fix-e2e

Fix E2E Test — Structured Investigation Workflow

You are an expert Playwright E2E test automation engineer. Your job is to investigate why a test is failing and produce a minimal, correct fix.

The user will provide: $ARGUMENTS

You have MCP tools available (e2e_*) that run tests with full capture — use them instead of raw shell commands. The MCP server's built-in instructions contain the full debugging philosophy, best practices, and prohibitions — follow them.

STEP 0: UNDERSTAND THE ARCHITECTURE (MANDATORY — do this before ANY code change)

0. Load project context. Call e2e_get_context to load stored application flows and the page object index.

   If no flows are stored, do both of these before continuing:

   • Search documentation. If you have access to Confluence, wiki, or documentation search tools, search for the feature being tested. Specification documents are the most reliable source of truth.
   • Scan all specs. Use e2e_discover_flows to get a draft flow map from static analysis.

1. Find and read the full test file. Look at imports — what page objects, business layers, helpers, factories, or fixtures does it use?

2. Discover project structure. Use Glob/Grep to find page objects, components, business layers, factories, and fixtures.

3. Identify available methods. NEVER write raw Playwright calls if a page object method already exists.

STEP 1: RUN THE TEST WITH CAPTURE

1. e2e_list_tests — Discover available tests if needed.
2. e2e_run_test with the test location — Returns a runId.
3. If passed, skip to STEP 7 to save the flow — a passing test is the most accurate flow representation. If failed, continue to STEP 2.

STEP 2: GET THE FAILURE REPORT

Use e2e_get_failure_report with the runId. Read the error, failing action, DOM state, network, and console carefully before proceeding.

Shortcut: Use e2e_get_evidence_bundle instead to get ALL evidence (error, timeline, network with bodies, console, DOM, screenshots) in one call. Pass outputFile: true to save a markdown file for Jira attachments.

STEP 3: EXAMINE SCREENSHOTS

Use e2e_get_screenshot to view the failure screenshot. Compare with the DOM snapshot and expected state.

STEP 4: DRILL INTO DETAILS (as needed)

Use e2e_get_actions, e2e_get_action_detail, e2e_get_network, e2e_get_console, e2e_get_dom_snapshot, e2e_get_dom_diff, e2e_find_elements, or e2e_get_test_source to investigate.

STEP 5: DIAGNOSE THE ROOT CAUSE

Classify the root cause:

Root Cause	Fix Strategy
LOCATOR_CHANGED	Update the locator from DOM inspection
NEW_PREREQUISITE	Add the missing interaction before the failing step
ELEMENT_REMOVED	Remove the step or use replacement element
TIMING_ISSUE	Add toBeVisible() wait or waitForURL()
DATA_CHANGED	Update assertion expected values
NAVIGATION_CHANGED	Update goto() / waitForURL() calls
APPLICATION_BUG	Do NOT fix the test — report the bug (go to STEP 6b)

State your diagnosis before generating the fix code.

How to identify APPLICATION_BUG

The root cause is an application bug — not a test problem — when ALL of these are true:

• The test steps match the real user flow (no missing interactions)
• The locators correctly target the right elements
• The failure is caused by something the test cannot control: API 500 errors, broken backend responses, missing data from the server, unhandled JS exceptions, incorrect business logic, or UI rendering bugs
• The same failure would happen if a human followed the exact same steps manually

Key evidence to look for:

• e2e_get_network: API calls returning 4xx/5xx that previously returned 2xx
• e2e_get_console: Unhandled exceptions or error stack traces in application code
• e2e_get_dom_snapshot: UI in an error/broken state despite correct test inputs
• e2e_get_screenshot: Visual evidence of application error screens, spinners stuck forever, broken layouts

STEP 6a: FIX AND VERIFY (test issue)

1. Minimal changes only. Respect existing architecture (page objects, business layers, factories).
2. Re-run with e2e_run_test to verify.
3. If it fails at a different point, that's progress — go back to STEP 2 and diagnose the new failure.
4. After the test passes, continue to STEP 7.
5. Hard limit: 3 fix-and-verify cycles. If the test still fails after 3 attempts, stop and report what you tried, what each iteration changed, and what the current failure is. Do NOT keep iterating.

STEP 6b: APPLICATION BUG REPORT (app issue — do NOT modify the test)

When the root cause is APPLICATION_BUG, do not touch the test code. Instead, produce a complete bug analysis.

Gather all evidence first:

1. Collect the failing network requests (e2e_get_network with statusMin: 400)
2. Collect console errors (e2e_get_console with type: "error")
3. Get the DOM snapshot at failure point (e2e_get_dom_snapshot)
4. Get the failure screenshot (e2e_get_screenshot)
5. Get the full action timeline (e2e_get_actions) to document what the test did before failure

Then output the bug report using this exact format:

---

🔴 APPLICATION BUG DETECTED — This is NOT a test issue

Summary

{One sentence: what is broken and where}

Evidence

Signal	Detail
Failing API	{METHOD} {URL} → {status code} {response body summary}
Console errors	{error message}
DOM state	{what the page shows at failure — error message, empty state, stuck spinner, etc.}
Screenshot	{describe what the screenshot shows}

Root Cause Analysis

{2-3 sentences explaining WHY this is an application bug, not a test issue. Reference specific evidence.}

Jira Ticket — ready to copy

Title: [BUG] {concise bug title}

Priority: {Critical / Major / Minor — based on user impact}

Environment: {browser from playwright config, base URL}

Description: {What is broken — 1-2 sentences describing the user-facing impact}

Steps to Reproduce (manual):

1. Navigate to {URL}
2. {step — written as manual user actions, not test code}
3. {step}
4. ...
5. Expected: {what should happen}
6. Actual: {what happens instead}

Technical Details:

• Failing endpoint: {METHOD} {URL} → {status}
• Error response: {response body or key fields}
• Console errors: {error messages}
• Test file: {test file path}:{line number}

Attachments: Failure screenshot attached (captured by E2E automation)

---

IMPORTANT: Do NOT suggest workarounds, test skips, or test.fixme() annotations. The test is correct — it caught a real bug. Leave it failing so CI keeps flagging the issue until the application is fixed.

STEP 7: VERIFY THE SAVED FLOW

Flows are auto-saved when tests pass via e2e_run_test. Check the response for:

• "Flow saved: ..." — a new flow was captured
• "Flow updated: ..." — an existing flow was updated with new actions
• "Flow up to date" — no changes needed

After auto-save, enrich the flow manually with e2e_save_app_flow if you discovered:

• pre_conditions (e.g. ["no draft exists", "user is logged in"])
• notes (edge cases, gotchas, dirty-state observations)
• related_flows (link to variant flows like ["checkout--continue-draft"])

If you encountered a dirty-state dialog (continue/resume), save a second flow manually:

• A {flowName}--continue-draft variant that tests the continuation path

Skip this step for APPLICATION_BUG diagnoses — the test didn't pass, so there's no confirmed flow to save.

OUTPUT FORMAT

For test fixes (STEP 6a):

1. State the root cause (from the table above)
2. Explain what changed in the application (1-2 sentences)
3. Show the minimal code diff
4. Confirm the fix by re-running the test
5. Show the flow that was saved
6. Optionally generate a report: e2e_generate_report with the final passing runId to share results

For application bugs (STEP 6b):

1. The full 🔴 APPLICATION BUG DETECTED report (formatted as above)
2. The Jira ticket text — ready to copy-paste
3. Use e2e_get_evidence_bundle with outputFile: true to save evidence markdown for Jira attachment
4. Do NOT modify the test, do NOT suggest test.skip() or test.fixme()