Generate pre-extraction test scaffolding from the guidance/ folder content alone — before a Catala source file exists. Writes test cases to guidance/sample-tests.yaml. Runs non-interactively — no mid-run prompting.

These tests serve as planning scaffolding to validate coverage intent before running /extract-ruleset. They are not a substitute for the validated test suite produced by /create-tests after extraction.

See ../../core/tests/eligibility_tests.yaml for a complete working example of test case structure.

Input

/create-sample-tests [<domain>]

If <domain> is not provided, list all $DOMAINS_DIR/*/specs/guidance/metadata.yaml files as a numbered menu and prompt:

:::user_input Available domains:

snap
ak_doh Which domain? Enter a number or domain name: :::

Read ../../core/output-fencing.md now.

Pre-flight

Domain argument provided? — If not, show domain menu (above). Await response.
Domain folder exists?
- NO → :::error Domain not found: $DOMAINS_DIR// ::: Then stop.
specs/naming-manifest.yaml exists?
- NO → Print: :::error specs/naming-manifest.yaml not found: $DOMAINS_DIR//specs/naming-manifest.yaml Run /declare-target-ruleset first. ::: Stop.
Sample rules available? Check whether any of the following is present and non-empty:
- Any entry in guidance/ruleset-modules.yaml has a non-empty sample_rules: sub-key, or
- guidance/sample-artifacts.yaml exists and has a non-empty top-level sample_rules: list
If neither is present: :::error No sample rules found in guidance/ruleset-modules.yaml or guidance/sample-artifacts.yaml. Run /extract-sample-rules first to generate sample rules. ::: Stop.

Degraded mode: If pre-flight step 4 passes but only sample-artifacts.yaml top-level sample_rules: is present (no ruleset_modules[].sample_rules), print:

⚠ No sample_rules found in ruleset_modules — test inputs derived from input_variables only.
  Run /extract-sample-rules <domain> for richer test data.

Continue in degraded mode.

Process

Step 1: Derive input and output field names

Read from:

specs/naming-manifest.yaml — inputs.<Entity>.<field> (input field names + Catala types via type:, optionality via optional:, enum variants via enum_variants:), computed.<name> (computed field names + types), outputs.<name> (output names + types + enum variants when present)
guidance/output-variables.yaml — primary: true|false flag identifying the primary output among the manifest's outputs
guidance/include-with-output.yaml — flat list of computed field names to include in expected for cases that exercise those paths
guidance/constants-and-tables.yaml — named tables and constants that might yield concrete boundary values for test inputs
guidance/skeleton.yaml — computations: block (intermediate variable structure)
(Non-degraded mode only) guidance/ruleset-modules.yaml — ruleset_modules[].sample_rules[].catala Catala snippets
guidance/sample-artifacts.yaml — sample_rules[].catala Catala snippets (top-level)
guidance/prompt-context.yaml — edge_cases: (used in Step 2 for coverage tag applicability)

Input field names — collect from two sources:

All field names from naming-manifest.yaml's inputs.<Entity>.<field> blocks (flatten to a list of bare field names)
(Non-degraded mode only) Variable names used as input bindings in ruleset_modules[].sample_rules[].catala Catala snippets — parse data <name> declarations and input <name> scope-variable lines

Expected field names and value sets — collect from naming-manifest.yaml's outputs: block plus guidance/output-variables.yaml:

Primary output: the entry in output-variables.yaml with primary: true; its type and values: (if enum) come from naming-manifest.yaml's outputs.<name> entry
Secondary outputs: every other entry in output-variables.yaml (primary: false); types come from manifest
Include-with-output: names listed in guidance/include-with-output.yaml (flat list)

Thresholds and constants — scan guidance/constants-and-tables.yaml's constants_and_tables: list for named tables or constants that might yield concrete boundary values for test inputs.

Show step checklist: :::progress Steps: [✓] 1. Derive input and output field names [ ] 2. Generate test cases [ ] 3. Merge into guidance/sample-tests.yaml :::

Step 2: Generate test cases

Generate test cases targeting the 6-tag coverage minimum from /create-tests. For each tag, generate one case if the tag is applicable given the guidance content. Do not force a tag that has no basis in the guidance.

inputs: are always flat key-value — never nest by entity name. Use only the input field names derived in Step 1.

expected: values are derived from output_variables declarations, with type info pulled from the naming manifest's outputs.<name> entries:

boolean → true / false
enum type (declared via enum_variants: on the manifest entry, or legacy values:) → use the variant names (e.g., Approve, Deny, ManualVerification)
money / integer / decimal / string → use illustrative values consistent with the guidance; note them in assumptions: in guidance/sample-artifacts.yaml if no concrete value is available

Float tolerance ±0.005 applies automatically to numeric expected fields.

