Automation Quality Assurance & Testing Protocol#

This skill is the primary authority for testing any automation project within the OpenClaw environment. It ensures operational stability, prevents regressions, and maintains high-quality standards across all automated workflows.

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Agent: How to Use This Skill#

Read this protocol fully before modifying or deploying any automation script. Follow the steps sequentially.

1. Comprehensive Automation Testing Strategy#

To ensure a robust automation, every project must pass through these 6 critical testing layers:

• Layer 1: Unit Testing (Logic) - Test individual functions, mathematical calculations, and internal logic branches in isolation.
• Layer 4: Idempotency & Recovery - Ensure that if a script fails and restarts, it does not produce side effects (e.g., no duplicate emails or redundant API calls). The script must be "Safe to Restart."
• Layer 2: Integration Testing (Connectors) - Verify successful communication with external services (Meta API, Google Sheets, SMTP, etc.) using real or sandbox credentials.
• Layer 3: End-to-End (E2E) Flow - Simulate a complete lifecycle of the automation (e.g., Budget Breach -> Pause -> Notify) to ensure the entire chain works.
• Layer 5: Regression Testing - Always run the full run_tests.py suite after any change to confirm that existing features remain functional.
• Layer 6: Observability & Logging Verification - Confirm that the script produces clear, actionable logs for every step, especially during failures, to ensure "blind spots" are eliminated.

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2. Execution Protocol#

Do find and execute tests before and after every modification:

1. Discover: Always look for run_tests.py or a tests/ directory within the project root.

2. Execute: bash

   python3 path/to/project/run_tests.py
   
   

3. Initialize: If the project lacks tests, you are mandated to create a run_tests.py file implementing the 6 layers above.

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3. Standard Exit Criteria (Definition of Done)#

A task is considered "Complete" only when:

• 100% Pass Rate: All 6 testing layers pass without errors.
• Timezone Uniformity: All timestamps and scheduling are synchronized to the environment's local time (e.g., Africa/Cairo).
• Security Compliance: Zero hardcoded secrets. All tokens and passwords must be isolated in .env or config files.
• Failure Resilience: The script handles API timeouts and connection drops gracefully without crashing.
• Documentation: The code is clean, commented, and includes a brief explanation of any new test cases added.

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Maintenance & Scalability#

• The Test Suite must grow with the project. Every new feature requires a corresponding test case.
• Any project without a functional run_tests.py is considered "Substandard" and must be fixed immediately.