gbrain/docs/TESTING.md

# Testing (gbrain repo)

On-demand reference (see CLAUDE.md Reference map). Current behavior + invariants
only.

### Test command tiers

Seven test command tiers, each with a clear scope:

| Command | What it runs | Wallclock | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| `bun run test` | Parallel unit-test fast loop. 8-shard fan-out via `scripts/run-unit-parallel.sh`, then a serial pass over `*.serial.test.ts`. Excludes `*.slow.test.ts` and `test/e2e/*`. No pre-checks, no typecheck. | ~85s on a Mac dev box (3650+ tests) | Inner edit loop. Default. |
| `bun run verify` | CI's authoritative pre-test gate set, fanned out in parallel by `scripts/run-verify-parallel.sh`: the full `check:*` battery (~30 checks — privacy, jsonb, progress, source-id, test-isolation, wasm, …) plus `bun run typecheck`. The `CHECKS` array in that script is the single source of truth — CI literally calls `bun run verify` in a dedicated job. | ~16s (parallel; typecheck dominates) | Before pushing; before `/ship`. |
| `bun run test:full` | `verify && bun run test && bun run test:slow && [smart e2e]`. The local equivalent of "everything CI runs." Smart e2e: runs e2e only when `DATABASE_URL` is set; else loud skip notice to stderr. | ~3-5min depending on slow + e2e | Pre-merge sanity, before opening a PR. |
| `bun run test:slow` | Just the `*.slow.test.ts` set (intentional cold-path correctness checks). | seconds-to-minutes | When touching slow-path code. |
| `bun run test:serial` | Just the `*.serial.test.ts` set (cross-file-contention quarantine; one bun process per file for true module-registry isolation). | ~1s per quarantined file | Debugging a specific quarantined file. |
| `bun run test:e2e` | Real Postgres E2E. Requires Docker + `DATABASE_URL`. Sequential. | ~5-10min | Pre-ship; nightly. |
| `bun run check:all` | All 7 historical pre-checks (privacy + jsonb + progress + no-legacy-getconnection + trailing-newline + wasm + exports-count). Superset of `verify`. | ~10s | Local-only sweep. The 4 not in `verify` are nice-to-haves. |

### CI vs local: intentionally divergent file sets

- **CI matrix** (`.github/workflows/test.yml`) runs `scripts/test-shard.sh` across 10 matrix shards partitioned by weight-aware LPT bin-packing (`scripts/sharding.ts`) and INCLUDES `*.slow.test.ts` (the two outlier slow files run as dedicated jobs alongside the matrix). CI EXCLUDES `*.serial.test.ts` from the shards and runs them in a dedicated job via `bun run test:serial`, one bun process per file — keeping serial files out of the shard processes is what preserves the `mock.module` quarantine (a top-level mock in one file leaks into every other file sharing its process). `bun run verify` gets its own job too. CI is the ground truth for "did everything pass."
- **Local fast loop** (`scripts/run-unit-shard.sh` via the parallel wrapper) uses round-robin-by-index sharding and EXCLUDES `*.slow.test.ts` AND `*.serial.test.ts`. Local trades coverage for inner-loop speed; CI catches what local skips.

This divergence is intentional. Don't try to make them equal — the two scripts deliberately solve different problems. The regression test at `test/scripts/run-unit-shard.test.ts` pins what the local fast loop should and shouldn't include.

### Failure-first logging

When `bun run test` finds any failure, the wrapper:

1. Writes failure blocks (each prefixed with `--- shard N: <test name> ---`) to `.context/test-failures.log` (workspace-local, gitignored). On systems without a writable `.context/`, falls back to `/tmp/gbrain-test-failures.log`.
2. Prints a loud stderr banner with the absolute log path, plus the last 30 lines of the failure log inlined. Banner survives `| head` / `| tail` / agent-side log truncation.
3. Writes a one-line-per-shard summary to `.context/test-summary.txt` (`shard N/M: pass=X fail=Y skip=Z rc=W`).
4. Exits non-zero. Empty failure log + non-zero exit = infrastructure problem (wedged shard, killed child); the banner says so.

If a shard wedges (per-shard `GBRAIN_TEST_SHARD_TIMEOUT` cap, default 600s), the wrapper writes `--- shard N: WEDGED after ${SHARD_TIMEOUT}s ---` to the failure log, includes the last 50 lines of the shard log, and proceeds with other shards' results.

