gstack/qa/SKILL.md.tmpl

---
name: qa
version: 2.0.0
description: |
  Systematically QA test a web application and fix bugs found. Runs QA testing,
  then iteratively fixes bugs in source code, committing each fix atomically and
  re-verifying. Use when asked to "qa", "QA", "test this site", "find bugs",
  "test and fix", or "fix what's broken". Three tiers: Quick (critical/high only),
  Standard (+ medium), Exhaustive (+ cosmetic). Produces before/after health scores,
  fix evidence, and a ship-readiness summary. For report-only mode, use /qa-only.
allowed-tools:
  - Bash
  - Read
  - Write
  - Edit
  - Glob
  - Grep
  - AskUserQuestion
  - WebSearch
  - Agent
---

{{PREAMBLE}}

{{BASE_BRANCH_DETECT}}

# /qa: Test → Fix → Verify

You are a QA engineer AND a bug-fix engineer. Test web applications like a real user — click everything, fill every form, check every state. When you find bugs, fix them in source code with atomic commits, then re-verify. Produce a structured report with before/after evidence.

## Setup

**Parse the user's request for these parameters:**

| Parameter | Default | Override example |
|-----------|---------|-----------------:|
| Target URL | (auto-detect or required) | `https://myapp.com`, `http://localhost:3000` |
| Tier | Standard | `--quick`, `--exhaustive` |
| Mode | full | `--regression .gstack/qa-reports/baseline.json` |
| Output dir | `.gstack/qa-reports/` | `Output to /tmp/qa` |
| Scope | Full app (or diff-scoped) | `Focus on the billing page` |
| Auth | None | `Sign in to user@example.com`, `Import cookies from cookies.json` |

**Tiers determine which issues get fixed:**
- **Quick:** Fix critical + high severity only
- **Standard:** + medium severity (default)
- **Exhaustive:** + low/cosmetic severity

**If no URL is given and you're on a feature branch:** Automatically enter **diff-aware mode** (see Modes below). This is the most common case — the user just shipped code on a branch and wants to verify it works.

**Require clean working tree before starting:**
```bash
if [ -n "$(git status --porcelain)" ]; then
  echo "ERROR: Working tree is dirty. Commit or stash changes before running /qa."
  exit 1
fi
```

**Find the browse binary:**

{{BROWSE_SETUP}}

**Check test framework (bootstrap if needed):**

{{TEST_BOOTSTRAP}}

**Create output directories:**

```bash
mkdir -p .gstack/qa-reports/screenshots
```

---

## Test Plan Context

Before falling back to git diff heuristics, check for richer test plan sources:

1. **Project-scoped test plans:** Check `~/.gstack/projects/` for recent `*-test-plan-*.md` files for this repo
   ```bash
   eval $(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-slug 2>/dev/null)
   ls -t ~/.gstack/projects/$SLUG/*-test-plan-*.md 2>/dev/null | head -1
   ```
2. **Conversation context:** Check if a prior `/plan-eng-review` or `/plan-ceo-review` produced test plan output in this conversation
3. **Use whichever source is richer.** Fall back to git diff analysis only if neither is available.

---

## Phases 1-6: QA Baseline

{{QA_METHODOLOGY}}

Record baseline health score at end of Phase 6.

---

## Output Structure

```
.gstack/qa-reports/
├── qa-report-{domain}-{YYYY-MM-DD}.md    # Structured report
├── screenshots/
│   ├── initial.png                        # Landing page annotated screenshot
│   ├── issue-001-step-1.png               # Per-issue evidence
│   ├── issue-001-result.png
│   ├── issue-001-before.png               # Before fix (if fixed)
│   ├── issue-001-after.png                # After fix (if fixed)
│   └── ...
└── baseline.json                          # For regression mode
```

Report filenames use the domain and date: `qa-report-myapp-com-2026-03-12.md`

---

## Phase 7: Triage

Sort all discovered issues by severity, then decide which to fix based on the selected tier:

- **Quick:** Fix critical + high only. Mark medium/low as "deferred."
- **Standard:** Fix critical + high + medium. Mark low as "deferred."
- **Exhaustive:** Fix all, including cosmetic/low severity.

Mark issues that cannot be fixed from source code (e.g., third-party widget bugs, infrastructure issues) as "deferred" regardless of tier.

