Manual Tester

Manually verifies Story AC on running code and reports structured results for the quality gate.

Purpose & Scope

• Create executable test scripts in

  tests/manual/

  folder of target project.
• Run AC-driven checks via bash/curl (API) or puppeteer (UI).
• Save scripts permanently for regression testing (not temp files).
• Document results in Linear with pass/fail per AC and script path.
• No status changes or task creation.

When to Use

• Invoked by ln-510-test-planner after ln-511-test-researcher completes
• Research comment "## Test Research:" exists on Story (from ln-511)
• All implementation tasks in Story status = Done

Test Design Principles

1. Fail-Fast - No Silent Failures

CRITICAL: Tests MUST return 1 (fail) immediately when any criterion is not met.

Never use:

print_status "WARN" + return 0

for validation failures, graceful degradation without explicit flags, silent fallbacks that hide errors.

Exceptions (WARN is OK): Informational warnings that don't affect correctness, optional features (with clear justification in comments), infrastructure issues (e.g., missing Nginx in dev environment).

2. Expected-Based Testing - The Golden Standard

CRITICAL: Tests MUST compare actual results against expected reference files, not apply heuristics or algorithmic checks.

Directory structure:

tests/manual/NN-feature/
├── samples/               # Input files
├── expected/              # Expected output files (REQUIRED!)
│   └── {base_name}_{source_lang}-{target_lang}.{ext}
└── test-*.sh

Heuristics acceptable ONLY for: dynamic/non-deterministic data (timestamps, UUIDs, tokens - normalize before comparison; JSON with unordered keys - use

jq --sort-keys

).

3. Results Storage

Test results saved to

tests/manual/results/

(persistent, in .gitignore). Named:

result_{ac_name}.{ext}

or

response_{ac_name}.json

. Inspectable after test completion for debugging.

4. Expected File Generation

To create expected files:

1. Run test with current implementation
2. Review output in

   results/

   folder
3. If correct: copy to

   expected/

   folder with proper naming
4. If incorrect: fix implementation first, then copy

IMPORTANT: Never blindly copy results to expected. Always validate correctness first.

Workflow

Phase 1: Setup tests/manual structure

1. Read

   docs/project/runbook.md

   — get Docker commands, API base URL, test prerequisites, environment setup
2. Check if

   tests/manual/

   folder exists in project root
3. If missing, create structure:

   • tests/manual/config.sh

     — shared configuration (BASE_URL, helpers, colors)

   • tests/manual/README.md

     — folder documentation (see README.md template below)

   • tests/manual/test-all.sh

     — master script to run all test suites (see test-all.sh template below)

   • tests/manual/results/

     — folder for test outputs (add to

     .gitignore

     )
4. Add

   tests/manual/results/

   to project

   .gitignore

   if not present
5. If exists, read existing

   config.sh

   to reuse settings (BASE_URL, tokens)

Phase 2: Create Story test script

1. Fetch Story, parse AC into Given/When/Then list (3-5 expected)
   • Check for research comment (from ln-511-test-researcher) — incorporate findings into test cases
2. Detect API vs UI (API → curl, UI → puppeteer)
3. Create test folder structure:

   • tests/manual/{NN}-{story-slug}/samples/

     — input files (if needed)

   • tests/manual/{NN}-{story-slug}/expected/

     — expected output files (REQUIRED for deterministic tests)
4. Generate test script:

   tests/manual/{NN}-{story-slug}/test-{story-slug}.sh

   • Use appropriate template: TEMPLATE-api-endpoint.sh (direct calls) or TEMPLATE-document-format.sh (async jobs)
   • Header: Story ID, AC list, prerequisites
   • Test function per AC + edge/error cases
   • diff-based validation against expected files (PRIMARY)
   • Results saved to

     tests/manual/results/

   • Summary table with timing
5. Make script executable (

   chmod +x

   )

Phase 2.5: Update Documentation

1. Update

   tests/manual/README.md

   :
   • Add new test to "Available Test Suites" table
   • Include Story ID, AC covered, run command
2. Update

   tests/manual/test-all.sh

   :
   • Add call to new script in SUITES array
   • Maintain execution order (00-setup first, then numbered suites)

Phase 3: Execute and report

1. Rebuild Docker containers (no cache), ensure healthy
2. Run generated script, capture output
3. Parse results (pass/fail counts)
4. Post Linear comment with:
   • AC matrix (pass/fail per AC)
   • Script path:

     tests/manual/{NN}-{story-slug}/test-{story-slug}.sh

   • Rerun command:

     cd tests/manual && ./{NN}-{story-slug}/test-{story-slug}.sh

Critical Rules

• Scripts saved to project

  tests/manual/

  , NOT temp files.
• Rebuild Docker before testing; fail if rebuild/run unhealthy.
• Keep language of Story (EN/RU) in script comments and Linear comment.
• No fixes or status changes; only evidence and verdict.
• Script must be idempotent (can rerun anytime).

Definition of Done

• tests/manual/

  structure exists (config.sh, README.md, test-all.sh, results/ created if missing).