### File taxonomy

- `*.test.ts` → fast loop (parallel 8-shard fan-out).
- `*.slow.test.ts` → run via `bun run test:slow` only (intentional cold-path tests; would dominate the fast loop's wallclock).
- `*.serial.test.ts` → run via `bun run test:serial` after the parallel pass completes; one bun process per file (`--max-concurrency=1` within a shared process is not enough — the module registry still leaks `mock.module`). Quarantine for tests that share file-wide state and race when run alongside other files in the same `bun test` process. Several dozen files, discovered by the `*.serial.test.ts` glob — no list to maintain. Typical residents: `mock.module(...)` users (top-level mocks leak across files in a shard process, e.g. `test/embed.serial.test.ts`), env-coupled files (e.g. `test/brain-registry.serial.test.ts`), and process-lifecycle suites that assert on `process.exitCode` (e.g. `test/pglite-engine-disconnect.serial.test.ts`). **Do not put the parallelism back on a serial file unless you've fixed the contention root cause** (it just re-introduces the flake).
- `test/e2e/*.test.ts` → real-Postgres E2E. Skipped when `DATABASE_URL` is unset.
- `tests/heavy/*.sh` → ops-shape shell scripts. Cost minutes per run; NOT in default `bun test`. Run via `bun run test:heavy` or scheduled nightly via `.github/workflows/heavy-tests.yml`. Examples: pg_upgrade matrix (boot legacy brain → walk to head), RSS budget gate (measure peak worker RSS vs committed baseline), read-latency-under-sync (p50/p95/p99 under concurrent writer load), sync lock regression (N concurrent syncs assert 1 winner + N-1 lock-busy + zero leaked `gbrain_cycle_locks` rows). See `tests/heavy/README.md` for when to add a script here vs `*.slow.test.ts`. Files prefixed with `_` (e.g. `tests/heavy/_build_legacy_fixtures.sh`) are helpers/libs invoked by sibling tests — the runner skips them.
- `test/fuzz/*.test.ts` → property-based fuzz harness. Pure-validator targets in `pure-validators.test.ts` are guarded by `scripts/check-fuzz-purity.sh` (in `bun run verify`), which `bun build --target=bun` bundles each target and greps the resulting bundle for banned transitive imports (`node:fs`, `node:child_process`, engine modules). Anything that fails the guard moves to `mixed-validators.test.ts` (still property-tested, but no purity guarantee) or `filesystem-validators.test.ts` (fs-backed, uses temp dirs). Fuzz tests run in the default `bun test` loop because they're fast (~3s for ~12 properties × 1000 runs each).

### Test-isolation lint and helpers

The cross-file flake class is enforced statically by `scripts/check-test-isolation.sh`, wired into `bun run verify` and `bun run check:all`. Rules (non-serial unit files only; `*.serial.test.ts` and `test/e2e/*` are skipped):

| Rule | What it bans | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| **R1** | `process.env.X = ...`, bracket assignment, `delete process.env.X`, `Object.assign(process.env, ...)`, `Reflect.set(process.env, ...)` | Use `withEnv()` from `test/helpers/with-env.ts`, OR rename file to `*.serial.test.ts` |
| **R2** | `mock.module(...)` anywhere in the file | Rename file to `*.serial.test.ts` (no DI on production code for testability) |
| **R3** | `new PGLiteEngine(` outside ~50 lines after a `beforeAll(` line | Use the canonical block (below) inside `beforeAll(` |
| **R4** | Files creating `new PGLiteEngine(` without `engine.disconnect(` inside an `afterAll(` block | Add `afterAll(() => engine.disconnect())` |

Files that violated these rules at the isolation-lint baseline are listed in `scripts/check-test-isolation.allowlist`. **The allow-list MUST shrink over time** — never add new entries.

#### Canonical PGLite block (R3 + R4 compliant)

Every test file that needs a PGLite engine should use this exact pattern:

```ts
import { PGLiteEngine } from '../src/core/pglite-engine.ts';
import { resetPgliteState } from './helpers/reset-pglite.ts';

let engine: PGLiteEngine;

beforeAll(async () => {
  engine = new PGLiteEngine();
  await engine.connect({});
  await engine.initSchema();
});

afterAll(async () => {
  await engine.disconnect();
});

beforeEach(async () => {
  await resetPgliteState(engine);
});
```

Why this exact shape: `beforeAll` creates a single engine per file (PGLite WASM cold-start + initSchema is ~20s); `beforeEach` truncates user data via `resetPgliteState` ("two orders of magnitude faster" than fresh-engine-per-test); `afterAll` disconnects so the engine doesn't leak across file boundaries within a shard process.

#### `withEnv` pattern (R1 fix)

```ts
import { withEnv } from './helpers/with-env.ts';

test('reads OPENAI_API_KEY', async () => {
  await withEnv({ OPENAI_API_KEY: 'sk-test' }, async () => {
    expect(loadConfig().openai_key).toBe('sk-test');
  });
});

// Delete a var (override is undefined):
await withEnv({ GBRAIN_HOME: undefined }, fn);

// Multiple keys:
await withEnv({ A: '1', B: '2', C: undefined }, fn);
```

`withEnv` saves the prior value of every key it touches and restores via try/finally — including when the callback throws. **It is cross-test safe but NOT intra-file concurrent-safe.** `process.env` is process-global; two `test.concurrent()` calls in the same file both touching the same key will race. Files using `withEnv` stay outside the `test.concurrent()` codemod's eligibility filter.

#### When to quarantine instead of fix

Rename to `*.serial.test.ts` when:
- The file uses `mock.module(...)` (R2 — there's no clean fix without changing production code).
- The file is genuinely env-coupled (e.g. `gbrain-home-isolation.test.ts`, `claw-test-cli.test.ts`) — module-load env readers + ESM caching defeat dynamic-import-after-env tricks.
- The file's tests intentionally share state across `it()` boundaries.

The quarantine has grown to dozens of files — treat it as debt: every addition needs a reason from the list above, and prefer fixing the contention root cause when one exists.

### Unit test inventory

`bun test` runs all tests without a database. E2E tests skip gracefully when `DATABASE_URL` is not set.

