creating-actions

name

creating-actions

description

This skill should be used when the user asks to "create an action", "save this flow as an action", "make this replayable", "record a reusable action", "author a Maestro flow as an action", "add a login/setup action", or when a verified UI walk should be persisted under .rn-agent/actions/ so future sessions can replay it with maestro. Also load it when a SAVED action misbehaves — "my action keeps failing", "the replay broke", "repair this flow", "why was the repair refused" — it owns the replay/repair troubleshooting protocol (Step 7).

creating-actions — Author a Reusable Maestro Action

An action is a parameterised Maestro flow at <project>/.rn-agent/actions/<id>.yaml with an M7 metadata header, replayable via /rn-dev-agent:run-action or cdp_run_action (auto-repair-aware). A well-authored action turns a ~minutes interactive walk into a ~seconds deterministic replay. Authoring one well means: dedup first, ground every selector in evidence, design the flow as an ASCII diagram before writing YAML, validate, then replay to promote.

When to Use

• A verified flow is worth replaying: login, navigation prologue, multi-step setup, locale/theme switching, data seeding.
• /rn-dev-agent:test-feature verification passed and the walk should be persisted.
• The user asks to make a flow replayable / save an action.

When NOT to author an action:

• A one-off check — use maestro_run with inlineYaml and throw it away.
• An existing action already covers the flow — extend or parameterise it instead of forking a near-duplicate.
• The flow spans two apps — actions are single-appId by contract.

Step 0 — Scan the Inventory First (dedup)

Before authoring anything, check what already exists:

CODEX_PLUGIN_ROOT="${RN_DEV_AGENT_CODEX_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CODEX_PLUGIN_ROOT:-}}"
if [ -z "$CODEX_PLUGIN_ROOT" ] && [ -f "packages/codex-plugin/.codex-plugin/plugin.json" ]; then
  CODEX_PLUGIN_ROOT="packages/codex-plugin"
fi
if [ -z "$CODEX_PLUGIN_ROOT" ]; then
  CODEX_PLUGIN_MANIFEST="$(find "${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}/plugins/cache" -path "*/rn-dev-agent/*/.codex-plugin/plugin.json" -print -quit 2>/dev/null || true)"
  [ -n "$CODEX_PLUGIN_MANIFEST" ] && CODEX_PLUGIN_ROOT="$(dirname "$(dirname "$CODEX_PLUGIN_MANIFEST")")"
fi
test -n "$CODEX_PLUGIN_ROOT" || { echo "rn-dev-agent Codex plugin root not found" >&2; exit 2; }
node "${CODEX_PLUGIN_ROOT}/rn-dev-agent-core/dist/learned-actions.js" --json --section b \
  --workspace-root "$PWD" --memory-cwd "$PWD" --filter <keyword>

(or /rn-dev-agent:list-learned-actions <keyword>). If a match covers the goal, replay it. If a near-match exists (same flow, hardcoded values), parameterise THAT action with ${VAR} placeholders rather than creating a sibling — duplicate actions rot independently and split the repair history.

Step 1 — Pick the Creation Path

Situation	Path
About to walk the flow live on a device anyway	Recorder: cdp_record_test_start → drive UI (cdp_interact / device_*) → cdp_record_test_stop → cdp_record_test_save_as_action (writes header + sidecar; pass intent/tags/mutates/produces yourself — the recorder cannot infer them)
Flow and selectors already known (prior exploration, existing test)	Direct authoring — Steps 2–6 below
Structured steps in hand, want generated YAML	maestro_generate — then verify the M7 header per Step 4 and continue with Steps 5–6

The recorder path still benefits from Steps 3 (diagram) and 5–6 (validate, replay to promote): add the diagram to the generated YAML's header before first replay.

Step 2 — Ground Every Selector (never invent a testID)

Collect evidence for every element the flow will touch:

• cdp_component_tree(filter="<screen-or-component>") per screen — filtered, never the full tree
• device_snapshot for what is actually on the native screen
• grep -r 'testID=' src/ for static discovery
• cdp_nav_graph / cdp_navigation_state for exact route names (used in expectedRouteSequence)

If an element the flow needs has no testID, stop and add one to the app source first (see the rn-testing skill for testID conventions). Text-based selectors break on i18n and copy edits; an action built on them generates repair churn.

