth homes (or all supported ones when the run is not narrowed), then copy them into the container home before the run so external-CLI OAuth can refresh tokens without mutating the host auth store:

  • Direct models: pnpm test:docker:live-models (script: scripts/test-live-models-docker.sh)
  • ACP bind smoke: pnpm test:docker:live-acp-bind (script: scripts/test-live-acp-bind-docker.sh; covers Claude, Codex, and Gemini by default, with strict Droid/OpenCode coverage via pnpm test:docker:live-acp-bind:droid and pnpm test:docker:live-acp-bind:opencode)
  • CLI backend smoke: pnpm test:docker:live-cli-backend (script: scripts/test-live-cli-backend-docker.sh)
  • Codex app-server harness smoke: pnpm test:docker:live-codex-harness (script: scripts/test-live-codex-harness-docker.sh)
  • Gateway + dev agent: pnpm test:docker:live-gateway (script: scripts/test-live-gateway-models-docker.sh)
  • Open WebUI live smoke: pnpm test:docker:openwebui (script: scripts/e2e/openwebui-docker.sh)
  • Onboarding wizard (TTY, full scaffolding): pnpm test:docker:onboard (script: scripts/e2e/onboard-docker.sh)
  • Npm tarball onboarding/channel/agent smoke: pnpm test:docker:npm-onboard-channel-agent installs the packed OpenClaw tarball globally in Docker, configures OpenAI via env-ref onboarding plus Telegram by default, verifies doctor repairs activated plugin runtime deps, and runs one mocked OpenAI agent turn. Reuse a prebuilt tarball with OPENCLAW_NPM_ONBOARD_PACKAGE_TGZ=/path/to/openclaw-*.tgz, skip the host rebuild with OPENCLAW_NPM_ONBOARD_HOST_BUILD=0, or switch channel with OPENCLAW_NPM_ONBOARD_CHANNEL=discord.
  • Update channel switch smoke: pnpm test:docker:update-channel-switch installs the packed OpenClaw tarball globally in Docker, switches from package stable to git dev, verifies the persisted channel and plugin post-update work, then switches back to package stable and checks update status.
  • Session runtime context smoke: pnpm test:docker:session-runtime-context verifies hidden runtime context transcript persistence plus doctor repair of affected duplicated prompt-rewrite branches.
  • Bun global install smoke: bash scripts/e2e/bun-global-install-smoke.sh packs the current tree, installs it with bun install -g in an isolated home, and verifies openclaw infer image providers --json returns bundled image providers instead of hanging. Reuse a prebuilt tarball with OPENCLAW_BUN_GLOBAL_SMOKE_PACKAGE_TGZ=/path/to/openclaw-*.tgz, skip the host build with OPENCLAW_BUN_GLOBAL_SMOKE_HOST_BUILD=0, or copy dist/ from a built Docker image with OPENCLAW_BUN_GLOBAL_SMOKE_DIST_IMAGE=openclaw-dockerfile-smoke:local.
  • Installer Docker smoke: bash scripts/test-install-sh-docker.sh shares one npm cache across its root, update, and direct-npm containers. Update smoke defaults to npm latest as the stable baseline before upgrading to the candidate tarball. Non-root installer checks keep an isolated npm cache so root-owned cache entries do not mask user-local install behavior. Set OPENCLAW_INSTALL_SMOKE_NPM_CACHE_DIR=/path/to/cache to reuse the root/update/direct-npm cache across local reruns.
  • Install Smoke CI skips the duplicate direct-npm global update with OPENCLAW_INSTALL_SMOKE_SKIP_NPM_GLOBAL=1; run the script locally without that env when direct npm install -g coverage is needed.