Unit tests and what they cover:

- `test/markdown.test.ts` — frontmatter parsing; `splitBody` sentinel precedence, horizontal-rule preservation, `inferType` wiki subtypes.
- `test/chunkers/recursive.test.ts` — chunking.
- `test/parity.test.ts` — operations contract parity.
- `test/cli.test.ts` — CLI structure.
- `test/cli-finish-teardown.test.ts` — the #2084 teardown contract: `computeTeardownDeadlineMs` formula/floor/live-registry scaling + `GBRAIN_TEARDOWN_DEADLINE_MS` override (garbage/zero/negative values fall back to the formula); `finishCliTeardown` clean path (drain BEFORE disconnect, no exit, no warn), backstop on hung drain or disconnect (honors an errored op's exit code), throwing drain/disconnect warned + swallowed; the gbrain-owned verdict channel is immune to PGLite WASM `process.exitCode` writes; `flushThenExit` unit coverage with mocked streams (exits once after both stream callbacks, non-TTY aliveness grace, blocked-pipe guard, EPIPE-safe, `GBRAIN_FLUSH_GRACE_MS` override).
- `test/flush-then-exit-harness.test.ts` — real spawned-Bun pipe semantics for `flushThenExit` (fixture: `test/fixtures/flush-then-exit-harness.ts`): a 4MB piped stdout payload arrives byte-complete with the exit code even with a late reader, small output survives exit with a concurrent reader, and the fence resolves promptly (wall time well under the guard + grace ceiling).
- `test/cli-should-force-exit.test.ts` — `shouldForceExitAfterMain` daemon-survival gate: `serve` (stdio and `--http`) never force-exits, including with preceding global flags; op commands / empty / flag-only argv do; the #2084 case that space-separated global-flag VALUES can't fake a command (`--timeout 30s serve` resolves to the `serve` daemon, not a `30s` command).
- `test/config.test.ts` — config redaction.
- `test/files.test.ts` — MIME/hash.
- `test/import-file.test.ts` — import pipeline.
- `test/upgrade.test.ts` — schema migrations.
- `test/file-migration.test.ts` — file migration.
- `test/file-resolver.test.ts` — file resolution.
- `test/import-resume.test.ts` — import checkpoints.
- `test/migrate.test.ts` — migration: v8/v9 helper-btree-index SQL structural assertions; 1000-row wall-clock fixtures guarding the O(n²)→O(n log n) fix; v12/v13 SQL shape; `sqlFor` + `transaction:false` runner semantics; the `max_stalled DEFAULT 1` regression guard; v24 `sqlFor.pglite: ''` no-op assertion.
- `test/bootstrap.test.ts` — bootstrap contract: no-op on fresh install, idempotent across two `initSchema()` calls, no-op on modern brain that already has every probed column, full bootstrap path on a simulated legacy brain, fresh-install regression guard, legacy `links` shape coverage.
- `test/schema-bootstrap-coverage.test.ts` — CI guard. `REQUIRED_BOOTSTRAP_COVERAGE` lists every forward reference in `PGLITE_SCHEMA_SQL`; the test fails loudly if `applyForwardReferenceBootstrap` skips one (extend both arrays when adding a column-with-index to the embedded schema blob). Also parses `src/core/migrate.ts` source text for every `ALTER TABLE ... ADD COLUMN` (top-level `sql:`, `sqlFor.{postgres,pglite}` overrides, AND handler-body `engine.runMigration(N, \`ALTER TABLE ...\`)`) and asserts each (table, column) pair is covered by the bootstrap OR by the schema blob's CREATE TABLE bodies — catching the column-only forward-reference class (e.g. `sources.archived`, `oauth_clients.source_id`) that a CREATE INDEX parser alone can't see. `parseBaseTableColumns` strips SQL line + block comments before identifying column names so commented-out lines don't hide adjacent columns.
- `test/helpers/schema-diff.ts` + `test/helpers/schema-diff.test.ts` + `test/e2e/schema-drift.test.ts` — cross-engine schema parity gate. Helper exports pure `snapshotSchema(query)` / `diffSnapshots(pg, pglite, opts)` / `formatDiffForFailure(diff)` / `isCleanDiff(diff)` over a four-tuple per column (`data_type`, `udt_name`, `is_nullable`, `column_default`). E2E test spins up fresh PGLite + Postgres, runs `engine.initSchema()` on each, snapshots `information_schema.columns`, then diffs. 2-table allowlist (`files`, `file_migration_ledger`) — every other Postgres table must reach PGLite via `PGLITE_SCHEMA_SQL` or a migration's `sqlFor.pglite` branch. Sentinels for `oauth_clients`, `mcp_request_log`, `access_tokens`, `eval_candidates` give tighter blame messages. Skips without `DATABASE_URL`. Wired into `scripts/e2e-test-map.ts` so changes to `src/schema.sql`, `src/core/pglite-schema.ts`, or `src/core/migrate.ts` trigger it. The failure message names every drift with a paste-ready hint pointing at `src/core/pglite-schema.ts`.
- `test/setup-branching.test.ts` — setup flow.
- `test/slug-validation.test.ts` — slug validation.
- `test/storage.test.ts` — storage backends.
- `test/supabase-admin.test.ts` — Supabase admin.
- `test/yaml-lite.test.ts` — YAML parsing.
- `test/check-update.test.ts` — version check + update CLI.
- `test/pglite-engine.test.ts` — PGLite engine, all BrainEngine methods including `addLinksBatch` / `addTimelineEntriesBatch` (empty batch, missing optionals, within-batch dedup via ON CONFLICT, missing-slug rows dropped by JOIN, half-existing batch, batch of 100) plus `connect()` error-wrap assertion (original error nested, #223 link in message, lock released).
- `test/links-timeline-jsonb-poison.test.ts` — gbrain#1861 PGLite half (always-on, no `DATABASE_URL`). Locks the `jsonb_to_recordset` batch-insert path for links/timeline/takes against free-text "poison" payloads (commas, quotes, backslashes, braces, em-dashes) and asserts NUL is stripped from free-text body fields but rejected in identity fields. gbrain#2011 adds lone-UTF-16-surrogate cases: every free-text field (link context; timeline summary/detail/source; take claim/source) well-forms to U+FFFD across batch + scalar write paths, while a surrogate in an identity field (slug) still fail-closed rejects the batch. The Postgres lane (`test/e2e/jsonb-batch-poison-postgres.test.ts`) is the one that actually reproduced the original crash.
- `test/engine-factory.test.ts` — engine factory + dynamic imports.
- `test/integrations.test.ts` — recipe parsing, CLI routing, recipe validation.
- `test/publish.test.ts` — content stripping, encryption, password generation, HTML output.
