js8-test

name

js8-test

description

Run an end-to-end JS8 message round-trip between two virtual wfweb rigs. Boots the testrig bench, drives both browsers via Playwright MCP, has each station send a directed JS8 message via the compose box while the other decodes it into its feed, verifies the copy, screenshots both, and tears down. Use when the user asks to test JS8, run a JS8 QSO, verify the JS8 codec/panel, or validate the JS8 messenger TX/RX path. (wfweb-vs-wfweb on the bench — not interop against real JS8Call.)

Run an end-to-end JS8 message round-trip between two virtual rigs: each station sends a directed message from the compose box, and the other must decode it into its feed. Drive both browsers via Playwright MCP, screenshot both sides, tear down. Bench-only (virtual rigs, no hardware, no real RF) — this tests wfweb's JS8 codec against itself, not interop with real JS8Call.

Sibling of packet-test / ft8-test / cw-test; reuses the same bench (scripts/testrig.sh) and Playwright lifecycle. JS8 is browser-side WASM like FT8, so it shares FT8's RX-audio gate and slot timing. Read "Pitfalls" before debugging.

Prerequisites (verify before starting; fix and stop if missing)

1. ./wfweb and ./tools/virtualrig/virtualrig are built. If not: qmake wfweb.pro && make -j$(nproc) and cd tools/virtualrig && qmake && make -j$(nproc).
2. Repo .mcp.json includes --ignore-https-errors for the playwright MCP. Verify: pgrep -af @playwright/mcp must show --ignore-https-errors. If .mcp.json was just edited, the user must restart Claude Code (a /mcp reconnect re-uses cached args). Stop and tell them.
3. Load the playwright tools via ToolSearch: select:mcp__playwright__browser_navigate,mcp__playwright__browser_snapshot,mcp__playwright__browser_click,mcp__playwright__browser_type,mcp__playwright__browser_take_screenshot,mcp__playwright__browser_wait_for,mcp__playwright__browser_evaluate,mcp__playwright__browser_close,mcp__playwright__browser_tabs,mcp__playwright__browser_select_option.

Boot the bench

./scripts/testrig.sh up 2

Both rigs come up on 14.074.000. Opening the JS8 panel auto-retunes each rig to the JS8 dial frequency for the band (14.078.000 on 20 m) and forces USB — both move together, so they stay matched and audio gates.

• A → https://127.0.0.1:9080 (virtual-IC7300-A)
• B → https://127.0.0.1:9090 (virtual-IC7300-B)

Per-tab UI bring-up (do for both A and B)

The JS8 panel is an overlay (#js8Bar), opened from the MODE overlay's JS8 button — it's a peer of the FT8 DIGI bar (opening one closes the other).

1. browser_navigate to the rig URL.
2. Wipe stale browser state: browser_evaluate () => { localStorage.clear(); sessionStorage.clear(); }, then browser_navigate to the same URL again. (Note: JS8 persists js8Open=1, so without the wipe a reload reopens the panel mid-init.)
3. Click the CLICK TO START splash (gesture needed for AudioContext).
4. Wait for RX audio. JS8's decoder is fed by window._js8ProcessAudioChunk, which the host audio path only calls when audio is flowing. The splash enables it ~1 s asynchronously — poll until window.audioEnabled === true before continuing.
5. Open the JS8 panel: window.toggleJs8Bar() (equivalently MODE → JS8). This forces USB, retunes to the JS8 dial freq, creates the decoder, and enables RX. Confirm window.js8MessengerVisible() === true and window.js8Diag().rxEnabled === true.
6. Set MY CALL: open settings (#js8SettingsBtn), set #js8SettingMycall, then close (#js8SettingsCloseBtn). The callsign is committed to the shared station call (window.App.callsign) on close, not on input — so you must click close. Verify window.App.callsign.get() returns it.
   • A: W1AAA. B: W1BBB. (Shared station call — same field feeds CW/FT8/FreeDV/APRS.)
   • Submode is also read on close; the default JS8 Normal · 15 s (submode 0) is fine. RX decodes all submodes regardless, so the TX submode only affects the sender's frame timing.