  • Agents delete shared workspace CLI smoke: pnpm test:docker:agents-delete-shared-workspace (script: scripts/e2e/agents-delete-shared-workspace-docker.sh) builds the root Dockerfile image by default, seeds two agents with one workspace in an isolated container home, runs agents delete --json, and verifies valid JSON plus retained workspace behavior. Reuse the install-smoke image with OPENCLAW_AGENTS_DELETE_SHARED_WORKSPACE_E2E_IMAGE=openclaw-dockerfile-smoke:local OPENCLAW_AGENTS_DELETE_SHARED_WORKSPACE_E2E_SKIP_BUILD=1.
  • Gateway networking (two containers, WS auth + health): pnpm test:docker:gateway-network (script: scripts/e2e/gateway-network-docker.sh)
  • Browser CDP snapshot smoke: pnpm test:docker:browser-cdp-snapshot (script: scripts/e2e/browser-cdp-snapshot-docker.sh) builds the source E2E image plus a Chromium layer, starts Chromium with raw CDP, runs browser doctor --deep, and verifies CDP role snapshots cover link URLs, cursor-promoted clickables, iframe refs, and frame metadata.
  • OpenAI Responses web_search minimal reasoning regression: pnpm test:docker:openai-web-search-minimal (script: scripts/e2e/openai-web-search-minimal-docker.sh) runs a mocked OpenAI server through Gateway, verifies web_search raises reasoning.effort from minimal to low, then forces the provider schema reject and checks the raw detail appears in Gateway logs.
  • MCP channel bridge (seeded Gateway + stdio bridge + raw Claude notification-frame smoke): pnpm test:docker:mcp-channels (script: scripts/e2e/mcp-channels-docker.sh)
  • Pi bundle MCP tools (real stdio MCP server + embedded Pi profile allow/deny smoke): pnpm test:docker:pi-bundle-mcp-tools (script: scripts/e2e/pi-bundle-mcp-tools-docker.sh)
  • Cron/subagent MCP cleanup (real Gateway + stdio MCP child teardown after isolated cron and one-shot subagent runs): pnpm test:docker:cron-mcp-cleanup (script: scripts/e2e/cron-mcp-cleanup-docker.sh)
  • Plugins (install smoke, ClawHub install/uninstall, marketplace updates, and Claude-bundle enable/inspect): pnpm test:docker:plugins (script: scripts/e2e/plugins-docker.sh) Set OPENCLAW_PLUGINS_E2E_CLAWHUB=0 to skip the live ClawHub block, or override the default package with OPENCLAW_PLUGINS_E2E_CLAWHUB_SPEC and OPENCLAW_PLUGINS_E2E_CLAWHUB_ID.
  • Plugin update unchanged smoke: pnpm test:docker:plugin-update (script: scripts/e2e/plugin-update-unchanged-docker.sh)
  • Config reload metadata smoke: pnpm test:docker:config-reload (script: scripts/e2e/config-reload-source-docker.sh)
  • Bundled plugin runtime deps: pnpm test:docker:bundled-channel-deps builds a small Docker runner image by default, builds and packs OpenClaw once on the host, then mounts that tarball into each Linux install scenario. Reuse the image with OPENCLAW_SKIP_DOCKER_BUILD=1, skip the host rebuild after a fresh local build with OPENCLAW_BUNDLED_CHANNEL_HOST_BUILD=0, or point at an existing tarball with OPENCLAW_BUNDLED_CHANNEL_PACKAGE_TGZ=/path/to/openclaw-*.tgz. The full Docker aggregate pre-packs this tarball once, then shards bundled channel checks into independent lanes, including separate update lanes for Telegram, Discord, Slack, Feishu, memory-lancedb, and ACPX. Use OPENCLAW_BUNDLED_CHANNELS=telegram,slack to narrow the channel matrix when running the bundled lane directly, or OPENCLAW_BUNDLED_CHANNEL_UPDATE_TARGETS=telegram,acpx to narrow the update scenario. The lane also verifies that channels.<id>.enabled=false and plugins.entries.<id>.enabled=false suppress doctor/runtime-dependency repair.
  • Narrow bundled plugin runtime deps while iterating by disabling unrelated scenarios, for example: OPENCLAW_BUNDLED_CHANNEL_SCENARIOS=0 OPENCLAW_BUNDLED_CHANNEL_UPDATE_SCENARIO=0 OPENCLAW_BUNDLED_CHANNEL_ROOT_OWNED_SCENARIO=0 OPENCLAW_BUNDLED_CHANNEL_SETUP_ENTRY_SCENARIO=0 pnpm test:docker:bundled-channel-deps.

