| name | system-tests |
| description | Generic, composable conventions for system tests — black-box tests exercising the running system from the outside through its public surface. Defines the stack-neutral contract (no internals, environment coordinates as configuration, test isolation, total verdict reporting) and the taxonomy of expectation origins (specified, spec-derived via ears-tests, recorded via characterization-tests). Technology-neutral; composes with stack skills (microprofile-server, java-cli-app, web-components) that own launch mechanics, module layout, and test syntax. Use when writing, generating, or reviewing system tests in any stack. Triggers on "system test", "system tests", "ST", "-st module", "e2e test", "end-to-end test", "black-box test", "test against the running server". |
System Tests
A system test exercises the running system from the outside through its public surface — HTTP, CLI, messaging, files. It observes what a consumer observes; nothing else.
Contract
- Black box — assert only through the public surface: no mocks, no internal classes, no database access unless the database is the public surface. Behavior not observable from outside is a unit or integration concern.
- Running system — tests target a started instance and never instantiate production classes. Starting and deploying is the stack skill's concern.
- Coordinates as configuration — base URL, broker address, working directory come from configuration (e.g. microprofile-server's
service_uri configKey), never hardcoded. The same suite runs unchanged against dev, CI, and a migration target.
- Isolation — each test runs alone and in any order; seed-data assumptions are declared, not implied.
- Total reporting — every test appears in the result with a verdict; skipped is a verdict, not an omission.
Expectation Origins
Same test level, different oracle:
| Origin | Expected values come from | Skill |
|---|
| Specified | hand-written from known requirements | (default) |
| Spec-derived | EARS statements of a capability spec | ears-tests |
| Recorded | golden masters of the running legacy system | characterization-tests |
Composition
- This skill owns the contract above.
- The composed stack skill owns launch mechanics, module layout, and test syntax — microprofile-server:
-st Maven module, JUnit 5, rest client; java-cli-app: zunit; web-components: browser-driven checks.
- ears-tests and characterization-tests own their expectation origins and compose with both this skill and the stack skill.
