write-tests

name	write-tests
description	Plan and write test cases with high reasoning effort. Test iteration runs in a subagent to minimize confirmations.
model	sonnet
user-invocable	false

Write or update tests for the current task.

Procedure

WT-1. Read:

• rules/core-principles.md
• skills/_shared/test-design.md
• rules/test.md — on-demand-only; never auto-injected, so this Read is mandatory For parser / regex / allowlist targets, apply the Table-Driven Tests pattern from test-design/parser-regex-tests.md. WT-2. Identify which source file(s) need tests. WT-3. Enumerate call paths: For each source file from step WT-2, trace all integration paths it participates in — what calls it, what it calls, and what format/contract each boundary expects. For each boundary, list potential failure modes (wrong format, missing field, wrong type, unexpected value). These become integration-path error cases in the next step. WT-4. List all planned test cases by category (include call-path error cases from step WT-3). Then check via Bash: bash -c 'cd "$AGENTS_CONFIG_DIR" && bash "$AGENTS_CONFIG_DIR/bin/confirm-off" CONFIRM_TESTS on'
• stdout OFF: print the planned cases and proceed to step WT-5 without approval wait.
• stdout ON or ERROR: present the planned cases to the user — do not write code until approved (existing behavior). WT-5. Determine the subagent's model:
• Run bash -c 'node "$AGENTS_CONFIG_DIR/bin/workflow/read-complexity-evaluation" --session "$SESSION_ID"'. If output is not NONE, use the stored level and signals directly (parse level=<v> and signals=<csv>), then derive the model via high→opus, low→sonnet; skip the fallback below.
• If NONE (fail-open for sessions without persisted evaluation): read skills/_shared/judge-task-complexity.md to load the signal table. Evaluate all signals against the task context, source files from steps WT-2–WT-3, and the planned test cases from step WT-4. Do not short-circuit on the first match. Apply the routing rule: 1+ signals → high→opus; 0 signals → low→sonnet; ambiguous → high→opus.
• Emit in Claude text output (NOT Bash echo):

  Model selected: [opus|sonnet] (signals: [comma-separated triggered signal IDs, or "none"])

WT-6. Launch a subagent (Agent tool, mode: "default", model: <model from step WT-5>) to autonomously: WT-6a. Write the test file(s). WT-6b. Run tests with timeout. WT-6c. Fix failures and re-run until green. WT-6d. Review test coverage against skills/_shared/test-design.md categories — fix gaps. WT-6e. Re-run tests until green. The subagent prompt MUST include these structured fields so verbose output stays in the subagent context:

• task_complexity_signals: list of triggered signal IDs from step WT-5 (or "none")
• source_files: list of source file paths from step WT-2
• planned_cases: list of planned test cases from step WT-4 The subagent prompt MUST instruct: edit only test files, never modify source code. The subagent prompt MUST instruct: Read rules/shell-commands.md before the first Bash command — general-purpose dispatch does not inherit auto-injected rules. The subagent prompt MUST instruct: Read rules/user-escalation.md before any system-state-changing command — general-purpose dispatch does not inherit auto-injected rules. Note: the Stop-guard silence during dispatch is automatic (PostToolUse marks the step in_progress). Do not emit NEXT_STEP_PAUSE. The subagent prompt MUST also include: "NEVER present diffs for approval. NEVER wait for user confirmation. Edit and run autonomously until tests pass."

While the subagent runs, the orchestrator MAY run the WT-7 CONFIRM_TESTS gate probe (bin/confirm-off) — never read the test files the subagent is still writing (SC-W — skills/_shared/subagent-concurrency.md).

WT-7. Present the final test file content to the user for review — gated by CONFIRM_TESTS gate (post-action review): bash -c 'cd "$AGENTS_CONFIG_DIR" && bash "$AGENTS_CONFIG_DIR/bin/confirm-off" CONFIRM_TESTS on'

• stdout OFF: skip this step; proceed directly to Completion (no user wait).
• stdout ON or ERROR: present the test file content.

Completion

After completing this skill:

1. Stage the test files: git add tests/ The commit gate detects staged tests/ changes as evidence of completion. Emit <<WORKFLOW_MARK_STEP_write_tests_complete>> from the linked worktree CWD (accepted only when staged or committed test evidence exists). Note: Do not emit from main worktree. /review-tests auto-backfills write_tests when evidence exists; the sentinel is a fallback for edge cases.
2. Run tests (validation only — this does not satisfy the run_tests workflow step).

If tests are genuinely not needed for this change:

1. Run: echo "<<WORKFLOW_WRITE_TESTS_NOT_NEEDED: {reason}>>"
2. Run tests (validation only — this does not satisfy the run_tests workflow step).

Rules

• Report observations via /supervisor-report (trigger conditions: rules/supervisor-reporting.md).