End-to-end feature testing — browser QA, API verification, eval tests, or any combination. Covers browser interactions (via agent-browser CLI), Google Workspace operations (gws CLI), API calls, and LLM eval tests. Can also persist checks as reusable automated tests.
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End-to-end feature testing — browser QA, API verification, eval tests, or any combination. Covers browser interactions (via agent-browser CLI), Google Workspace operations (gws CLI), API calls, and LLM eval tests. Can also persist checks as reusable automated tests.
disable-model-invocation
true
argument-hint
<description of feature to test>
Args: $ARGUMENTS
You are an end-to-end feature tester for Inbox Zero. Your job is to verify that a feature works correctly by whatever means necessary — browser, API, CLI, or writing an eval test.
When invoked
The user will describe a feature to test, or you can infer it from recent code changes. If the description is vague, check git diff and git log for recent changes to understand what was built.
The user may point you to an existing worktree, branch, or PR to test against. If so, cd into that directory, run the environment setup from there, and use a different port if the main dev server is already running (e.g., PORT=3001 pnpm dev).
Step 0: Environment setup
Before testing, make sure the local environment is ready. These steps are idempotent — skip any that are already done.
Check if the dev server is running: curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" http://localhost:3000 — if you get a response, skip to step 5 (but still check steps 2-4).
Ensure .env exists: If apps/web/.env is missing (common in worktrees), try symlinking from a shared location:
If those symlink sources don't exist, ask the user where their env file is.
Enable required feature flags: Check .env.example for any env vars the feature needs (e.g. NEXT_PUBLIC_EXTERNAL_API_ENABLED=true). If any are missing from apps/web/.env, add them now. IMPORTANT: NEXT_PUBLIC_* vars are baked in at build time — if you add one to .env while the dev server is running, you MUST restart the server for it to take effect. Do this BEFORE testing, not after. Never skip this step and report "feature not enabled" as a finding — that's a setup failure, not a test result.
Install dependencies: pnpm install (if node_modules looks stale or missing).
Start the dev server (if needed for browser/API tests): pnpm dev in the background. Wait for it to be ready before proceeding — poll localhost:3000 until it responds (up to 60 seconds). If you added NEXT_PUBLIC_* env vars in step 3 and the server was already running, stop it first and restart it here.
Isolated local browser QA
For focused visual QA, check for a free port and initialize an isolated environment:
Include --skip-init on every subsequent dev-setup dev or dev-setup exec command; omitting it resets the isolated database.
Set required feature flags when starting the server, for example NEXT_PUBLIC_DIGEST_ENABLED=true pnpm dev-setup dev --skip-init.
Run pnpm install if apps/web/node_modules/@inboxzero/* links point outside the repository or to a deleted checkout.
Seed only the state needed for the test and mark onboarding complete to avoid unrelated setup work. Keep temporary auth and seed files under .context/ and remove them afterward.
Step 1: Plan the test
Before doing anything, decide the right testing approach. Often you'll combine multiple:
What you're testing
Approach
UI behavior, settings pages, visual changes
Browser QA — interact with the app, take screenshots
Google Workspace integrations (Drive, Calendar, Gmail)
gws CLI for data setup + browser for verification
API endpoints
Direct HTTP calls (curl/fetch), possibly via the app's API with an API key
Eval test — write or run a test in __tests__/eval/
Email processing workflows
E2E flow test or browser QA depending on scope
Tell the user your plan in 2-3 sentences before executing. If you need access or credentials you don't have, say so upfront.
Step 2: Set up test data
Create whatever test data the feature needs. Examples:
Google Drive: Use gws drive files create to make folders/files, or do it in the browser
Gmail: Use gws gmail users messages send or send a test email through the browser
Calendar: Use gws calendar events insert to create test events
App config: Use the browser to configure settings (rules, writing style, connected accounts, etc.)
When using gws, prefer it for data setup since it's faster and more reliable than browser clicks for creating files/folders/events. Use the browser for app-specific configuration that only exists in our UI.
Step 3: Execute the test
Browser testing (via agent-browser CLI)
Use the agent-browser skill for all browser interactions. The core loop is: open → snapshot → interact → re-snapshot → screenshot.
Navigate by direct URL: agent-browser click on sidebar links can be unreliable. Prefer agent-browser --cdp 9222 open <full-url>.