• tests/manual/results/

  added to project

  .gitignore

  .
• Test script created at

  tests/manual/{NN}-{story-slug}/test-{story-slug}.sh

  .

• expected/

  folder created with at least 1 expected file per deterministic AC.
• Script uses diff-based validation against expected files (not heuristics).
• Script saves results to

  tests/manual/results/

  for debugging.
• Script is executable and idempotent.
• README.md updated with new test suite in "Available Test Suites" table.
• test-all.sh updated with call to new script in SUITES array.
• App rebuilt and running; tests executed.
• Verdict and Linear comment posted with script path and rerun command.

Script Templates

README.md (created once per project)

# Manual Testing Scripts

> **SCOPE:** Bash scripts for manual API testing. Complements automated tests with CLI-based workflows.

## Quick Start

```bash
cd tests/manual
./00-setup/create-account.sh  # (if auth required)
./test-all.sh                 # Run ALL test suites

Prerequisites

• Docker containers running (

  docker compose ps

  )
• jq installed (

  apt-get install jq

  or

  brew install jq

  )

Folder Structure

tests/manual/
├── config.sh          # Shared configuration (BASE_URL, helpers, colors)
├── README.md          # This file
├── test-all.sh        # Run all test suites
├── 00-setup/          # Account & token setup (if auth required)
│   ├── create-account.sh
│   └── get-token.sh
└── {NN}-{topic}/      # Test suites by Story
    └── test-{slug}.sh

Available Test Suites

<!-- Add new test suites here when creating new tests -->

Suite	Story	AC Covered	Run Command
—	—	—	—

Adding New Tests

1. Create script in

   {NN}-{topic}/test-{slug}.sh

2. Update this README (Available Test Suites table)
3. Update

   test-all.sh

   (add to SUITES array)

### test-all.sh (created once per project)

```bash
#!/bin/bash
# =============================================================================
# Run all manual test suites
# =============================================================================
set -e
SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
source "$SCRIPT_DIR/config.sh"

echo "=========================================="
echo "Running ALL Manual Test Suites"
echo "=========================================="

check_jq
check_api

# Setup (if exists)
[ -f "$SCRIPT_DIR/00-setup/create-account.sh" ] && "$SCRIPT_DIR/00-setup/create-account.sh"
[ -f "$SCRIPT_DIR/00-setup/get-token.sh" ] && "$SCRIPT_DIR/00-setup/get-token.sh"

# Test suites (add new suites here)
SUITES=(
    # "01-auth/test-auth-flow.sh"
    # "02-translation/test-translation.sh"
)

PASSED=0; FAILED=0
for suite in "${SUITES[@]}"; do
    echo ""
    echo "=========================================="
    echo "Running: $suite"
    echo "=========================================="
    if "$SCRIPT_DIR/$suite"; then
        ((++PASSED))
        print_status "PASS" "$suite"
    else
        ((++FAILED))
        print_status "FAIL" "$suite"
    fi
done

echo ""
echo "=========================================="
echo "TOTAL: $PASSED suites passed, $FAILED failed"
echo "=========================================="
[ $FAILED -eq 0 ] && exit 0 || exit 1

config.sh (created once per project)

#!/bin/bash
# Shared configuration for manual testing scripts
export BASE_URL="${BASE_URL:-http://localhost:8080}"
export RED='\033[0;31m'
export GREEN='\033[0;32m'
export YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
export NC='\033[0m'

print_status() {
    local status=$1; local message=$2
    case $status in
        "PASS") echo -e "${GREEN}[PASS]${NC} $message" ;;
        "FAIL") echo -e "${RED}[FAIL]${NC} $message" ;;
        "WARN") echo -e "${YELLOW}[WARN]${NC} $message" ;;
        "INFO") echo -e "[INFO] $message" ;;
    esac
}

check_jq() {
    command -v jq &> /dev/null || { echo "Error: jq required"; exit 1; }
}

check_api() {
    local response=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "$BASE_URL/health" 2>/dev/null)
    if [ "$response" != "200" ]; then
        echo "Error: API not reachable at $BASE_URL"
        exit 1
    fi
    print_status "INFO" "API reachable at $BASE_URL"
}

SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
export SCRIPT_DIR

Test Script Templates

See: references/templates/

Template	Use Case	Location
template-api-endpoint.sh	API endpoint tests (NO async jobs)	template-api-endpoint.sh
template-document-format.sh	Document/file processing (WITH async jobs)	template-document-format.sh

Quick start:

cp references/templates/template-api-endpoint.sh {NN}-feature/test-{feature}.sh      # Endpoint tests
cp references/templates/template-document-format.sh {NN}-feature/test-{format}.sh    # Document tests

Reference Files

• Script format reference: prompsit-api

  tests/manual/

  (production example)
• AC format:

  shared/templates/test_task_template.md

  (or local

  docs/templates/

  in target project)
• Risk-based context:

  ln-513-auto-test-planner/references/risk_based_testing_guide.md

• Research findings: ln-511-test-researcher creates "## Test Research" comment on Story

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Version: 1.0.0 (Renamed from ln-503, Phase 0 Research moved to ln-511-test-researcher) Last Updated: 2026-01-15