Step 3 — Draw the ASCII Flow Diagram (required, before any YAML)

Map the flow screen-by-screen with the exact selectors. This is the design-review artifact: parameter gaps, missing assertion anchors, and wrong start-state assumptions are cheap to fix here and expensive to fix after the YAML exists.

Canonical format — one [RouteName] box line per screen, │-arrow lines for interactions, each labelled with the exact selector; one anchor (the assertVisible proving arrival) per screen; ${PARAMS} marked where caller data flows in:

[any screen]
     │ launchApp (stopApp: false)
     │ tapOn tab-home
     ▼
[Home]  anchor: product-list
     │ scrollUntilVisible product-card-${PRODUCT_ID}   (if off-screen)
     │ tapOn product-add-btn-${PRODUCT_ID}
     ▼
[Home]  cart-badge increments
     │ tapOn tab-cart
     ▼
[Cart]  anchor: cart-list
        verify: cart-item-${PRODUCT_ID}

Review the diagram against Step-2 evidence before continuing:

• Every selector in the diagram exists in the gathered tree/snapshot
• Every transition has an anchor on the destination screen
• Everything caller-variable is a ${PARAM}; everything else is fixed
• The entry assumption is explicit (works from any screen? requires login?)

Embed the diagram in the YAML header (below the M7 block) so the action documents itself and repair reviews can see intended structure. Safety rules for embedding — the M7 parser trims each comment line and treats a leading word: value as metadata:

1. Every line starts with # — a fully blank line ends the header block.
2. Every diagram line's content starts with a non-letter glyph ([, │, ▼, (, indentation is NOT enough). A line like # status: shows spinner would silently overwrite the action's status metadata.

Step 4 — Write the YAML

appId: com.example.shop
---
# id: add-product-to-cart
# intent: From any screen, add product PRODUCT_ID to the cart and verify it landed.
# tags: [cart, add, smoke]
# mutates: true
# status: experimental
# params: [PRODUCT_ID]
# appId: com.example.shop
#
# [diagram from Step 3 — every line #-prefixed, glyph-first]
- launchApp:
    stopApp: false
- tapOn:
    id: "tab-home"
- assertVisible:
    id: "product-list"
# ... steps mirror the diagram 1:1

Contract rules (violations break replay, repair, or inventory):

• id / filename: lower-case kebab-case ^[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]*$; file is .rn-agent/actions/<id>.yaml.
• Header: id, intent, tags, mutates, status are the 5 inventory keys — a missing mutates renders as ? in /list-learned-actions. Always status: experimental at creation; promotion to active is earned by a clean replay, never hand-set. Full field glossary (incl. produces, expectedRouteSequence, author): references/m7-header-reference.md.
• Params: keys match [A-Z_][A-Z0-9_]*; every ${VAR} in the steps is listed in # params, and vice versa. The inventory scanner counts ${...} occurrences anywhere in the file, comments included — so the diagram may mark real step params as ${PRODUCT_ID}, but prose (e.g. the intent line) uses bare names, and no comment may mention a ${VAR} the steps don't use.
• Body: launchApp: { stopApp: false } self-bootstrap (works cold or warm, preserves login); conditional prologues via runFlow: { when: { visible: ... } }; waitForAnimationToEnd after transitions; the diagram's anchor assertVisible after each screen change; scrollUntilVisible for potentially off-screen targets.
• Never clearState: true on an Expo Dev Client build — it wipes the Metro URL and strands the launcher (GH #8).
• Do not hand-write the sidecar (.rn-agent/state/<id>.state.json) — it is created lazily on first load/replay.

Copy-adapt the complete worked example: examples/add-product-to-cart.yaml.

Step 5 — Validate Before First Replay

1. Header parses + inventory lists it: re-run the Step-0 command with --filter <id> — confirm intent, tags, mutates, status come back exactly as written (not ?). This also proves the embedded diagram didn't corrupt the header.
2. Placeholder coverage: grep -o '\${[A-Z_]*}' <file> over the steps ↔ # params list, both directions.
3. Selector audit: every id: in the YAML appears in the Step-2 evidence.
4. Syntax: if the maestro MCP server is connected, check_flow_syntax on the body; otherwise the first replay doubles as the syntax check.