- `test/backlinks.test.ts` — entity extraction, back-link detection, timeline entry generation.
- `test/lint.test.ts` — LLM artifact detection, code fence stripping, frontmatter validation.
- `test/report.test.ts` — report format, directory structure.
- `test/skills-conformance.test.ts` — skill frontmatter + required sections validation.
- `test/resolver.test.ts` — RESOLVER.md coverage, routing validation; round-trip that every quoted RESOLVER.md trigger matches a frontmatter `triggers:` entry in the target skill, and every `name="<word>"` reference in any SKILL.md resolves to a declared op in `src/core/operations.ts` or a Minions handler in `PROTECTED_JOB_NAMES`.
- `test/search.test.ts` — RRF normalization, compiled truth boost, cosine similarity, dedup key.
- `test/sql-ranking.test.ts` — source-boost helpers: longest-prefix-match in SQL CASE, `detail=high` temporal-bypass, three-meta-char LIKE escape (`%`, `_`, `\`), single-quote SQL-literal doubling, env override parsing for `GBRAIN_SOURCE_BOOST` + `GBRAIN_SEARCH_EXCLUDE`, `resolveBoostMap` / `resolveHardExcludes` merge semantics.
- `test/dedup.test.ts` — source-aware dedup, compiled truth guarantee, layer interactions.
- `test/intent.test.ts` — query intent classification: entity/temporal/event/general.
- `test/eval.test.ts` — retrieval metrics: `precisionAtK`, `recallAtK`, `mrr`, `ndcgAtK`, `parseQrels`.
- `test/check-resolvable.test.ts` — resolver reachability, MECE overlap, gap detection, proximity-based DRY detection, `extractDelegationTargets` coverage.
- `test/dry-fix.test.ts` — auto-fix: three shape-aware expander pure-function tests; five guards (working-tree-dirty, no-git-backup, inside-code-fence, already-delegated within 40 lines, ambiguous-multi-match, block-is-callout).
- `test/doctor-fix.test.ts` — `gbrain doctor --fix` CLI integration: dry-run preview, apply path, JSON output shape.
- `test/backoff.test.ts` — load-aware throttling, concurrency limits, active hours.
- `test/fail-improve.test.ts` — deterministic/LLM cascade, JSONL logging, test generation, rotation.
- `test/transcription.test.ts` — provider detection, format validation, API key errors.
- `test/enrichment-service.test.ts` — entity slugification, extraction, tier escalation.
- `test/data-research.test.ts` — recipe validation, MRR/ARR extraction, dedup, tracker parsing, HTML stripping.
- `test/minions.test.ts` — Minions job queue: CRUD, state machine, backoff, stall detection, dependencies, worker lifecycle, lock management, claim mechanics, depth/child-cap, timeouts, cascade kill, idempotency, `child_done` inbox, attachments, removeOnComplete/Fail, `max_stalled` clamp/default/plumbing coverage.
- `test/extract.test.ts` — link extraction, timeline extraction, frontmatter parsing, directory type inference.
- `test/extract-db.test.ts` — `gbrain extract --source db`: typed link inference, idempotency, `--type` filter, `--dry-run` JSON output.
- `test/extract-fs.test.ts` — `gbrain extract --source fs`: first-run inserts + second-run reports zero, dry-run dedups candidates across files, second-run perf regression guard for the N+1 dedup bug.
- `test/link-extraction.test.ts` — canonical `extractEntityRefs` both formats, `extractPageLinks` dedup, `inferLinkType` heuristics, `parseTimelineEntries` date variants, `isAutoLinkEnabled` config.
- `test/graph-query.test.ts` — direction in/out/both, type filter, indented tree output.
- `test/features.test.ts` — feature scanning, brain_score calculation, CLI routing, persistence.
- `test/file-upload-security.test.ts` — symlink traversal, cwd confinement, slug + filename allowlists, remote vs local trust.
- `test/query-sanitization.test.ts` — prompt-injection stripping, output sanitization, structural boundary.
- `test/search-limit.test.ts` — `clampSearchLimit` default/cap behavior across `list_pages` and `get_ingest_log`.
- `test/repair-jsonb.test.ts` — JSONB repair: TARGETS list, idempotency, engine-awareness.
- `test/migrations-v0_12_2.test.ts` — JSONB-repair orchestrator phases: schema → repair → verify → record.
- `test/orphans.test.ts` — orphans command: detection, pseudo filtering, text/json/count outputs, MCP op.
- `test/postgres-engine.test.ts` — `statement_timeout` scoping: `sql.begin` + `SET LOCAL` shape, source-level grep guardrail against a reintroduced bare `SET statement_timeout`.
- `test/sync.test.ts` — sync logic + regression guard asserting top-level `engine.transaction` is not called.
- `test/sync-concurrency.test.ts` — `autoConcurrency()` thresholds + PGLite-forces-serial + explicit-override clamping; `shouldRunParallel()` explicit-bypasses-floor contract; `parseWorkers()` validation rejecting `'0'`/`'-3'`/`'foo'`/`'1.5'`/trailing chars.
- `test/sync-parallel.test.ts` — PGLite-routed coverage of the bookmark gate under concurrency, head-drift gate, vanished-file failure capture, PGLite-stays-serial, and the `gbrain-sync` writer-lock contract.
- `test/sync-failures.test.ts` — `classifyErrorCode` regex coverage for all 12 codes against literal production message strings from `markdown.ts` and `import-file.ts`; `summarizeFailuresByCode` sort + pre-classified-honor; `recordSyncFailures` code-field persistence; `acknowledgeSyncFailures` `AcknowledgeResult` shape + backfill on legacy entries.
- `test/doctor.test.ts` — doctor command; assertions that `jsonb_integrity` scans the four JSONB write sites and `markdown_body_completeness` is present.
- `test/utils.test.ts` — shared SQL utilities + `tryParseEmbedding` null-return and single-warn semantics.
- `test/build-llms.test.ts` — `llms.txt`/`llms-full.txt` generator: path resolution, idempotence, spec shape, regen-drift guard, content contract, AGENTS.md install-path mirror, size-budget enforcement.
- `test/oauth.test.ts` — OAuth 2.1 provider: register, getClient, `client_credentials` grant exchange, `authorization_code` flow with PKCE challenge/verifier, refresh token rotation, `verifyAccessToken` with both OAuth + legacy `access_tokens` fallback, `revokeToken`, `sweepExpiredTokens`; contract test asserting `scope` + `localOnly` annotations on all operations; `coerceTimestamp` unit cases (null/undefined/string/number/throw-on-NaN); NULL-`expires_at`-as-expired contract for both refresh + access token paths; cascade-delete contract asserting `revoke-client` purges `oauth_tokens` + `oauth_codes` via FK CASCADE; cross-client isolation (wrong-client attempt MUST reject AND rightful owner MUST still succeed atomically afterward); empty-string `redirect_uri` bypass guard; PKCE DCR public-client gate (`token_endpoint_auth_method: "none"` returns no `client_secret`, default `client_secret_post` clients get the one-time-reveal secret, `getClient` NULL→undefined normalization, full PKCE `/authorize` → `/token` round-trip against a public client).
