validate-changes

name	validate-changes
description	Run targeted Sampler test scopes to validate changes quickly and safely, then run the full test suite when needed for confidence before PRs.
argument-hint	What files or areas did you change, and how much validation do you want?

Validate Changes with Sampler Tests

Purpose

Run the right Sampler test scope for a change, fast first and broad only when needed.

Use this skill when

• You changed PowerShell functions under Sampler/Public or Sampler/Private.
• You changed PowerShell classes and enums under Sampler/Classes or Sampler/Enum.
• You changed templates under Sampler/Templates.
• You changed build logic under .build/tasks or build.yaml.
• You need a confidence check before opening or updating a PR.

Inputs

• changed_paths: list of changed files or folders.
• target_test: optional single test file path for focused validation.
• run_quality_gate: optional boolean to run HQRM checks.

Decision flow

Mandatory: every command in this skill must be invoked through ./build.ps1. Do not run Invoke-Pester directly, do not call Build-Module directly, and do not manually prepend anything to PSModulePath. Running ./build.ps1 -ResolveDependency -Tasks noop (or any other -Tasks invocation) is what bootstraps dependencies and wires PSModulePath for the current shell so the freshly built module is the one being tested. Direct test/build invocations bypass that setup and may report false results against a stale or incomplete artifact.

1. Bootstrap dependencies if needed.

• Command:

./build.ps1 -ResolveDependency -Tasks noop

2. Pick the smallest useful test scope first.

• If target_test is provided, run only that test file:

./build.ps1 -Tasks test -PesterPath '<target_test>' -CodeCoverageThreshold 0

• Else if changes are only in a specific function area, run a focused unit test file in tests/Unit/**.

3. Expand based on change type.

• If any file under Sampler/Templates/** changed: run template integration tests:

./build.ps1 -Tasks test -PesterPath 'tests/Integration/PlasterTemplates' -CodeCoverageThreshold 0

• If build/task wiring changed (.build/tasks/**, build.yaml, build.ps1): run default test workflow:

./build.ps1 -Tasks test

4. Run broad integration only when needed.

• For cross-template or workflow-impacting changes:

./build.ps1 -Tasks test -PesterPath 'tests/Integration' -CodeCoverageThreshold 0

5. Optional release-quality gate.

• If run_quality_gate is true, run:

./build.ps1 -Tasks hqrmtest

Running these commands without hanging

Always tee ./build.ps1 output to output\agentic\ — this subfolder is excluded from the Clean task so logs survive between builds. Create it first, then stream:

$null = New-Item -Path 'output\agentic' -ItemType Directory -Force

./build.ps1 -Tasks test -PesterPath '<paths>' -CodeCoverageThreshold 0 2>&1 |
    Tee-Object -FilePath 'output\agentic\test.log'

# Then poll/inspect the log without re-running:
Get-Content output\agentic\test.log -Tail 20
Select-String -Path output\agentic\test.log -Pattern 'Build (FAILED|succeeded)'

Clean up when done: Remove output\agentic once investigation is complete:

Remove-Item -Path 'output\agentic' -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction 'Ignore'

When invoked through the powershell tool, prefer mode="async" with Tee-Object and poll periodically — never tail with | Select -Last N against a still-running build.

Diagnosing failures from XML output

Test failures are recorded in machine-readable XML under output/testResults/. Always read those files instead of grepping the build log — they tell you which tests failed and why.

• The build summary's "N errors" count is not a reliable pass/fail signal. ./build.ps1 prints a final line like Build completed with errors. 98 tasks, 8 errors, 3 warnings, but this count reflects everything written to the PowerShell error stream during the run — including caught/non-terminating errors that scripts intentionally handle (for example, Add-Sample and New-SamplerPipeline write to $Error internally while probing dynamic parameters, even though they catch and continue). A non-zero error count here does not mean any test failed. Always confirm actual failures via the NUnit/HQRM result files below before reporting a failure to the user.

• Pester (-Tasks test) writes NUnit XML at output/testResults/NUnitXml_<ProjectName>_<Version>.<OS>.PSv.<PSVersion>.xml. Each failing assertion is a <test-case result="Failure"> node with the assertion message under <failure><message>:

  $latest = Get-ChildItem output\testResults\NUnitXml_*.xml |
      Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -First 1
  [xml]$x = Get-Content $latest.FullName
  $x.SelectNodes('//test-case[@result="Failure"]') | ForEach-Object {
      "==FAIL==`n$($_.name)`n$($_.failure.message)`n"
  }
  

• HQRM (-Tasks hqrmtest) writes a CliXml-serialized Pester run object at output/testResults/DscTestObject_DscTest_<ProjectName>_<Version>.<OS>.PSv.<PSVersion>.xml. This is not NUnit XML — XPath against <test-case> returns nothing. Look for <S N="Result">Failed</S> and read surrounding context, or grep DisplayErrorMessage for the assertion text:

  $f = Get-ChildItem output\testResults\DscTestObject_DscTest_*.xml |
      Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -First 1
  $lines = Get-Content $f.FullName
  foreach ($h in Select-String -Path $f.FullName -Pattern '"Result">Failed')
  {
      "===line $($h.LineNumber)==="
      $lines[($h.LineNumber - 1)..($h.LineNumber + 20)] -join "`n"
  }
  Select-String -Path $f.FullName -Pattern 'DisplayErrorMessage'
  

  Skip aggregate Result=Failed nodes (run/container totals) — real test failures sit alongside an <S N="ItemType">Test</S>, an ErrorRecord, and a ScriptBlock.

• Always pick the latest result file (Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending); each invocation rewrites these XML files.

• When reporting a failure to the user, quote the XML's assertion message — do not paraphrase the build-log tail.

Completion checks

• All selected test commands exit successfully.
• For template changes: corresponding integration tests pass.
• For public/private function changes: relevant unit tests pass.
• If behavior is user-visible: ensure CHANGELOG.md has an Unreleased entry.
• Before declaring work complete on any PR-bound change, run the full ./build.ps1 -Tasks test suite (not just focused tests). Focused tests validate the changed scope; the full suite catches HQRM, ScriptAnalyzer, help quality, and test-coverage regressions that focused runs skip. A focused run passing is a necessary but not sufficient condition for readiness.

Report format

Return a short summary with:

• Commands run
• Pass/fail per scope
• Any failing test file paths
• Suggested next command (if failures occurred)

Example prompts

• "Validate my edits in Sampler/Public/New-SampleModule.ps1 quickly."
• "I changed Sampler/Templates/Sampler/plasterManifest.xml; run the right tests."
• "Run full validation for my current branch, including HQRM."