To prebuild and reuse the shared built-app image manually:

OPENCLAW_DOCKER_E2E_IMAGE=openclaw-docker-e2e:local pnpm test:docker:e2e-build
OPENCLAW_DOCKER_E2E_IMAGE=openclaw-docker-e2e:local OPENCLAW_SKIP_DOCKER_BUILD=1 pnpm test:docker:mcp-channels

Suite-specific image overrides such as OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_NETWORK_E2E_IMAGE still win when set. When OPENCLAW_SKIP_DOCKER_BUILD=1 points at a remote shared image, the scripts pull it if it is not already local. The QR and installer Docker tests keep their own Dockerfiles because they validate package/install behavior rather than the shared built-app runtime.

The live-model Docker runners also bind-mount the current checkout read-only and stage it into a temporary workdir inside the container. This keeps the runtime image slim while still running Vitest against your exact local source/config. The staging step skips large local-only caches and app build outputs such as .pnpm-store, .worktrees, __openclaw_vitest__, and app-local .build or Gradle output directories so Docker live runs do not spend minutes copying machine-specific artifacts. They also set OPENCLAW_SKIP_CHANNELS=1 so gateway live probes do not start real Telegram/Discord/etc. channel workers inside the container. test:docker:live-models still runs pnpm test:live, so pass through OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_* as well when you need to narrow or exclude gateway live coverage from that Docker lane. test:docker:openwebui is a higher-level compatibility smoke: it starts an OpenClaw gateway container with the OpenAI-compatible HTTP endpoints enabled, starts a pinned Open WebUI container against that gateway, signs in through Open WebUI, verifies /api/models exposes openclaw/default, then sends a real chat request through Open WebUI's /api/chat/completions proxy. The first run can be noticeably slower because Docker may need to pull the Open WebUI image and Open WebUI may need to finish its own cold-start setup. This lane expects a usable live model key, and OPENCLAW_PROFILE_FILE (~/.profile by default) is the primary way to provide it in Dockerized runs. Successful runs print a small JSON payload like { "ok": true, "model": "openclaw/default", ... }. test:docker:mcp-channels is intentionally deterministic and does not need a real Telegram, Discord, or iMessage account. It boots a seeded Gateway container, starts a second container that spawns openclaw mcp serve, then verifies routed conversation discovery, transcript reads, attachment metadata, live event queue behavior, outbound send routing, and Claude-style channel + permission notifications over the real stdio MCP bridge. The notification check inspects the raw stdio MCP frames directly so the smoke validates what the bridge actually emits, not just what a specific client SDK happens to surface. test:docker:pi-bundle-mcp-tools is deterministic and does not need a live model key. It builds the repo Docker image, starts a real stdio MCP probe server inside the container, materializes that server through the embedded Pi bundle MCP runtime, executes the tool, then verifies coding and messaging keep bundle-mcp tools while minimal and tools.deny: ["bundle-mcp"] filter them. test:docker:cron-mcp-cleanup is deterministic and does not need a live model key. It starts a seeded Gateway with a real stdio MCP probe server, runs an isolated cron turn and a /subagents spawn one-shot child turn, then verifies the MCP child process exits after each run.

Manual ACP plain-language thread smoke (not CI):

  • bun scripts/dev/discord-acp-plain-language-smoke.ts --channel <discord-channel-id> ...
  • Keep this script for regression/debug workflows. It may be needed again for ACP thread routing validation, so do not delete it.

Useful env vars:

  • OPENCLAW_CONFIG_DIR=... (default: ~/.openclaw) mounted to /home/node/.openclaw
  • OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR=... (default: ~/.openclaw/workspace) mounted to /home/node/.openclaw/workspace
  • OPENCLAW_PROFILE_FILE=... (default: ~/.profile) mounted to /home/node/.profile and sourced before running tests
  • OPENCLAW_DOCKER_PROFILE_ENV_ONLY=1 to verify only env vars sourced from OPENCLAW_PROFILE_FILE, using temporary config/workspace dirs and no external CLI auth mounts
  • OPENCLAW_DOCKER_CLI_TOOLS_DIR=... (default: ~/.cache/openclaw/docker-cli-tools) mounted to /home/node/.npm-global for cached CLI installs inside Docker
  • External CLI auth dirs/files under $HOME are mounted read-only under /host-auth..., then copied into /home/node/... before tests start
    • Default dirs: .minimax
    • Default files: ~/.codex/auth.json, ~/.codex/config.toml, .claude.json, ~/.claude/.credentials.json, ~/.claude/settings.json, ~/.claude/settings.local.json
    • Narrowed provider runs mount only the needed dirs/files inferred from OPENCLAW_LIVE_PROVIDERS / OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_PROVIDERS
    • Override manually with OPENCLAW_DOCKER_AUTH_DIRS=all, OPENCLAW_DOCKER_AUTH_DIRS=none, or a comma list like OPENCLAW_DOCKER_AUTH_DIRS=.claude,.codex
  • OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_MODELS=... / OPENCLAW_LIVE_MODELS=... to narrow the run
  • OPENCLAW_LIVE_GATEWAY_PROVIDERS=... / OPENCLAW_LIVE_PROVIDERS=... to filter providers in-container
  • OPENCLAW_SKIP_DOCKER_BUILD=1 to reuse an existing openclaw:local-live image for reruns that do not need a rebuild
  • OPENCLAW_LIVE_REQUIRE_PROFILE_KEYS=1 to ensure creds come from the profile store (not env)
  • OPENCLAW_OPENWEBUI_MODEL=... to choose the model exposed by the gateway for the Open WebUI smoke
  • OPENCLAW_OPENWEBUI_PROMPT=... to override the nonce-check prompt used by the Open WebUI smoke
  • OPENWEBUI_IMAGE=... to override the pinned Open WebUI image tag

Docs sanity

Run docs checks after doc edits: pnpm check:docs. Run full Mintlify anchor validation when you need in-page heading checks too: pnpm docs:check-links:anchors.