- `test/mcp-dispatch-summarize.test.ts` — `summarizeMcpParams` invariants: declared-keys allow-list intersection, attacker-key-name leak guard (unknown keys counted not named), 1KB byte bucketing for size-probe defense, missing op falls through to fully-redacted shape, declared-keys sorted for deterministic output.
- `test/trust-boundary-contract.test.ts` — fail-closed trust semantics under cast bypass: `ctx.remote === undefined` treated as remote/untrusted at every flipped call site; `as any` and `Partial<>` spreads can't downgrade trust by accident.
- `test/check-resolvable-cli.test.ts` — CLI wrapper: exit codes, JSON envelope shape, AGENTS.md fallback chain.
- `test/regression-v0_16_4.test.ts` — `findRepoRoot` regression guard, hermetic startDir parameterization.
- `test/repo-root.test.ts` — `findRepoRoot` walk semantics + default-arg parity; the 4-tier `autoDetectSkillsDir` fallback chain (`$OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE` → `~/.openclaw/workspace` → repo-root → `./skills`); RESOLVER.md/AGENTS.md filename precedence; explicit-env-wins-over-repo-root; tier-0 `$GBRAIN_SKILLS_DIR` valid/invalid/precedence-over-`OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE`; the install-path walk in `autoDetectSkillsDirReadOnly`; no-drift on primary success; `AUTO_DETECT_HINT` + `AUTO_DETECT_HINT_READ_ONLY` content; regression guard asserting the shared `autoDetectSkillsDir` MUST NEVER return `'install_path'` source (how the read-path/write-path split stays safe).
- `test/resolver-merge.test.ts` — multi-file resolver merge: `findAllResolverFiles` empty / RESOLVER.md-only / AGENTS.md-only / both-present (RESOLVER.md first); `checkResolvable` merge semantics across `skills/RESOLVER.md` + `../AGENTS.md` for the OpenClaw layout where the skillpack ships a thin RESOLVER.md and the real dispatcher lives at the workspace root; dedup by `skillPath` (first occurrence wins); AGENTS.md-at-workspace-root works alone.
- `test/filing-audit.test.ts` — filing audit: `writes_pages` / `writes_to` frontmatter, filing-rules JSON validation.
- `test/skill-brain-first.test.ts` — shared frontmatter parser; `analyzeSkillBrainFirst` compliance ladder across 9 fixtures under `test/fixtures/brain-first-skills/` (compliant-callout, compliant-phase, compliant-position, exempt-frontmatter, missing-brain-first, multi-pattern, negation-prose, no-external, typo-frontmatter); offset helpers; external-lookup regex shape; audit snapshot+diff transition logic; `FORMERLY_HARDCODED_EXEMPT` regression absorption.
- `test/routing-eval.test.ts` — fixture parsing, structural routing, `ambiguous_with`, Haiku tie-break layer.
- `test/skill-manifest.test.ts` — skill manifest parser: drift detection, managed-block markers.
- `test/skillify-scaffold.test.ts` — `gbrain skillify scaffold` stubs: SKILL.md, script, tests, routing-eval fixtures.
- `test/skillpack-install.test.ts` — `gbrain skillpack install` managed-block install / update / no-clobber semantics.
- `test/skillpack-sync-guard.test.ts` — sync-guard: bundled skills stay byte-identical to `skills/` source.
- `test/http-transport.test.ts` — HTTP transport: bearer auth + missing/no-Bearer/unknown/revoked + `/health` bypass; dispatch.ts round-trip; invalid_params; application/json response shape (not SSE); CORS default-deny + allowlist; body cap on Content-Length AND chunked; two-bucket rate limit (refill, exhaust+Retry-After, LRU eviction, TTL prune, pre-auth IP fires before DB); `mcp_request_log` audit on success + auth_failed.
- `test/restart-sweep.test.ts` — `recipes/restart-sweep.md` inlined script: sentinel-anchored fenced-block extraction with salted tmp filenames to bypass ESM cache; constructor-time env reads (proves no module-load snapshot); idempotency layer load/save/atomic-tmp-rename/corrupt-JSON-recovery/30-day-prune; `(sessionKey, lastAlertedAt)` cooldown gate with 6h threshold; AGGRESSIVE-gate two-state tests; execFile argv shape proving shell metachars in `OPENCLAW_TELEGRAM_GROUP` cannot reach `/bin/sh`; real-`\n`-not-literal alert formatting; `GBRAIN_HOME` state path override.
- `test/eval-longmemeval.test.ts` — LongMemEval harness, hermetic with no `DATABASE_URL` and no API keys: PGLite create + reset over runtime-enumerated `pg_tables`, infrastructure-table preservation across resets, JSONL question parsing, retrieval-only and answer-gen modes via stubbed `ThinkLLMClient`, `--limit` cutoff, `--keyword-only` vs hybrid, default `--expansion=off` behavior, perf gate (p50 < 30ms / p99 < 50ms warm reset+import+search on Apple Silicon), `--help` works without a configured brain, fixture round-trip via `test/fixtures/longmemeval-mini.jsonl`.
- `test/longmemeval-sanitize.test.ts` — sanitization parity pinning that `INJECTION_PATTERNS` from `src/core/think/sanitize.ts` is the single source of truth (adding a pattern there must cover both `<take>` framing and `<chat_session>` framing, no per-surface regex drift).
- `test/openai-compat-multimodal.test.ts` — gateway's openai-compatible multimodal path: happy-path single + multi-input embedding, unauthenticated proxy mode, dimension-mismatch guard (throws `AIConfigError` with model id + observed + expected pre-storage), default-dim fallback when recipe declares `default_dims`, HTTP 401 / 400 / malformed-JSON / non-array error paths, regression that the existing Voyage `/multimodalembeddings` recipe still routes through its dedicated path. Hermetic via the `__setEmbedTransportForTests` seam.
- `test/serve-stdio-lifecycle.test.ts` — `MCP_STDIO=1` env guard: stdin EOF does NOT trigger shutdown when the env is set, SIGTERM still does (guard scope is correct), unset env preserves the CLI lifecycle. Exercises the `ServeOptions.mcpStdio?: boolean` test seam directly so tests don't mutate `process.env`.