When refs go stale across snapshots, drive directly via browser_evaluate with stable IDs (the normal path, not a fallback):

• Buttons: js8SettingsBtn, js8SettingsCloseBtn, js8SendBtn, js8RxToggle, js8TuneBtn, js8CloseBtn
• Fields: js8DxCall (the TO target — authoritative), js8Compose (message text), js8SettingMycall, js8SubmodeSel
• Feed (decoded + sent messages): #js8Feed .textContent ← assert on this. Rows read <ts><from>→<target>│<msg><snr>dB; your own sent rows show SENT n/n.
• Functions (global): toggleJs8Bar(), js8MessengerVisible(), js8Diag() (returns {rxEnabled, txBusy, submode, decodes, audioChunks, …}), js8ClearFeed()
• Note: the internal state object S is not on window (unlike window.Packet.state). Use js8Diag() for status and read #js8Feed for messages.

QSO sequence (single bidirectional run)

1. A → send directed message: on tab A, set #js8DxCall to W1BBB (dispatch input), set #js8Compose to HELLO (dispatch input), click #js8SendBtn. This routes through enqueueTx, which slot-aligns the transmission. Use the compose+send path — do NOT use window.txJs8() (a raw 12-char test hook that streams un-slot-aligned audio and won't reliably decode).
2. Confirm A transmits: poll window.js8Diag().txBusy — it goes true on the next slot boundary, then false when done. A's own feed row shows W1AAA→W1BBB │ HELLO SENT 2/2. A short message is ~2 frames; with the wait-for-slot + TX time this takes ~25–35 s at Normal.
3. Read B's copy: on tab B, poll #js8Feed.textContent until it contains both W1AAA and HELLO (allow ~30 s after A finishes). On the clean virtual channel the decode is solid (SNR ~+20 dB). Assert tolerantly — require the sender call and a recognizable chunk of the message, not byte-exact.
4. B → reply: on tab B, set #js8DxCall to W1AAA, #js8Compose to GE TNX, click #js8SendBtn.
5. Read A's copy: on tab A, poll #js8Feed until it contains W1BBB and GE.
6. Screenshot both with browser_take_screenshot, fullPage: true. Save as .playwright-mcp/wfweb-js8-A.png and ...-B.png. (Bare names land in the project root; /tmp is rejected — the MCP roots are the project dir and .playwright-mcp/.)

Teardown and report

1. browser_close (both tabs), then ./scripts/testrig.sh down.
2. Report PASS/FAIL and the two screenshot paths. PASS = each side decoded the other's directed message (sender call + message text appear in its #js8Feed).

Pitfalls — read before debugging

• RX-audio gate (same as FT8). The decoder only runs while window.audioEnabled === true (enabled ~1 s after CLICK TO START). Gate on it. js8Diag().audioChunks should be climbing; if it's stuck at 0, audio isn't flowing.
• Callsign commits on settings CLOSE. Typing into #js8SettingMycall does nothing until you click #js8SettingsCloseBtn — that's where App.callsign.set() runs. Verify via window.App.callsign.get().
• Use compose + #js8SendBtn, not window.txJs8(). txJs8 requires an exact-12-char message and streams immediately without slot alignment — JS8's per-slot decoder usually won't catch it. The compose path slot-aligns via enqueueTx, which is what actually works.
• JS8 is slot-timed (Normal = 15 s). The send waits for the next slot boundary, then transmits over one or more 15 s frames. Budget ~30 s per direction; poll, don't expect instant. js8Diag().submode confirms the TX submode; a faster submode (Fast 10 s / JS8 60 4 s) speeds the run but RX decodes all modes either way.
• TO field (#js8DxCall → S.dxCall) is the authoritative target, not the active QSO tab. Set it before each send. Empty defaults to @ALLCALL (a broadcast, which B still decodes — fine if you prefer the simpler broadcast assert).
• S is not on window. Read message state from #js8Feed.textContent and status from window.js8Diag(). Don't look for window.js8.state or similar.
• The feed mixes sent and received rows. Your own sent message shows with SENT n/n; the received copy on the other tab shows an …dB SNR. Assert the receiver's feed has the sender's call — don't accidentally match the sender's own SENT row.
• Don't skip localStorage.clear() — JS8 persists js8Open and the last callsign; a clean slate avoids reopening the panel mid-init and stale calls.
• Stale Playwright ref= handles re-render constantly; drive via browser_evaluate + the stable IDs above.
• Screenshots are sandboxed to the project dir / .playwright-mcp/; /tmp is rejected.
• Never transmit on a physically-connected rig — virtual-bench only (no real RF).