Coverage targets:

Tag	Case to generate	When applicable
`allow`	All threshold conditions comfortably met — happy path	Always
`deny` + `primary_threshold`	Primary input value exceeds the threshold	When a primary threshold is present in guidance
`deny` + `adjusted_threshold`	Passes primary threshold, fails after adjustments	When adjustment logic is in `sample_rules`
`allow` + `exemption`	Exemption or special path active	Only when `edge_cases` or `sample_rules` mention an exemption
`allow` + `boundary`	Input value exactly at the threshold (≤ limit = pass)	When a concrete threshold value is available
`deny` + `edge`	Extreme input: maximum count value, all-zero numeric values, etc.	Always

case_id format: <primary_tag>_<NNN> — e.g., allow_001, deny_gross_001, allow_boundary_001.

Test case format:

- case_id: "allow_001"
  short_description: "<concise unique gist, e.g. 'Approve — income eligible'>"
  description: "<one sentence: what this case tests>"
  inputs:
    <field_name>: <value>
    # flat key-value only — never nested
  expected:
    <output_field>: <value>
    # include fields from include_with_output when relevant
  tags: ["allow"]

short_description is a concise, unique gist of description that can stand in for the case_id. Populate it here; if omitted, /create-tests synthesizes one when it copies the sample case into the test suite.

For deny cases, include a reasons: field in expected if denial_reason or equivalent is in output_variables.secondary_decisions:

  expected:
    eligible: deny
    reasons:
      - code: "<DENIAL_CODE_FROM_GUIDANCE>"

If a threshold value is unknown (no concrete number available in guidance), use a plausible illustrative value and record: "Assumed <field> threshold of <value> — confirm against policy" in assumptions: in guidance/sample-artifacts.yaml.

Show updated step checklist.

Step 3: Write to guidance/sample-tests.yaml

Merge the generated test cases into $DOMAINS_DIR/<domain>/specs/guidance/sample-tests.yaml:

If the file does not exist, create it with a sample_tests: key
Append only entries whose case_id: is not already present in the existing sample_tests: list
Do not overwrite or remove existing entries

If assumptions: entries were added in Step 2, append them to guidance/sample-artifacts.yaml (merge-safe append — do not overwrite existing entries).

Show final step checklist (all complete).

Print: :::important sample_tests written to guidance/sample-tests.yaml: allow_001 (allow) deny_gross_001 (deny, gross_test) deny_net_001 (deny, net_test) allow_boundary_001 (allow, boundary) deny_edge_001 (deny, edge) :::

Then record the guidance-tier manifest so /check-freshness can later detect drift between policy_facets/ and this skill's outputs:

xlator record-tier-manifest <domain> --tier guidance

If the command exits non-zero, emit :::error with the captured stderr and stop — do not proceed to :::next_step.

:::next_step Next: Run /extract-ruleset to extract the Catala ruleset. After extraction, run /create-tests for the validated test suite. :::

Output

File	Action
`$DOMAINS_DIR/<domain>/specs/guidance/sample-tests.yaml`	Created or updated — `sample_tests:` entries merged
`$DOMAINS_DIR/<domain>/specs/guidance/sample-artifacts.yaml`	May be updated — `assumptions:` entries merged

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Do not nest inputs by entity name — inputs: must always be flat key-value (e.g., client_gross_earned: 1800, never client: {gross_earned: 1800})
Do not require a Catala source file — this command runs before /extract-ruleset; field names come from the guidance/ folder + naming-manifest.yaml, not from a .catala_en file
Do not overwrite existing sample_tests: entries — merge by case_id: only; preserve manually authored test cases
Do not force coverage tags with no basis in guidance — if allow + exemption has no exemption path in the guidance content, omit that case rather than fabricating it
Do not confuse guidance/sample-tests.yaml with specs/tests/<program>_tests.yaml — these are pre-extraction scaffolding cases; the validated test suite is produced separately by /create-tests after extraction
case_id values must not change on re-run — merge is keyed by case_id; changing a case_id on re-run creates a duplicate
Do not write generated_at