### E2E test inventory

E2E tests live in `test/e2e/` and run against real Postgres+pgvector (require `DATABASE_URL`), except where noted as PGLite in-memory (no `DATABASE_URL` needed).

- `bun run test:e2e` runs Tier 1 (mechanical, all operations, no API keys). Includes dedicated cases for the postgres-engine `addLinksBatch` / `addTimelineEntriesBatch` bind path — postgres-js's JSONB bind (`jsonb_to_recordset(($1::jsonb)->'rows')`) differs from PGLite's and gets its own coverage.
- `test/e2e/search-quality.test.ts` — search quality against PGLite (no API keys, in-memory).
- `test/e2e/graph-quality.test.ts` — knowledge graph pipeline (auto-link via put_page, reconciliation, traversePaths) against PGLite in-memory.
- `test/e2e/jsonb-batch-poison-postgres.test.ts` — gbrain#1861 regression, the engine that actually crashed. Seeds free-text "poison" context (Zoom URL with `?pwd=`, commas, quotes, Windows backslash path, braces, em-dash) and asserts the links/timeline/takes batch writers no longer error with "malformed array literal"; also asserts NUL is stripped from free-text bodies (`context`/`summary`/`detail`/`claim`) and still rejected in identity fields. gbrain#2011 adds the lone-surrogate crash lock: a lone UTF-16 surrogate in free text (the value that aborted `extract --stale` with `22P02` on Supabase) well-forms to U+FFFD across batch + scalar paths (incl. timeline + take `source`), while a surrogate in an identity field still rejects the batch. `DATABASE_URL`-gated.
- `test/e2e/postgres-jsonb.test.ts` — round-trips all 5 JSONB write sites (`pages.frontmatter`, `raw_data.data`, `ingest_log.pages_updated`, `files.metadata`, `page_versions.frontmatter`) against real Postgres and asserts `jsonb_typeof='object'` plus `->>'key'` returns the expected scalar. Guards against the double-encode bug.
- `test/e2e/integrity-batch.test.ts` — parity for `scanIntegrity`'s batch-load fast path vs sequential. Cases (dedup, hits, validate, topPages) seed a fixture and assert both paths return identical results. Dedup case uses raw SQL via `getConn().unsafe()` to seed a `(test-source-2, people/alice)` row alongside the default-source row, since `engine.putPage` doesn't take a `source_id`. Pins multi-source overcounting; the "multi-source duplicate slugs scan once" case expects both batch + sequential paths to report 2.
- `test/e2e/jsonb-roundtrip.test.ts` — companion regression against the 4 doctor-scanned JSONB sites. Assertion-level overlap with `postgres-jsonb.test.ts` is intentional defense-in-depth: if doctor's scan surface drifts from the actual write surface, one of these tests catches it.
- `test/e2e/sync.test.ts` — `--skip-failed` failure-loop test alongside happy-path tests: broken file → `performSync` returns `blocked_by_failures` with grouped breakdown → `performSync({skipFailed: true})` advances bookmark and returns `AcknowledgeResult` with code summary → second broken file → second cycle. Saves and restores the user's real `~/.gbrain/sync-failures.jsonl` so the test is hermetic. Asserts bookmark gating, JSONL state, dedup across paths, summary aggregation, and the literal doctor-rendering string format.
- `test/e2e/upgrade.test.ts` — check-update against real GitHub API (network required).
- `test/e2e/minions-shell-pglite.test.ts` — PGLite `--follow` inline shell-job path (in-memory, no `DATABASE_URL` required) — the path the minion-orchestrator skill documents for dev use.
- `test/e2e/pglite-cli-exit.serial.test.ts` — real spawned-CLI exit behavior on PGLite (in-memory, no `DATABASE_URL`): read commands (`search`/`get`/`query`) exit 0 promptly; CLI_ONLY `capture` exits clean and frees the single-writer lock; the `#2084` describes pin every swept disconnect site — a failed op exits 1 with the error on stderr, and the dashboard, read-only-timeout, doctor, and `dream --dry-run` paths all exit with no force-exit banner.
- `test/e2e/openclaw-reference-compat.test.ts` — `check-resolvable` + `skillpack install` against a minimal AGENTS.md workspace fixture (`test/fixtures/openclaw-reference-minimal/`), regression guard for the OpenClaw deployment shape.
- `test/e2e/search-swamp.test.ts` — reproduces the source-swamp case. Seeds a curated `originals/talks/article-outline-fat-code` page against two `<fork>/chat/` pages stuffed with the same multi-word phrase. Asserts the article wins keyword AND vector ranking, that `detail=high` lets the chat swamp re-surface, and that `source_id` passes through the two-stage CTE intact. PGLite in-memory.
- `test/e2e/search-exclude.test.ts` — `test/` + `archive/` pages hidden by default, `include_slug_prefixes` opts back in, caller-supplied `exclude_slug_prefixes` adds to defaults. Both keyword and vector search paths.
- `test/e2e/engine-parity.test.ts` — Postgres ↔ PGLite top-result and result-set parity for `searchKeyword` + `searchVector` (Postgres ranks pages then picks best chunk while PGLite returns chunks directly, so the source-boost behavior needs parity coverage). Skips without `DATABASE_URL`.
