tasks-md-validation-testing

name	tasks-md-validation-testing
description	Setup and run comprehensive tests for OpenSpec tasks.md validation. Use when needing to verify validation behavior, create test environments, debug validation issues, or ensure validation works correctly.
metadata	{"short-description":"Test tasks.md validation"}

tasks.md Validation Testing

This skill provides a complete testing infrastructure for OpenSpec's tasks.md validation feature. It includes test file templates, automated setup scripts, and comprehensive test scenarios.

Quick Start

# 1. Setup test files
bash .claude/skills/tasks-md-validation-testing/scripts/setup-tests.sh

# 2. Build OpenSpec
pnpm run build

# 3. Run all tests
bash .claude/skills/tasks-md-validation-testing/scripts/run-tests.sh

# 4. Cleanup (optional)
bash .claude/skills/tasks-md-validation-testing/scripts/cleanup-tests.sh

Overview

The tasks.md validation feature ensures that OpenSpec changes include properly formatted implementation checklists. This skill provides a self-contained test environment with:

• 5 test scenarios covering all validation cases
• Automated setup from bundled templates
• Comprehensive test runner with colored output
• Easy cleanup to restore clean state

Bundled Resources

Scripts

• setup-tests.sh: Creates test changes from templates in assets/test-files/
• run-tests.sh: Executes all test scenarios and reports results
• cleanup-tests.sh: Removes test changes from workspace

Assets

• test-files/: Complete test change templates for 5 scenarios
  • Each includes proposal.md, specs/, and tasks.md (except test-missing-tasks)
  • Ready to copy into openspec/changes/

Workflow

1. Setup

The setup script copies bundled test templates to your workspace:

bash .claude/skills/tasks-md-validation-testing/scripts/setup-tests.sh

This creates 5 test changes in openspec/changes/:

• test-tasks-validation - Valid reference
• test-missing-tasks - Missing file test
• test-no-checkboxes - Format error test
• test-empty-tasks - Content error test
• test-both-errors - Multiple errors test

The script will:

• Check for existing test files and prompt to overwrite
• Copy all templates from assets/test-files/
• Display summary of created changes

2. Build

Ensure OpenSpec is built before testing:

pnpm run build

3. Run Tests

Execute all test scenarios with automated verification:

bash .claude/skills/tasks-md-validation-testing/scripts/run-tests.sh

The test runner will:

• Verify CLI is built
• Check test files exist
• Run 5 individual test cases
• Test JSON output format
• Test bulk validation
• Display summary with pass/fail counts

Output includes:

• ✓/✗ status for each scenario
• Color-coded results (green=pass, red=fail)
• Expected vs actual results
• Total pass/fail counts

4. Cleanup

Remove test files when done:

bash .claude/skills/tasks-md-validation-testing/scripts/cleanup-tests.sh

The cleanup script will:

• List found test directories
• Prompt for confirmation before deletion
• Remove all test changes

Test Scenarios

1. Valid Tasks.md (Success)

Location: openspec/changes/test-tasks-validation/

File Content:

- [ ] Implement validation logic
- [x] Add test cases
- [ ] Update documentation

Expected Output:

✓ Change test-tasks-validation is valid

2. Missing Tasks.md (ERROR)

Location: openspec/changes/test-missing-tasks/

Setup: No tasks.md file exists

Expected Output:

✗ ERROR: Missing required file: tasks.md

3. No Checkboxes (ERROR)

Location: openspec/changes/test-no-checkboxes/

File Content:

- Implement validation logic
- Add test cases

Expected Output:

✗ ERROR: No checkboxed tasks found. Add tasks with [ ] or [x] checkboxes.

4. Empty Task Descriptions (ERROR)

Location: openspec/changes/test-empty-tasks/

File Content:

- [x]
- [ ]
- [ ] Valid task

Expected Output:

✗ ERROR: Empty task description at line 1
✗ ERROR: Empty task description at line 2

5. Multiple Errors (Both Delta and Tasks)

Location: openspec/changes/test-both-errors/

Setup: Both files exist but have format errors

• tasks.md: No checkboxes (only plain list items)
• specs/test-capability/spec.md: Requirement without Scenario block

Expected Output:

✗ ERROR: test-capability/spec.md: ADDED "Test requirement without scenario" must include at least one scenario
✗ ERROR: tasks.md: tasks.md must contain at least one checkboxed task

Manual Testing (Advanced)

If you need to test specific scenarios not covered by the bundled templates:

# Create custom test change
mkdir -p openspec/changes/my-test/specs/test-capability

# Create files
echo "# Proposal" > openspec/changes/my-test/proposal.md
echo "# Spec" > openspec/changes/my-test/specs/test-capability/spec.md
echo "- [ ] Task" > openspec/changes/my-test/tasks.md

# Validate
./bin/openspec.js validate my-test

Validation Rules

File Existence (ERROR)