Offline regression (CI-safe)

These are “real pipeline” regressions without real providers:

  • Gateway tool calling (mock OpenAI, real gateway + agent loop): src/gateway/gateway.test.ts (case: "runs a mock OpenAI tool call end-to-end via gateway agent loop")
  • Gateway wizard (WS wizard.start/wizard.next, writes config + auth enforced): src/gateway/gateway.test.ts (case: "runs wizard over ws and writes auth token config")

Agent reliability evals (skills)

We already have a few CI-safe tests that behave like “agent reliability evals”:

  • Mock tool-calling through the real gateway + agent loop (src/gateway/gateway.test.ts).
  • End-to-end wizard flows that validate session wiring and config effects (src/gateway/gateway.test.ts).

What’s still missing for skills (see Skills):

  • Decisioning: when skills are listed in the prompt, does the agent pick the right skill (or avoid irrelevant ones)?
  • Compliance: does the agent read SKILL.md before use and follow required steps/args?
  • Workflow contracts: multi-turn scenarios that assert tool order, session history carryover, and sandbox boundaries.

Future evals should stay deterministic first:

  • A scenario runner using mock providers to assert tool calls + order, skill file reads, and session wiring.
  • A small suite of skill-focused scenarios (use vs avoid, gating, prompt injection).
  • Optional live evals (opt-in, env-gated) only after the CI-safe suite is in place.

Contract tests (plugin and channel shape)

Contract tests verify that every registered plugin and channel conforms to its interface contract. They iterate over all discovered plugins and run a suite of shape and behavior assertions. The default pnpm test unit lane intentionally skips these shared seam and smoke files; run the contract commands explicitly when you touch shared channel or provider surfaces.

Commands

  • All contracts: pnpm test:contracts
  • Channel contracts only: pnpm test:contracts:channels
  • Provider contracts only: pnpm test:contracts:plugins

Channel contracts

Located in src/channels/plugins/contracts/*.contract.test.ts:

  • plugin - Basic plugin shape (id, name, capabilities)
  • setup - Setup wizard contract
  • session-binding - Session binding behavior
  • outbound-payload - Message payload structure
  • inbound - Inbound message handling
  • actions - Channel action handlers
  • threading - Thread ID handling
  • directory - Directory/roster API
  • group-policy - Group policy enforcement

Provider status contracts

Located in src/plugins/contracts/*.contract.test.ts.

  • status - Channel status probes
  • registry - Plugin registry shape

Provider contracts

Located in src/plugins/contracts/*.contract.test.ts:

  • auth - Auth flow contract
  • auth-choice - Auth choice/selection
  • catalog - Model catalog API
  • discovery - Plugin discovery
  • loader - Plugin loading
  • runtime - Provider runtime
  • shape - Plugin shape/interface
  • wizard - Setup wizard

When to run

  • After changing plugin-sdk exports or subpaths
  • After adding or modifying a channel or provider plugin
  • After refactoring plugin registration or discovery

Contract tests run in CI and do not require real API keys.

Adding regressions (guidance)

When you fix a provider/model issue discovered in live:

  • Add a CI-safe regression if possible (mock/stub provider, or capture the exact request-shape transformation)
  • If it’s inherently live-only (rate limits, auth policies), keep the live test narrow and opt-in via env vars
  • Prefer targeting the smallest layer that catches the bug:
    • provider request conversion/replay bug → direct models test
    • gateway session/history/tool pipeline bug → gateway live smoke or CI-safe gateway mock test
  • SecretRef traversal guardrail:
    • src/secrets/exec-secret-ref-id-parity.test.ts derives one sampled target per SecretRef class from registry metadata (listSecretTargetRegistryEntries()), then asserts traversal-segment exec ids are rejected.
    • If you add a new includeInPlan SecretRef target family in src/secrets/target-registry-data.ts, update classifyTargetClass in that test. The test intentionally fails on unclassified target ids so new classes cannot be skipped silently.

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