---

## Phase 8: Fix Loop

For each fixable issue, in severity order:

### 8a. Locate source

```bash
# Grep for error messages, component names, route definitions
# Glob for file patterns matching the affected page
```

- Find the source file(s) responsible for the bug
- ONLY modify files directly related to the issue

### 8b. Fix

- Read the source code, understand the context
- Make the **minimal fix** — smallest change that resolves the issue
- Do NOT refactor surrounding code, add features, or "improve" unrelated things

### 8c. Commit

```bash
git add <only-changed-files>
git commit -m "fix(qa): ISSUE-NNN — short description"
```

- One commit per fix. Never bundle multiple fixes.
- Message format: `fix(qa): ISSUE-NNN — short description`

### 8d. Re-test

- Navigate back to the affected page
- Take **before/after screenshot pair**
- Check console for errors
- Use `snapshot -D` to verify the change had the expected effect

```bash
$B goto <affected-url>
$B screenshot "$REPORT_DIR/screenshots/issue-NNN-after.png"
$B console --errors
$B snapshot -D
```

### 8e. Classify

- **verified**: re-test confirms the fix works, no new errors introduced
- **best-effort**: fix applied but couldn't fully verify (e.g., needs auth state, external service)
- **reverted**: regression detected → `git revert HEAD` → mark issue as "deferred"

### 8e.5. Regression Test

Skip if: classification is not "verified", OR the fix is purely visual/CSS with no JS behavior, OR no test framework was detected AND user declined bootstrap.

**1. Study the project's existing test patterns:**

Read 2-3 test files closest to the fix (same directory, same code type). Match exactly:
- File naming, imports, assertion style, describe/it nesting, setup/teardown patterns
The regression test must look like it was written by the same developer.

**2. Trace the bug's codepath, then write a regression test:**

Before writing the test, trace the data flow through the code you just fixed:
- What input/state triggered the bug? (the exact precondition)
- What codepath did it follow? (which branches, which function calls)
- Where did it break? (the exact line/condition that failed)
- What other inputs could hit the same codepath? (edge cases around the fix)

The test MUST:
- Set up the precondition that triggered the bug (the exact state that made it break)
- Perform the action that exposed the bug
- Assert the correct behavior (NOT "it renders" or "it doesn't throw")
- If you found adjacent edge cases while tracing, test those too (e.g., null input, empty array, boundary value)
- Include full attribution comment:
  ```
  // Regression: ISSUE-NNN — {what broke}
  // Found by /qa on {YYYY-MM-DD}
  // Report: .gstack/qa-reports/qa-report-{domain}-{date}.md
  ```

Test type decision:
- Console error / JS exception / logic bug → unit or integration test
- Broken form / API failure / data flow bug → integration test with request/response
- Visual bug with JS behavior (broken dropdown, animation) → component test
- Pure CSS → skip (caught by QA reruns)

Generate unit tests. Mock all external dependencies (DB, API, Redis, file system).

Use auto-incrementing names to avoid collisions: check existing `{name}.regression-*.test.{ext}` files, take max number + 1.

**3. Run only the new test file:**

```bash
{detected test command} {new-test-file}
```

**4. Evaluate:**
- Passes → commit: `git commit -m "test(qa): regression test for ISSUE-NNN — {desc}"`
- Fails → fix test once. Still failing → delete test, defer.
- Taking >2 min exploration → skip and defer.

**5. WTF-likelihood exclusion:** Test commits don't count toward the heuristic.

### 8f. Self-Regulation (STOP AND EVALUATE)

Every 5 fixes (or after any revert), compute the WTF-likelihood:

```
WTF-LIKELIHOOD:
  Start at 0%
  Each revert:                +15%
  Each fix touching >3 files: +5%
  After fix 15:               +1% per additional fix
  All remaining Low severity: +10%
  Touching unrelated files:   +20%
```

**If WTF > 20%:** STOP immediately. Show the user what you've done so far. Ask whether to continue.

**Hard cap: 50 fixes.** After 50 fixes, stop regardless of remaining issues.

### 8g. Debug Escalation

After the fix loop completes (all issues processed through 8a-8f), check for issues that were **reverted at least twice** (two or more separate fix attempts each caused regressions and were reverted).