- `test/e2e/postgres-bootstrap.test.ts` — exercises `PostgresEngine.initSchema()` directly against a fresh real Postgres database. Asserts the bootstrap path is no-op on fresh installs and that SCHEMA_SQL replays cleanly through the engine path (not via the standalone `db.initSchema` from `src/core/db.ts`).
- `test/e2e/http-transport.test.ts` — `gbrain serve --http` end-to-end against real Postgres: bearer auth round-trip, `last_used_at` SQL-level debounce, `mcp_request_log` row insertion on success and auth_failed paths, `/health` DB-down → 503 (DB-probing health check), and the dispatch round-trip with a real operation. Skips without `DATABASE_URL`.
- `test/e2e/serve-http-oauth.test.ts` — real-Postgres E2E against `gbrain serve --http` with full OAuth 2.1. Spawns a subprocess server, registers a client via the CLI, mints `client_credentials` tokens, exercises the `/mcp` JSON-RPC pipeline. Real DCR `/register` HTTP-level response-shape test (asserts `typeof body.client_id_issued_at === 'number'` over the wire, RFC 7591 §3.2.1); real CLI subprocess test for `revoke-client` (registers → mints token → revokes via `execSync` → asserts token rejected at `/mcp` → asserts re-run exits 1); server fixture flips on `--enable-dcr` so `/register` is reachable. **bun execSync env-inheritance contract:** bun's `execSync` does NOT inherit env mutations done via `process.env.X = ...`, only OS-level env from before bun started. helpers.ts loads `.env.testing` and sets `DATABASE_URL` via `process.env` mutation, which is invisible to subprocesses unless `env: { ...process.env }` is passed explicitly — every subprocess call in this file passes `env: { ...process.env }`. Reference fix for the same failure mode in sibling sync/cycle/dream/claw-test E2Es. `afterAll` cleanup is guarded on `clientId` (won't throw if `beforeAll` failed before registration); cleanup errors surface to stderr without throwing so real test failures aren't masked. Also covers the trust-boundary fix: an HTTP MCP `submit_job` for `name: "shell"` MUST reject with a permission error (request handler sets `remote: true` and `submit_job`'s protected-name guard fires), and the same guard rejects subagent submission. Skips without `DATABASE_URL`.
- `test/e2e/sync-parallel.test.ts` — `DATABASE_URL`-gated. 60-file Postgres sync at concurrency=4 imports all + no connection leak (probes `pg_stat_activity` before/after to confirm worker engines disconnected). 120-file serial-vs-parallel benchmark prints `SYNC_PARALLEL_BENCH N files | serial=Xms | parallel(4)=Yms | speedup=Zx`. Asserts parallel ≤ serial × 1.5 (CI-noise tolerant; not a strict speedup gate).
- `test/e2e/multi-source-bug-class.test.ts` — PGLite in-memory regression suite pinning every multi-source bug site: `listAllPageRefs` ordering by `(source_id, slug)`, `getPage` with sourceId picks the right `(source, slug)` row, `extract-takes` processes both overlapping `people/alice` rows independently, `listPages` filters correctly with `PageFilters.sourceId`, `addLinksBatch` with `from/to_source_id` targets the right rows, `validateSourceId` rejects path traversal, reverse-write disk layout uses `brainDir/.sources/<id>/<slug>.md` for non-default sources. No `DATABASE_URL` needed. Wired into `scripts/e2e-test-map.ts` so changes to extract-takes / patterns / synthesize / embed / extract / migrate-engine auto-trigger it.
- `test/e2e/source-isolation-pglite.test.ts` — PGLite in-memory regression suite pinning the source-isolation seal at two layers. Engine layer: `searchKeyword` / `searchVector` / `searchKeywordChunks` / `listPages` / `getPage` / `traverseGraph` / `traversePaths` apply `sourceId` (scalar fast path) and `sourceIds` (array path) correctly across both engines. Op-handler layer: routes through `sourceScopeOpts(ctx)` so a `read+write`-scoped OAuth client bound to `--source dept-x` cannot see rows from neighboring sources via `search`, `query`, `list_pages`, `get_page`, or `find_experts`. Covers both `ctx.sourceId` (single-source clients) and `ctx.auth.allowedSources` (federated_read clients) precedence; federated array wins over scalar wins over nothing. No `DATABASE_URL` needed.
- `test/e2e/skill-brain-first.test.ts` — doctor reports `skill_brain_first` check with structured issues; `--fix --dry-run` previews insertion without writing; `--fix` applies the canonical Convention callout idempotently; `brain_first: exempt` frontmatter resolves the warn; `brain_first_typo` surfaces a paste-ready hint; audit JSONL records `detected` / `resolved` / `fixed` transitions; stable brain emits 0 audit lines/run.
- Tier 2 (`test/e2e/skills.test.ts`) requires OpenClaw + API keys, runs nightly in CI.
- If `.env.testing` doesn't exist in this directory, check sibling worktrees: `find ../ -maxdepth 2 -name .env.testing -print -quit` and copy it here if found.
- **Run E2E tests without asking permission.** When you want to verify behavior, there's a relevant E2E test, or you're shipping anything covered by an E2E suite — spin up the test DB, run the tests, tear down. Don't ask, don't propose it, don't defer. The lifecycle is short (~2-30s startup, sub-minute tests, instant teardown) and the gate value is high. Skipping with "DATABASE_URL unset" is silent regression, not caution.

