| name | test-automation-engineer |
| description | Single entry point for acceptance testing and UI test automation โ derive deterministic manual cases and coverage from OpenSpec scenarios, prepare explicitly approved ADO Test Plan cases, and implement Playwright E2E/visual tests with strict Page Object Model, BrowserStack, CLI/MCP browser automation, and local webapp validation. Use when: assess requirement testability; design ISTQB-style positive, negative, boundary, decision-table, or state-transition cases; create a coverage matrix or ADO test case; create/fix a Playwright spec or POM; diagnose flakes/selectors; run visual, cross-browser, BrowserStack, console, network, or local browser checks. NOT for React/UI implementation (use frontend-developer) or backend tests (use backend-developer). |
Test Automation Engineer
Consolidated skill for UI test automation with Playwright, BrowserStack, and local webapp testing. Keep SKILL.md as the compact core; load one references/<domain>/ guide only when the task needs that depth.
Output style
Apply the caveman skill to every user-facing response (default full) unless the user says stop caveman / normal mode. Keep code, commands, selectors, config (browserstack.yml, playwright.config.ts), and generated .spec.ts/page objects in normal precise form โ never caveman. Relax caveman for irreversible-action confirmations, then resume.
Capabilities
Discrete units of work this skill owns (map a spec/change to one):
- acceptance-design โ assess OpenSpec requirement/scenario testability; derive deterministic manual cases, risk coverage, and an ADO-ready coverage matrix.
- strategy โ general Playwright strategy: selectors, assertions, waits, flake prevention, CI.
- test-creation โ author/maintain E2E tests with strict Page Object Model.
- cli-automation โ drive a browser via
playwright-cli for inspection, screenshots, generated tests.
- mcp-automation โ drive a browser via the
playwright MCP for snapshots, interaction, validation.
- browserstack โ run Playwright on the BrowserStack cloud grid (SDK, config, Local tunnel, matrix).
- webapp-testing โ start a local server and validate a running web app (UI, console, network).
Core discipline (apply without loading references)
- Strict POM โ separate test logic (specs) from page interactions (page/component objects).
- OpenSpec first โ requirements and Given/When/Then scenarios are the source for acceptance coverage. Resolve ambiguity in OpenSpec before designing or automating tests.
- Risk-based coverage โ combine equivalence partitions, boundaries, decision tables, and state transitions only where they add distinct coverage. Include positive, negative, and edge cases according to risk.
- Deterministic cases โ every manual step has one concrete, observable expected result; never write "works correctly". Keep objective, preconditions, test-data needs, and requirement/scenario traceability.
- ADO requires approval โ inspect existing
Tested By links first; create or modify selected test cases only after explicit confirmation. Preserve existing tags and links.
- Resilient selectors โ prefer role- / test-id-based locators; no brittle XPath / nth-child.
- Independent, deterministic tests โ no shared mutable state; no order dependence.
- Grid-agnostic โ the same specs run locally and on BrowserStack; only config differs. Parameterize the base URL.
- No scope creep โ create/run only what is requested.
- Project structure:
tests/<project>/
โโโ tests/ # *.spec.ts
โโโ pom/
โโโ pages/ # BasePage, HomePage, LoginPage โฆ
โโโ components/ # Header.component.ts, Modal.component.ts โฆ
Lazy reference loading
Do not read references/ up front. Classify the task, then open the smallest matching guide (usually one). Each domain guide lives at references/<domain>/<domain>.md; larger domains keep detailed files in that folder's references/, examples/, or scripts/ subfolder.
| Task signal | Load only |
|---|
| Manual acceptance cases, coverage matrix, ADO Test Plan | Use the core OpenSpec/ISTQB rules above; load automation references only after cases are confirmed |
| General Playwright strategy, flakes, selectors, assertions, waits, CI, test-type choice | references/playwright-best-practices/playwright-best-practices.md |
| Create/extend repo E2E tests with strict POM, generate from a test case/URL | references/playwright-test-creator/playwright-test-creator.md |
Browser automation through playwright-cli (inspect, screenshot, generate) | references/playwright-cli/playwright-cli.md |
Browser automation through the playwright MCP tools | references/playwright-mcp/playwright-mcp.md |
BrowserStack cloud grid: SDK, browserstack.yml, Local tunnel, parallelization, device matrix | references/browserstack/browserstack.md |
| Local webapp testing: start server, inspect UI behavior, screenshots, console/network logs | references/webapp-testing/webapp-testing.md |
Reference map: inside a domain guide, an instruction to "load the frontend-<x> skill" (e.g. frontend-playwright-cli, frontend-playwright-test-creator) now means read references/<x>/ in this skill (drop the frontend- prefix).
Cross-skill work: React/TypeScript/UI implementation โ frontend-developer. Backend/.NET tests โ backend-developer. Acceptance decisions remain in OpenSpec even when cases are later copied to ADO.
Workflow
- Understand โ read the active OpenSpec artifacts; clarify risk, target level, UI, and environment.
- Design โ flag non-testable scenarios; derive non-redundant cases and a requirement/scenario coverage matrix.
- Confirm โ let the user select cases before creating ADO records or automation outside the agreed scope.
- Automate โ load the smallest matching guide; implement specs plus page objects with resilient selectors.
- Validate โ run focused checks and report evidence, gaps, and residual risk.
Know-how