• tasks.md must exist in the change directory
• Validation fails immediately if file is missing

Checkbox Presence (ERROR)

• At least one line must have a checkbox format
• Valid formats: - [ ], - [x], - [X]
• Invalid formats: - [], * [ ], plain text

Task Descriptions (ERROR)

• Checkboxed lines must have non-empty descriptions
• Reports line numbers for each empty task
• Example: - [ ] (empty) vs - [ ] Task (valid)

Format Patterns

// Checkbox detection (any checkbox)
/^[-*]\s+\[[xX\s]\]/

// Empty task detection (checkbox with no description)
/^[-*]\s+\[[xX\s]\]\s*$/

Testing Commands Reference

Individual Tests

# Test each scenario individually
./bin/openspec.js validate test-tasks-validation
./bin/openspec.js validate test-missing-tasks
./bin/openspec.js validate test-no-checkboxes
./bin/openspec.js validate test-empty-tasks
./bin/openspec.js validate test-both-errors

JSON Output

# Get machine-readable JSON
./bin/openspec.js validate test-both-errors --json

# Pretty print with jq
./bin/openspec.js validate test-both-errors --json | jq .

# Extract validation issues
./bin/openspec.js validate test-both-errors --json | jq '.items[0].issues'

# Count errors
./bin/openspec.js validate test-both-errors --json | jq '.items[0].issues | length'

Bulk Validation

# Validate all changes
./bin/openspec.js validate --changes

# Validate with strict mode
./bin/openspec.js validate --changes --strict

# JSON output for all changes
./bin/openspec.js validate --changes --json

Expected Results

Test Case	Exit Code	Error Count	Key Validation
test-tasks-validation	0	0	Valid format
test-missing-tasks	1	1	File existence
test-no-checkboxes	1	1	Checkbox presence
test-empty-tasks	1	2+	Task descriptions
test-both-errors	1	2+	Multiple files

Debugging Tips

1. Verify Test Files Exist

ls -la openspec/changes/test-*/

2. Check File Content

cat openspec/changes/test-empty-tasks/tasks.md

3. Test Regex Patterns

node -e "
const pattern = /^[-*]\s+\[[xX\s]\]/;
console.log(pattern.test('- [ ] Task')); // true
console.log(pattern.test('- [x] Task')); // true
console.log(pattern.test('- [] Task'));  // false
"

4. Verify Line Numbers

For empty task errors, check reported line numbers match actual file:

grep -n "^\- \[[xX ]\]\s*$" openspec/changes/test-empty-tasks/tasks.md

5. Compare with Known Good

Use test-tasks-validation as reference for correct format:

diff openspec/changes/test-tasks-validation/tasks.md openspec/changes/my-test/tasks.md

Common Issues

Tests Fail: "CLI not found"

Cause: OpenSpec not built Solution: Run pnpm run build

Tests Fail: "Test files not found"

Cause: Setup script not run Solution: Run bash .claude/skills/tasks-md-validation-testing/scripts/setup-tests.sh

Test Shows Wrong Result

Cause: Stale build after code changes Solution: Run pnpm run build before testing

Cleanup Doesn't Remove Files

Cause: Permission issues or wrong directory Solution: Run from OpenSpec root, check file permissions

JSON Output Invalid

Cause: Validation errors sent to stderr Solution: Use 2>&1 to merge streams: ./bin/openspec.js validate test --json 2>&1 | jq

Integration with CI

GitHub Actions Example

- name: Setup validation tests
  run: bash .claude/skills/tasks-md-validation-testing/scripts/setup-tests.sh

- name: Build OpenSpec
  run: pnpm run build

- name: Run validation tests
  run: bash .claude/skills/tasks-md-validation-testing/scripts/run-tests.sh

- name: Cleanup
  if: always()
  run: bash .claude/skills/tasks-md-validation-testing/scripts/cleanup-tests.sh

File Structure

.claude/skills/tasks-md-validation-testing/
├── SKILL.md                                    # This file
├── scripts/
│   ├── setup-tests.sh                          # Setup test environment
│   ├── run-tests.sh                            # Execute all tests
│   └── cleanup-tests.sh                        # Remove test files
└── assets/
    └── test-files/                             # Test templates
        ├── test-tasks-validation/
        │   ├── proposal.md
        │   ├── tasks.md
        │   └── specs/test-capability/spec.md
        ├── test-missing-tasks/
        │   ├── proposal.md
        │   └── specs/test-capability/spec.md
        ├── test-no-checkboxes/
        │   ├── proposal.md
        │   ├── tasks.md
        │   └── specs/test-capability/spec.md
        ├── test-empty-tasks/
        │   ├── proposal.md
        │   ├── tasks.md
        │   └── specs/test-capability/spec.md
        └── test-both-errors/
            └── proposal.md

Related Documentation

• OpenSpec Validation Guide
• tasks.md Format Specification
• Implementation Details