Step 6 — Replay to Promote

Replay through the orchestrator — not raw maestro_run — so the run is recorded and auto-repair-aware:

cdp_run_action({ actionId: "<id>", params: { PRODUCT_ID: "7" }, trigger: "agent" })

• First clean pass auto-promotes experimental → active and materialises the sidecar.
• Verify the outcome by state, not pixels: cdp_store_state, expect_redux / expect_route / expect_visible_by_testid.
• mutates: true actions leave residue — clean up between runs or use timestamp-suffixed param values so repeated replays stay deterministic.
• Exercise the variable branch (e.g. one on-screen and one off-screen PRODUCT_ID) before trusting the action.
• No device available? Leave status: experimental and say so explicitly — never hand-promote.

After any later auto-repair or manual selector edit, update the embedded diagram to match — a stale diagram misleads the next repair review.

Step 7 — When a Replay Fails (repair & troubleshoot)

A saved action that stops passing is usually UI drift, not a broken feature. Diagnose in this order:

1. Read the RunRecord.autoRepair outcome from the cdp_run_action result: passed (repaired + green — review the patched selector, update the diagram), failed (repair tried, still red — likely a real logic change, not drift), refused (see below), skipped (repair disabled).
2. Repair refusals are intentional — do not force past them:
   • EXTERNAL_EDIT (file mtime newer than sidecar): a human edited the YAML; re-validate it (Step 5) and replay once to re-sync the sidecar.
   • Repair budget exhausted (3 per rolling 24h): the flow is churning — stop patching and re-ground the selectors (Step 2) against a fresh snapshot.
   • Snapshot infra failure: fix the device session first (cdp_status).
3. --no-auto-repair / strict runs reproduce the raw failure when you need to see the true error instead of a patched pass (this is also what cdp_lock_e2e_test enforces for frozen regression tests).
4. Product logic changed (button removed, screen renamed on purpose): auto-repair refuses to paper over it by design. Update the flow deliberately — diagram first, then YAML — or mark status: deprecated.

The full failure taxonomy (params, appId mismatch, platform quirks like the iOS predictive-keyboard character drop) lives in commands/run-action.md — consult it before inventing a workaround.

Quick Reference

What	Where / Rule
Action file	<project>/.rn-agent/actions/<id>.yaml
Sidecar (auto-created)	<project>/.rn-agent/state/<id>.state.json
id regex	^[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]*$
param key regex	[A-Z_][A-Z0-9_]*
Inventory / dedup	packages/rn-dev-agent-core/src/learned-actions.ts (built → dist/learned-actions.js) or /rn-dev-agent:list-learned-actions
Replay	cdp_run_action / /rn-dev-agent:run-action <id> -e KEY=VAL
Lifecycle	experimental → (clean replay) → active; repair demotes back to experimental; deprecated = never replay
Repair budget	3 auto-repairs per rolling 24h per action

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Consequence
Skipping the Step-0 inventory scan	Duplicate actions that drift apart; repair history split
Inventing a testID that "should" exist	SELECTOR_NOT_FOUND on first replay; wasted repair budget
Hardcoding values instead of ${PARAMS}	Action only replays one scenario; near-duplicates multiply
status: active at creation	Unvalidated flow treated as production-quality by replay-first routing
Diagram line starting with a bare word:	Silently overwrites M7 metadata (e.g. status)
Blank (non-#) line inside the header	Parser stops early; later M7 keys ignored
${VAR} in a comment that no step uses	Inventory synthesizes a phantom -e VAR=...; replay pre-flight demands a param the flow ignores
clearState: true on Dev Client	App strands on the Dev Client launcher (GH #8)
Raw maestro_run for a saved action	No RunRecord, no auto-repair, no promotion
Hand-writing the sidecar	Stale lastSeenMtimeMs → false EXTERNAL_EDIT repair refusals

Related

• rn-testing skill — Maestro step patterns, timing rules, testID conventions, auth/permission pre-flights
• references/m7-header-reference.md — every M7 field with semantics, parser behavior, lifecycle transitions
• examples/add-product-to-cart.yaml — complete worked example with embedded diagram
• /rn-dev-agent:run-action — replay-side pre-flight (mutates confirmation, appId match, param coverage)