automaton/tasks/complete/framework-self-consistency-tests/SPEC.md

Framework Self-Consistency Tests

Goal

Add automated tests that enforce the framework's own rules — verifying prompt consistency, stop condition presence, canonical paths, and state machine integrity. These tests lock in the fixes from prior tasks and prevent regression.

Requirements

R1. Add tests/test_framework_self_consistency.py

Create a new test file that performs compile-time checks on the framework itself:

A. All delivery prompts have a stop condition block

• Assert every .md file in prompts/ that produces a deliverable artifact contains ## Stop Condition (MANDATORY) or a documented equivalent
• Exclude orchestrate.md (not a delivery prompt), compaction.md (uses COMPACTION_COMPLETE), adversarial_bug_find.md (now has CONTRACT_MET), workflow.md (reference, not prompt)

B. No hardcoded repository URLs in prompts/contracts/templates

• Assert that prompt files don't contain the Gitea URL (10.37.0.86:3003) or any other hardcoded repo URL
• install.sh at line 13 is the only allowed location (the install script legitimately needs it)

C. .rules.md contains all mandatory rule sections

• Assert .rules.md mentions: Task-Driven Development, VRAM, Changelog, Session Discipline, Scope Confinement, Artifact Integrity

D. .rules.md self-improvement rule has concrete examples

• Assert the Self-Improvement section references at least one real failure mode

E. Canonical task path used in all prompts

• Assert all {project}/.automaton/tasks/{task-name}/ paths match the canonical format
• Assert zero instances of {project}/tasks/ (the deprecated location) — including concrete task names like {project}/tasks/onboarding/

F. pyproject.toml has no stale extras

• Assert pyproject.toml does not reference inotify

G. Dashboard CSS theme variables are complete

• Assert both :root and [data-theme="light"] sections contain the same set of CSS variable names
• This prevents the common bug where a variable is added to one theme but not the other

R2. Add a minimal JS logic test

dashboard.js has 470 lines of untested UI logic. At minimum, test the pure functions:

• getTaskDisplayGroup() — review-based group advancement
• getFilteredTasks() — filter/sort behavior
• STATE_ICONS map completeness (matches TaskState values)

This can be done in Python by parsing the JS file and extracting the function logic, or by adding a small Node.js test with jsdom.

R3. Add verdict parsing regression test

Create a dedicated test file tests/test_parsing.py (or extend test_task.py) with:

• PASS verdict mentioning FAIL → DONE (not BLOCKED) — the regression test for the critical bug
• PASS verdict mentioning NEEDS_REVIEW → DONE (not BLOCKED)
• Structured verdict with ## Status: PASS → DONE
• Structured verdict with ## Status: FAIL → BLOCKED
• Unstructured verdict with just "FAIL" → BLOCKED (fallback behavior)
• Verdict with no status line → RESEARCH (since no SPEC either) or BACKLOG
• IMPLEMENTATION.md alone → BUG_FIND (state machine alignment)
• Empty VERDICT.md → BLOCKED

R4. CI configuration validation

Add a test that parses .gitea/workflows/ci.yml and asserts:

• It runs py_compile on all Python source directories
• It runs pytest
• It runs bash -n on shell scripts

This catches the case where a new directory is added but CI isn't updated.

Acceptance Criteria

• python -m pytest tests/test_framework_self_consistency.py -v passes
• All delivery prompts have stop condition blocks (tested by R1.A)
• No hardcoded URLs in prompts (tested by R1.B)
• .rules.md contains all mandatory sections (tested by R1.C)
• Zero deprecated {project}/tasks/ paths in prompts (tested by R1.E)
• pyproject.toml has no inotify reference (tested by R1.F)
• tests/test_parsing.py includes all regression cases from R3
• All existing tests still pass (72/72 minimum)
• CI workflow correctly includes all framework source directories (tested by R4)

Non-Goals

• Not adding a linter/formatter (ruff/black) — framework policy doesn't require one
• Not adding mypy type checking
• Not changing the soft-enforcement philosophy — these tests verify prompts and docs, not runtime behavior
• Not testing the dashboard server integration (too heavy for unit tests)