flaky-test-stabilizer

name	flaky-test-stabilizer
description	Diagnose and stabilize intermittent SHAFT tests, especially TestNG parallelism, shared state, files, drivers, timing, and external dependencies.

Flaky Test Stabilizer

Use this playbook for intermittent, retry-only, parallel-only, or environment-sensitive failures.

Workflow

1. Gather the exact failure, runner mode, retry history, affected test, and setup/teardown code. Do not begin with broad refactoring.
2. Check high-probability causes in this order:
   • per-method state stored in shared instance or static fields;
   • ThreadLocal values not removed;
   • one method deleting another method's files;
   • global SHAFT properties or static services shared across classes;
   • fixed sleeps or missing readiness polling;
   • unordered/random assertions or external-service dependencies;
   • browser sessions created accidentally by unit-test constructors.
3. Remember that TestNG singleThreaded isolates methods in one class, not static state shared with other classes. Use a cross-class lock where a static service genuinely cannot run concurrently.
4. Preserve the allure-results root during cleanup. Inspect retried/skipped result JSON when the final report is green.
5. Fix the ownership or synchronization defect without changing what the test validates. Prefer local variables, ThreadLocal, explicit locks, readiness polling, deterministic fixtures, and mocked external dependencies.
6. Run the focused test once. Repeat it or enable method parallelism only when repetition directly tests the suspected flake mechanism; stop after enough evidence establishes stability.

Output

State the failure signature, root cause and confidence, minimal fix, focused commands run, repetition/parallel evidence if applicable, and residual risk.