foreman-tdd
Stack-agnostic test-driven development loop for a single Foreman issue.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/VisionForge-OU/foreman /tmp/foreman-tdd && cp -r /tmp/foreman-tdd/src/foreman/skills/foreman-tdd ~/.claude/skills/foreman-tddSKILL.md
# foreman-tdd
(Adapted from mattpocock/skills `tdd` — see NOTICE. Made stack-agnostic: test,
lint and typecheck commands are injected by Foreman from `config.yaml`, not
hard-coded to npm/Husky. Removed interactive "confirm with the user / get user
approval" steps — those become escalation triggers. Added the FOREMAN-SUMMARY
output block.)
## Inputs (injected by Foreman in the prompt)
- The full **issue file** (`ISS-NNN.md`) — its Goal, Acceptance criteria, Out of
scope, `prd_refs`, and its `acceptance_check` (a runnable check Foreman re-runs
independently — your slice is not done until it passes). This is your slice
definition.
- The **commands** for the project (`test`, `lint`, `typecheck`) — but you run
tests through the **`foreman-test`** wrapper (see below), never the raw runner.
- The target repo conventions (`CONTEXT.md`, relevant ADRs).
- The **evidence directory** (`runs/<id>/evidence/`) you MUST populate before
claiming done.
- On a retry, the **failing output** from the previous attempt.
You run headless in a git worktree on the issue's branch, cwd set to that
worktree. Implement the slice and stop. Do not ask for confirmation.
## The foreman-test wrapper (use it exclusively)
Run tests with **`foreman-test`** (on your PATH) instead of the raw test runner:
- `foreman-test` — full suite, quiet output (counts + failures only), full log
on disk with greppable `ERROR` lines.
- `foreman-test --fast` — a deterministic per-worker random subsample for cheap
inner-loop runs. Use this while iterating; run the **full** `foreman-test`
before you finish. Foreman re-runs the full suite itself regardless.
**Wall-clock discipline:** the wrapper prints elapsed time. Spend at most ~1 turn
in 3 re-running tests; the rest goes to making changes. Don't loop on the runner.
## You may NOT write Foreman-owned state
`verification.json`, any issue file, and the canonical `*.check/` artifacts are
Foreman's. A worktree hook will block (and surface) any attempt to write them —
do not try. Foreman decides "done", not you.
## Philosophy
**Tests verify behavior through public interfaces, not implementation details.**
Good tests are integration-style: they exercise real code paths through public
APIs and read like a specification ("user can checkout with valid cart"). They
survive refactors. Bad tests mock internal collaborators, assert on call
counts/order, or verify through external means. See [tests.md](./tests.md).
## Anti-pattern: horizontal slices
**DO NOT write all tests first, then all implementation.** That produces tests of
*imagined* behavior. Work vertically: one test → its implementation → repeat. Each
test responds to what you learned from the previous cycle.
```
WRONG (horizontal): RED: test1..test5 then GREEN: impl1..impl5
RIGHT (vertical): RED→GREEN: test1→impl1 ; test2→impl2 ; test3→impl3 ; ...
```
## Workflow
### 1. Plan from the issue
Derive the behaviors to test from the issue's **Acceptance criteria**. Use the
project's domain glossary for test and interface names. Identify the public
interface/seam for the slice and design it for testability (small interface, deep
implementation). List the behaviors — not implementation steps. You set this plan
yourself; there is no user to approve it. If a criterion is ambiguous or
contradicts an ADR or the codebase such that you cannot proceed safely, STOP and
emit a FOREMAN-SUMMARY with `escalate: true` and the specific question (Foreman
routes it to the human attention queue).
### 2. Tracer bullet
Write ONE test for the first behavior → run the test command → it fails (RED).
Write the minimal code to pass → run again → it passes (GREEN). This proves the
path end-to-end.