### API keys and running ALL tests

ALWAYS source the user's shell profile before running tests:

```bash
source ~/.zshrc 2>/dev/null || true
```

This loads `OPENAI_API_KEY` and `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`. Without these, Tier 2 tests
skip silently. Do NOT skip Tier 2 tests just because they require API keys — load
the keys and run them.

When asked to "run all E2E tests" or "run tests", that means ALL tiers:
- Tier 1: `bun run test:e2e` (mechanical, sync, upgrade — no API keys needed)
- Tier 2: `test/e2e/skills.test.ts` (requires OpenAI + Anthropic + openclaw CLI)
- Always spin up the test DB, source zshrc, run everything, tear down.

### E2E test DB lifecycle (ALWAYS follow this)

You are responsible for spinning up and tearing down the test Postgres container.
Do not leave containers running after tests. Do not skip E2E tests, do not ask
permission to run them — see the "run without asking" rule above.

1. **Check for `.env.testing`** — if missing, copy from sibling worktree.
   Read it to get the DATABASE_URL (it has the port number).
2. **Check if the port is free:**
   `docker ps --filter "publish=PORT"` — if another container is on that port,
   pick a different port (try 5435, 5436, 5437) and start on that one instead.
3. **Start the test DB:**
   ```bash
   docker run -d --name gbrain-test-pg \
     -e POSTGRES_USER=postgres -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres \
     -e POSTGRES_DB=gbrain_test \
     -p PORT:5432 pgvector/pgvector:pg16
   ```
   Wait for ready: `docker exec gbrain-test-pg pg_isready -U postgres`
4. **Bootstrap the schema** (required — fresh containers have no `oauth_clients`,
   `mcp_request_log`, `pages` etc.; tests like `serve-http-oauth.test.ts` will fail
   with `relation "oauth_clients" does not exist` if you skip this):
   ```bash
   DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:PORT/gbrain_test \
     bun run src/cli.ts doctor --json > /dev/null 2>&1
   ```
   `gbrain doctor` triggers `initSchema()` on first connect, which is the canonical
   way to bring a fresh DB to head. `apply-migrations --yes` alone does NOT seed
   the base schema — it runs ALTER-style migrations on top of `initSchema`. Tests
   that bypass the engine (raw `execSync`-spawned `auth register-client`) hit the
   schema directly and need this step to have run first.
5. **Run E2E tests:**
   `DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:PORT/gbrain_test bun run test:e2e`
6. **Tear down immediately after tests finish (pass or fail):**
   `docker stop gbrain-test-pg && docker rm gbrain-test-pg`

Never leave `gbrain-test-pg` running. If you find a stale one from a previous run,
stop and remove it before starting a new one.