quarantine-age

name	quarantine-age
version	1.0
last_updated	2026-07-20
id	quarantine-age
one_line_purpose	Apply quarantine expiry policy to stale scenarios.
entry_point	docs/skills/test-authoring/quarantine-age/SKILL.md
category	test-authoring
mcp_compliance_level	partial
status	active
dependencies	[]
tags	["quarantine","policy","flaky"]
description	Quarantine policy and age limits for stale tests. Load when deciding whether to quarantine, unquarantine, or remove a scenario.
metadata	{"type":"pattern","audience":"agents","maturity":"stable"}

Quarantine age enforcement

When to Use

• Changing scripts/check_quarantine_age.py
• Changing the quarantine-age job in .github/workflows/pr-validate.yml
• Debugging CI failures caused by expired @quarantine scenarios

When NOT to Use

• Editing runtime skip behavior for @quarantine or @pending tags in behave hooks
• Writing or debugging the quarantined scenarios themselves
• Changing reusable VM/e2e pipeline behavior unrelated to quarantine expiry

Core Process

1. Scan current tests/**/*.feature files and collect scenarios tagged @quarantine.
2. For each feature file, walk git log --follow --reverse and inspect file snapshots with git show <sha>:<path>.
3. Record the first commit where each scenario appears with @quarantine; if history cannot prove it, fall back to the file's last git modification date.
4. Calculate age in days and fail when age_days > (--max-days + --grace-days).
5. Print an actionable report with feature path, scenario name, quarantine date, age, and the required next action.
6. Use --json only for informational consumers (for example an Actions job summary); keep default CLI mode as the enforcement path that exits non-zero on expired quarantines.

What it does

scripts/check_quarantine_age.py scans current .feature files for @quarantine scenarios, walks git log --follow history for each feature file, and records the first commit where each scenario appears with the @quarantine tag.

The script fails when a quarantine age exceeds the configured threshold:

effective threshold = --max-days + --grace-days
default threshold   = 30 + 0 = 30 days
CI rollout threshold = 30 + 30 = 60 days

JSON mode (--json) emits every current quarantine entry, including days, quarantined_on, threshold_days, and date_source, and always exits 0 so workflow summaries can render counts without turning a reporting call into a job failure.

Workflow requirements