### 3. Incremental loop
For each remaining acceptance criterion: RED (one new test, fails) → GREEN
(minimal code, passes). One test at a time. Only enough code to pass the current
test. Don't anticipate future tests. Keep tests on observable behavior.
### 4. Refactor (only while GREEN)
After all tests pass: extract duplication, deepen modules, apply SOLID where
natural, run the test command after each refactor step. **Never refactor while
RED.**
### 5. Verify, save evidence, and summarise
Run the full `foreman-test`, then `lint`, then `typecheck` (whichever exist) and
capture each command's pass/fail and a short output tail. Confirm the issue's
`acceptance_check` passes.
**Completion contract (required):** before claiming done, save evidence artifacts
proving you observed success into the evidence directory Foreman gave you
(`runs/<id>/evidence/`) — at minimum the test log, plus command outputs (and a
screenshot for UI work via the configured e2e tooling). List each saved artifact
in the FOREMAN-SUMMARY `evidence` array. **A "complete" claim with missing or
empty evidence is rejected and counts as a failed attempt** — Foreman validates
the evidence on disk and re-runs every command itself; it does not trust claims.
## Required output: FOREMAN-SUMMARY
End every run with exactly one fenced block tagged `json` whose content is a
single JSON object on the schema below. Nothing after it.
````md
```json
{
"schema": "foreman-summary/v1",
"issue_id": "ISS-001",
"files_touched": ["path/a", "path/b"],
"tests_added": ["describe/it name or test function name", "..."],
"commands": {
"test": {"ran": true, "passed": true, "output_tail": "...last lines..."},
"lint": {"ran": true, "passed": true, "output_tail": "..."},
"typecheck": {"ran": false, "passed": null, "output_tail": "not configured"}
},
"evidence": ["test.log", "acceptance.log"],
"open_concerns": ["anything you are unsure about"],
"escalate": false,
"escalation_question": "",
"request_more_turns": 0
}
```
````
- `evidence` lists the artifacts you saved under `runs/<id>/evidence/`. It must be
non-empty for a completion claim; Foreman rejects an empty/unbacked claim.
- `escalate: true` + a non-empty `escalation_question` means you could noHeadless root-cause debugging loop for a Foreman worker whose tests, build, or acceptance check are failing — especially on a retry. Find the root cause before changing anything, fix at the source with a regression test, and never thrash on symptom patches. Used inside a foreman-tdd build session; emits no summary of its own.
Headless grilling pass that challenges an approved implementation plan against the existing codebase and domain model, then writes an ADR draft and a PRD draft into the Foreman feature directory. Self-answers every question it can from the code/docs and surfaces the rest as an "Open questions for reviewer" block instead of interviewing a live user.
Headless implementation-plan authoring for the Foreman planning stage. Explore the target repo first, then write a deep, decomposition-aware plan that the grill→ADR/PRD→issues pipeline can build on — goals, seams, data/interface changes, risks, sequencing, and testing strategy. No placeholders. Writes the plan body and stops.
Break an approved PRD into small, dependency-ordered, vertically-sliced implementation issues written as local files in the Foreman feature directory. Each issue ships a runnable acceptance check and a declared file footprint. No GitHub, no live quizzing of the user — emits files matching Foreman's issue schema with PRD traceability.
PRD template and authoring rules for Foreman. Synthesizes a PRD from the approved plan and the grilled decisions and writes it as a local file in the Foreman feature directory. Does not interview the user and does not publish to any external issue tracker.
Headless self-verification gate a Foreman worker runs before it claims an issue is done. Re-run the real commands, read the actual output, and only then write the FOREMAN-SUMMARY — evidence before claims, always. Used inside a foreman-tdd build session; emits no summary of its own.
Headless end-to-end / web-app testing for the Foreman e2e stage. Derive end-to-end tests from the PRD's User Flows, drive the real application the way a user would (browser flows, screenshots, accessibility checks for web apps), make them pass via the configured e2e command, and emit the FOREMAN-SUMMARY block Foreman parses.