Playwright Spec Loop

This page defines the inner loop for iterating on a role-local files/playwright/playwright.spec.js against an already-running app stack, without redeploying between edits.

When to use

  • Use this loop when writing, debugging, or fixing a role’s files/playwright/playwright.spec.js against an already-running stack, without redeploying between edits.

  • For the role deploy that establishes the running stack use the Compose Loop or Swarm Loop.

Definitions

  • Inner loop: the edit-rerun cycle on roles/<role>/files/playwright/playwright.spec.js driven by make compose-playwright role=<role>, without a redeploy. On the act-swarm test cluster the equivalent is make swarm-playwright role=<role>, which first copies the working-tree’s modified files into the node’s frozen bootstrap copy (swarm nodes are not bind-mounted like compose).

    • If any make swarm-* target aborts at Set up job with mkdirat var/run... on a recent Docker engine, point act at a fixed runner image per Workflow Loop.

  • Staging dir: TEST_E2E_PLAYWRIGHT_STAGE_BASE_DIR/<role> (default /tmp/test-e2e-playwright/<role>). Contains the rendered .env and the Playwright project from the last deploy.

  • Baseline deploy: a successful make compose-deploy mode=reinstall apps=<role> full_cycle=true run as defined in Compose Loop.

  • Pass: make compose-playwright role=<role> exits 0 AND every MUST in Contributing playwright.spec.js holds for the resulting run.

Preconditions

You MUST NOT enter the inner loop unless all of the following hold:

  1. A baseline deploy for <role> completed successfully in the current environment.

  2. The app stack for <role> is still running.

  3. The staging dir exists and contains a non-empty .env.

  4. roles/<role>/files/playwright/playwright.spec.js exists.

If any precondition fails, you MUST return to Compose Loop and re-establish the baseline before continuing.

Required reading

You MUST load the following pages before editing any file, in this order:

  1. Contributing playwright.spec.js: authoritative MUSTs for the spec content. Every MUST there is an acceptance criterion for this loop.

  2. Agent playwright.spec.js procedure: how to generate or update the spec.

  3. Agent playwright.env.j2 procedure: rendered test input contract; required whenever the spec reads a new variable.

  4. Playwright Tests: framework SPOT for runner, image pin, and recording tools.

  5. Compose Loop: baseline deploy, Certificate Authority trust, Inspect-before-redeploy.

Procedure

  1. Verify every item in Preconditions. If any fails, exit this page and follow Compose Loop.

  2. Edit roles/<role>/files/playwright/playwright.spec.js. You MUST NOT hand-edit the staged copy under TEST_E2E_PLAYWRIGHT_STAGE_BASE_DIR/<role>/tests/; the rerunner overwrites it from the repo on each run.

  3. Run make compose-playwright role=<role> keep=true. You MAY pass pw="--grep <pattern>" (or any other npx playwright test argument). Set keep=true on every inner-loop run regardless of the previous result; omit only when the user has explicitly opted out. For the full propagation chain see Playwright Tests.

  4. Inspect the run output before deciding pass / fail; a green Playwright exit only proves no expect(...) threw, not that the contract is satisfied:

    • You MUST read the per-test logs for every run: the list reporter output, playwright-report/index.html, and test-results/<test>/error-context.md for any failed test.

    • You MUST verify schema conformance per Contributing playwright.spec.js: persona names match <persona>: <flow>, every skip routes through PERSONA_<X>_BLOCKED=true or <NAME>_SERVICE_ENABLED=false (never runtime detection), and every persona reaches an authenticated surface and drives a role-specific interaction.

    • With INFINITO_PLAYWRIGHT_KEEP=true you MUST open the trace / video of at least one passing persona per run, to confirm the journey actually fired.

  5. If the script exits 0 AND the inspection passed, go to Exit.

  6. If the script exits non-zero OR the inspection surfaced a schema violation:

    1. If the failure needs a change outside files/playwright/playwright.spec.js (role tasks, templates, vars, config, javascript.js, style.css, or any other role asset the deploy materializes), go to Escape.

    2. Otherwise, adjust the spec and return to step 2.

Debugging in the nested docker daemon

To validate a hypothesis without redeploying — e.g. rerun the Playwright image with a patched env or grep — use make compose-inner-run (see make help target=compose-inner-run for IMAGE / cmd / INFINITO_RUN_FLAGS). You MAY hand-edit /tmp/test-e2e-playwright/<role>/.env for the diagnosis run only, but you MUST mirror any fix back into roles/<role>/templates/playwright.env.j2 before the next deploy.

Exit

You MUST NOT report the task complete until all of the following hold:

  1. make compose-playwright role=<role> (or make swarm-playwright role=<role> against the swarm cluster) exited 0 on its last invocation, run WITHOUT any pw="--grep …" narrowing, so the entire spec (every test and every persona) ran and ALL passed. Redeploying while only a grepped subset is green and other tests are red or unrun is FORBIDDEN: the full suite MUST be green in the container first.

  2. Every MUST in Contributing playwright.spec.js holds, including the live-application assertion and the logged-out final state.

  3. A final make compose-deploy mode=reinstall apps=<role> full_cycle=true run has completed with the spec passing against the freshly provisioned stack. Inner-loop passes alone do NOT satisfy this gate.

Escape

When the failure requires a change outside files/playwright/playwright.spec.js:

  1. You MUST stop the inner loop. Inner-loop runs do NOT pick up role changes.

  2. You SHOULD run make compose-deploy mode=update apps=<role> for the redeploy.

  3. You MUST NOT fall back to make compose-deploy mode=reinstall apps=<role> full_cycle=true unless the reuse path has concrete evidence of a broken inventory or host stack, per Compose Loop.

  4. After the redeploy succeeds, return to Procedure step 1.