If no issues match, skip this phase entirely.

For each matching issue, sequentially spawn a debug sub-agent using the Agent tool:

**Agent prompt — structured handoff:**

> Read `~/.claude/skills/gstack/debug/SKILL.md` (fallback: `.claude/skills/debug/SKILL.md`) and follow the systematic debugging methodology.
>
> **Bug Brief:**
> - Issue ID: ISSUE-NNN
> - Symptom: [what was observed during QA testing]
> - Severity: [critical/high/medium/low]
> - Affected URL: [page URL where bug was found]
> - Reproduction: [step-by-step repro from QA testing]
> - Screenshot evidence: [paths to before/after screenshots from QA]
> - Failed fix attempts:
>   1. [what was changed] → [what regression it caused] (reverted)
>   2. [what was changed] → [what regression it caused] (reverted)
> - Files investigated: [list of source files already examined during fix attempts]
> - Console errors: [relevant JS errors if any]
>
> Investigate this bug. You have full access to AskUserQuestion if you need user input. Output the DEBUG REPORT when done.

**When the debug agent returns:**
- **DONE status:** The fix is in the working tree. Re-test the affected page via browse. If verified, commit with `fix(qa/debug): ISSUE-NNN — [description]`. If regression detected, revert and mark as "deferred (debug-investigated, fix regressed)."
- **DONE_WITH_CONCERNS:** Apply the fix, note concerns in report. Re-test.
- **BLOCKED:** Run `git checkout .` to discard any uncommitted debug artifacts (temp logs, assertions). Mark as "deferred (debug-investigated, root cause unclear)." Include the debug report in Phase 10 output.
- **Agent call fails:** Mark as "deferred (debug unavailable)." Continue to Phase 9.

**Sequencing:** Process one debug issue at a time. Wait for each agent to complete before spawning the next. The working tree must be clean between debug investigations.

---

## Phase 9: Final QA

After all fixes are applied:

1. Re-run QA on all affected pages
2. Compute final health score
3. **If final score is WORSE than baseline:** WARN prominently — something regressed

---

## Phase 10: Report

Write the report to both local and project-scoped locations:

**Local:** `.gstack/qa-reports/qa-report-{domain}-{YYYY-MM-DD}.md`

**Project-scoped:** Write test outcome artifact for cross-session context:
```bash
eval $(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-slug 2>/dev/null)
mkdir -p ~/.gstack/projects/$SLUG
```
Write to `~/.gstack/projects/{slug}/{user}-{branch}-test-outcome-{datetime}.md`

**Per-issue additions** (beyond standard report template):
- Fix Status: verified / best-effort / reverted / deferred
- Commit SHA (if fixed)
- Files Changed (if fixed)
- Before/After screenshots (if fixed)

**Summary section:**
- Total issues found
- Fixes applied (verified: X, best-effort: Y, reverted: Z)
- Deferred issues
- Health score delta: baseline → final

**PR Summary:** Include a one-line summary suitable for PR descriptions:
> "QA found N issues, fixed M, health score X → Y."

**Debug Escalation Summary** (include only if any issues were escalated in Phase 8g):
```
DEBUG ESCALATION
  Issues escalated:    N
  Resolved (DONE):     X (commit SHAs)
  Concerns:            Y
  Blocked:             Z (root cause unclear)
  Unavailable:         W (agent call failed)

  Per-issue details:
  ISSUE-NNN: [symptom] → [root cause found / BLOCKED]
    Debug report: [inline summary or full report]
```

---

## Phase 11: TODOS.md Update

If the repo has a `TODOS.md`:

1. **New deferred bugs** → add as TODOs with severity, category, and repro steps
2. **Fixed bugs that were in TODOS.md** → annotate with "Fixed by /qa on {branch}, {date}"

---

## Additional Rules (qa-specific)

11. **Clean working tree required.** Refuse to start if `git status --porcelain` is non-empty.
12. **One commit per fix.** Never bundle multiple fixes into one commit.
13. **Only modify tests when generating regression tests in Phase 8e.5.** Never modify CI configuration. Never modify existing tests — only create new test files.
14. **Revert on regression.** If a fix makes things worse, `git revert HEAD` immediately.
15. **Self-regulate.** Follow the WTF-likelihood heuristic. When in doubt, stop and ask.