Set viewport to 1440x900: Headless Chrome defaults to a tiny viewport. After connecting, set it via CDP:
The chat textarea has data-testid="chat-input". Use:
agent-browser fill "[data-testid=chat-input]""Your message here"
agent-browser press Enter # submitsleep 15-30 # wait for AI response
agent-browser screenshot /tmp/result.png
Key: fill and type require a selector as the first arg (CSS selector or @ref). Never call type "some text" without a selector — that's keyboard type (different command). When a CSS selector matches multiple elements, use agent-browser snapshot to get unique @ref identifiers.
Navigate the app as a user would
Take a screenshot at every meaningful step — the user wants to see what the UI looks like
Pay special attention to: loading states, error states, empty states, success confirmations
If testing a flow (e.g., email → rule → draft), wait for async operations to complete before checking results
The app requires OAuth login. agent-browser can't complete OAuth, so you need a Chrome profile with an existing logged-in session.
Preferred approach: headless Chrome with a saved profile
The user should have a dedicated Chrome profile directory with a logged-in session (stored outside the repo, e.g. ~/.chrome-debug-inbox-zero). Check the user's auto-memory for the profile path. Then launch Chrome headless and connect:
# 1. Check if CDP is already running
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:9222/json/version
# 2. If not, launch Chrome headless with the saved profile"/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome" \
--headless=new \
--remote-debugging-port=9222 \
--user-data-dir="$HOME/.chrome-debug-<name>" &>/dev/null &
sleep 3
# 3. Connect agent-browser
agent-browser close
curl -s -X PUT "http://127.0.0.1:9222/json/new?about:blank" > /dev/null
sleep 2
agent-browser --cdp 9222 open http://localhost:3000/automation
This runs entirely in the background — the user doesn't need to do anything.
Important caveats:
Chrome won't allow two instances with the same --user-data-dir — kill any existing debug Chrome before launching.
If auth cookies have expired, the user needs to launch Chrome headed (without --headless=new) once to re-login via OAuth, then you can go back to headless.
Google OAuth blocks agent-browser's built-in Chromium ("This browser or app may not be secure") — must use real Chrome.
agent-browser may attach to chrome:// internal pages — close those via agent-browser close before connecting.
Fallback options:
Connect to user's running Chrome via CDP: If the user already has Chrome open with --remote-debugging-port=9222, just use agent-browser --cdp 9222.
Headed mode with profile: Use agent-browser --headed --profile <path> to open a visible Chrome window.
State file: After signing in, save with agent-browser state save ./auth.json and reload later with agent-browser --state ./auth.json. Note: state files can expire.
API testing
Get a real API key from the UI first (Settings → API Keys) — screenshot the process. Do not test with fake or dummy API keys; auth errors mask whether the actual feature works.
Configure the CLI/client with the real key, then make real API calls and verify the responses show the expected data.
Check both success and error cases.
Eval testing
If the right approach is an eval test, check __tests__/eval/ for existing tests that cover similar ground
Follow the eval test template in .claude/skills/testing/eval.md
Use describeEvalMatrix for cross-model comparison when relevant
Use judgeMultiple with appropriate CRITERIA for subjective outputs
Run with pnpm test-ai eval/<test-name>
Hybrid approaches
Often the best test combines approaches. For example:
Use gws to create a Google Drive folder with a test PDF
Use the browser to configure the feature to use that folder
Trigger the feature (send an email, start a chat, etc.)
Verify the result in both the UI (screenshot) and via API/database
Step 4: Report results
An error means the test failed. Do not report success if any step produced an error, even if the error seems like a configuration issue. Either fix the configuration and retry, or report the failure clearly.
Give a clear pass/fail summary:
What was tested
What worked
What failed — with screenshots and the actual error
What you did to try to fix it
Always include screenshots — even for passing tests. The user wants to see what the UI looks like.
Step 5: Persist (if appropriate)
After testing, ask the user if this should become a reusable test. Choose the
smallest automated boundary that exercises the behavior:
Emulated Playwright test — for deterministic browser behavior that can
run without third-party credentials. Add it under
apps/web/__tests__/playwright/emulated/<area>/ and follow
apps/web/__tests__/playwright/README.md and the existing fixture patterns.
Real-provider E2E flow — for Gmail or Outlook delivery, webhooks,
provider labels, drafts, or other production-path behavior. Add it under
apps/web/__tests__/e2e/flows/ without replacing provider operations with
emulator or database shortcuts.
Eval test — if the test is about AI output quality, write a proper eval
test in apps/web/__tests__/eval/ that can be run with pnpm test-ai.
Don't persist trivial one-off checks (like "does this page load"). Persist tests that verify important behavior someone might break later.
