Peekaboo/docs/playground-testing.md

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Peekaboo Playground Testing Methodology

Overview

The Playground app (Apps/Playground) is a dedicated test harness for validating Peekaboo's CLI commands. It provides a controlled environment with various UI elements and comprehensive logging to verify that automation commands work correctly.

Testing Philosophy

When testing Peekaboo CLI tools with the Playground app, we follow a systematic approach that goes beyond basic functionality testing. The goal is to:

1. Discover edge cases and bugs before users encounter them
2. Validate parameter naming consistency across commands
3. Ensure commands work as documented
4. Identify opportunities for API improvements

Comprehensive Testing Process

1. Pre-Testing Setup

Before starting tests:

• Ensure Poltergeist is running: npm run poltergeist:status
• Build and launch Playground app
• Clear any previous test artifacts
• Open terminal for log monitoring
• Run peekaboo visualizer with Peekaboo.app open to confirm visual feedback is working (treat this as part of the pre-flight check).

2. For Each Command

A. Documentation Review

# Always start with help documentation
./scripts/peekaboo-wait.sh <command> --help

# Review what parameters are available
# Note any confusing or inconsistent naming

B. Source Code Analysis

• Read the command implementation in Apps/CLI/Sources/peekaboo/Commands/
• Understand:
  • Expected parameter types and formats
  • Error handling logic
  • Dependencies on other services
  • Any special behaviors or edge cases

C. Basic Functionality Testing

# Test the primary use case
./scripts/peekaboo-wait.sh <command> <basic-args>

# Verify in logs
./Apps/Playground/scripts/playground-log.sh -n 20

D. Parameter Variation Testing

Test all parameter combinations:

• Required vs optional parameters
• Different parameter formats (if applicable)
• Conflicting parameters
• Missing required parameters
• Invalid parameter values

E. Edge Case Testing

• Empty values
• Special characters in strings
• Very large values
• Negative values (where applicable)
• Unicode/emoji in text inputs
• Quoted strings with spaces

F. Error Handling Validation

• Test commands without required setup (e.g., no active session)
• Test with non-existent targets
• Test timeout scenarios
• Test permission-related failures

3. Log Analysis

For each test, check logs for:

• Successful execution markers
• Error messages
• Performance metrics (execution time)
• Any warnings or unexpected behaviors

# Stream logs during testing
./Apps/Playground/scripts/playground-log.sh -f

# Or check recent logs
./Apps/Playground/scripts/playground-log.sh -n 50

4. Bug Documentation

When issues are found, document in PLAYGROUND_TEST.md:

### ❌ [Command Name] - [Brief Description]

**Test Case**: `./scripts/peekaboo-wait.sh [exact command]`

**Expected**: [What should happen]

**Actual**: [What actually happened]

**Error Output**:

[Paste error output]

**Root Cause**: [Analysis of why it failed]

**Fix Applied**: [Description of fix, if any]

**Status**: [Fixed/Pending/Won't Fix]

5. Parameter Consistency Analysis

Track parameter naming inconsistencies:

## Parameter Inconsistencies

| Command | Parameter | Expected | Suggestion |
|---------|-----------|----------|------------|
| click   | --on      | --app    | Support both for consistency |
| ...     | ...       | ...      | ... |

6. Performance Observations

Note any performance issues:

• Commands that take unusually long
• Commands with unexpected delays
• Resource-intensive operations

Testing Tools

Playground App Features

The Playground app provides:

• Click Testing View: Buttons with different states
• Text Input View: Various text fields for typing tests
• Scroll Testing View: Scrollable content areas
• Window Testing View: Multiple windows for window management
• Drag & Drop View: Drag targets
• Menu Items: Custom menu for menu testing
• Keyboard View: Keyboard shortcut testing

Log Monitoring

# View logs with different filters
./Apps/Playground/scripts/playground-log.sh -f    # Follow logs
./Apps/Playground/scripts/playground-log.sh -n 100 # Last 100 lines
./Apps/Playground/scripts/playground-log.sh -e     # Errors only

Session Management

# List recent sessions
ls -la ~/.peekaboo/snapshots/

# View session UI map
cat ~/.peekaboo/snapshots/<snapshot-id>/snapshot.json | jq .

Common Testing Patterns

1. UI Element Interaction

# Capture UI first
./scripts/peekaboo-wait.sh see --app Playground

# Then interact with elements
./scripts/peekaboo-wait.sh click "Button Text"
./scripts/peekaboo-wait.sh type "Hello World"

2. Window Management

# List windows
./scripts/peekaboo-wait.sh list windows --app Playground

# Manipulate windows
./scripts/peekaboo-wait.sh window focus --app Playground
./scripts/peekaboo-wait.sh window minimize --app Playground

3. Menu Interaction

# Click menu items
./scripts/peekaboo-wait.sh menu click "Test Menu" "Test Action 1"

Fix and Retest Cycle

When bugs are found:

1. Analyze root cause in source code
2. Apply minimal fix that addresses the issue
3. Retest the specific case that failed
4. Run regression tests on related functionality
5. Update documentation if behavior changed

Testing Checklist Template

For each command, use this checklist:

### Command: [name]

- [ ] Read --help documentation
- [ ] Review source code implementation
- [ ] Test basic functionality
- [ ] Test all parameters individually
- [ ] Test parameter combinations
- [ ] Test with missing required params
- [ ] Test with invalid values
- [ ] Test edge cases (empty, special chars, etc.)
- [ ] Test error scenarios
- [ ] Monitor logs during all tests
- [ ] Document any bugs found
- [ ] Note parameter naming issues
- [ ] Test performance characteristics
- [ ] Apply fixes if needed
- [ ] Retest after fixes
- [ ] Update test documentation

Best Practices

1. Always use the wrapper script: ./scripts/peekaboo-wait.sh
2. Test incrementally: Start simple, add complexity
3. Document everything: Even minor observations might be valuable
4. Think like a user: Would this behavior surprise someone?
5. Consider automation: How would this work in a script?
6. Test combinations: Real usage often combines multiple commands

Continuous Improvement

The testing process itself should evolve:

• Add new test cases as bugs are discovered
• Update Playground app with new test scenarios
• Refine testing methodology based on findings
• Share learnings with the team