building

Building (Code Generation + TDD)

Iron Law: NO PRODUCTION CODE WITHOUT A FAILING TEST FIRST.

Leading Words (compact vocabulary)

Word	Means	Replaces
red	Failing test (behavioral, not error)	"write a test that fails because the feature is missing"
green	Passing test after minimal code	"write just enough code to make the test pass"
tight	Fast, deterministic, sub-second feedback loop	"build a quick repro that runs fast and is reliable"
deep	Module with small interface, lots hidden inside	"well-abstracted module that hides complexity"
shallow	Module with interface as complex as implementation	"thin wrapper that adds complexity without hiding any"
seam	Place where a test can attach to exercise real behavior	"test insertion point at a module boundary"

Reference Files

• references/testing-patterns.md — test structure, isolation, naming
• references/test-data-and-mocks.md — mock discipline, test data factories
• references/integration-and-live-proof.md — integration test guidance, live verification

Test Process Discipline

• Always use run mode: CI=true npm test, npx vitest run (NOT npx vitest), CI=true npx jest
• Timeout guard: timeout 60s npx vitest run if uncertain about CI=true
• After TDD cycle: pgrep -f "vitest|jest" || echo "Clean". Kill if found.
• IDE vs CLI truth: If CLI tests pass with exit 0, trust CLI over IDE/LSP errors (stale cache)

RED → GREEN → REFACTOR

RED — Failing Test First

Write one failing test for the current slice. Run it. Exit 1 = RED achieved.

False-RED guard (CRITICAL): Exit 1 from import/syntax/collection ERROR is NOT a real RED. A genuine RED is a behavioral failure ("X is not a function", "expected 3, received undefined"). Record the observed failure reason verbatim. Fix the harness and re-run if false-RED.

GREEN — Minimal Code

Write the minimum code to pass the test. No extra features, no abstractions for hypothetical futures. No unrelated test breakage. If existing tests break, fix the code not the tests.

REFACTOR — Clean Up

Improve code quality while keeping tests green. If tests fail during refactor, revert. Re-run after every refactor step.

Safety-Check Guard (MANDATORY): Never simplify away a safety check during refactoring. Safety checks include:

• Input validation at trust boundaries (API entry points, user input, external data)
• Error handling that prevents data loss or corruption
• Security checks (auth, authorization, sanitization)
• Accessibility checks (ARIA, keyboard navigation, semantic HTML)

If a safety check seems unnecessary, verify with a test that proves it's dead code before removing. "Looks redundant" is not sufficient evidence.

Vertical Slicing (CRITICAL)

Build in thin vertical slices that cross all layers: UI → API → logic → data → test. A horizontal slice (all UI, then all API, then all logic) defers integration risk to the end and produces untestable layers. Each slice should be independently verifiable and shippable.

Study Project Patterns First

Before writing code: read 2-3 existing similar components in the repo. Match naming, file structure, export style, test patterns. Follow the project's conventions — don't introduce a new pattern when an existing one works.

LSP before writing: Use LSP to find definitions, references, and type information before writing code that interfaces with existing modules.

Scope Escalation (SCOPE_INCREASES)

If the build scope grows beyond the approved phase — new files not in the plan, new dependencies, API contract changes — emit SCOPE_INCREASES: ["new scope item"] in the contract. The router decides whether to escalate to a full BUILD (with planner + reviewer) or approve the expansion.

Decision Checkpoints (return FAIL when triggered):

Trigger	Action
Changing >3 files not in plan	FAIL with extra files named
Choosing between 2+ valid patterns	FAIL with competing options
Breaking existing API contract	FAIL with impacted callers
Adding dependency not in plan	FAIL with dependency name
Touching a later planned phase early	FAIL with skipped phase

Minimal Diffs

Write minimal diffs. A bug fix doesn't need surrounding cleanup. A one-shot operation doesn't need a helper. Don't add error handling, fallbacks, or validation for scenarios that cannot happen. Trust internal code and framework guarantees. Only validate at system boundaries.

Rationalization Table

Excuse	Reality
"Too simple to test"	Simple code breaks. Test takes 30 seconds.
"I'll write tests after"	"After" never comes. Write the test first — it IS the spec.
"It's just a refactor"	Refactors break things. Run the tests before AND after.
"The existing tests cover this"	Then your new test will pass immediately — that's a false RED.
"I manually tested it"	Manual testing doesn't survive the next refactor or CI run.
"Adding tests would slow down delivery"	Debugging untested code takes longer than writing the test.
"The framework handles this"	Verify with a test. Framework guarantees have edge cases.

Red Flags — STOP and Reconsider

• You're about to write production code without a failing test
• You're skipping the RED step because "the test will obviously fail"
• You're adding error handling for a scenario that can't happen
• You're introducing an abstraction with only one caller
• You're changing code unrelated to the current phase
• You're about to commit without running the full test suite
• You're considering deleting a test to make the build pass
• You're adding a dependency not in the plan

Tautological Test Anti-Pattern

A tautological test recomputes the expected value the same way the code does — it passes by construction and can never disagree.

// BAD — tautological: recomputes expected value using same logic
const expected = items.reduce((sum, x) => sum + x.value, 0);
expect(calculateTotal(items)).toBe(expected);

// GOOD — expected value comes from an independent source of truth
expect(calculateTotal([{value: 10}, {value: 20}, {value: 30}])).toBe(60);

Rule: Expected values must come from a known-good literal, a worked example, or the spec — never from re-running the same algorithm the code uses.

Loop Caps

• TDD Failure Cap: GREEN fails 3 consecutive times on same test → FAIL with error
• Build/Lint Loop Cap: Same error recurs after 3 fix attempts → FAIL with error_code + file

Coverage Threshold

If coverage-thresholds.json exists, run coverage and compare. Below thresholds → FAIL. If no thresholds file, skip coverage check.

Test Prioritization

1. Behavioral tests (does the function do what it should?)
2. Edge case tests (empty input, null, boundary values)
3. Integration tests (does it work with real dependencies?)
4. Performance tests (only if performance is a stated requirement)

Design for Testability

If tests are hard to write, the code is hard to test — fix the code, not the test. Pure functions are easy to test. Side effects are hard. Isolate side effects at boundaries; keep core logic pure.

Behavioral focus: Test what the function DOES, not how it's implemented. "returns the sum" not "calls add() then format()". Implementation tests break on refactor; behavioral tests survive.

When Stuck

• RED won't fail: check if the test is actually exercising the code path
• GREEN won't pass: re-read the test, check if the assertion matches the requirement
• Existing tests break: your change has a side effect you didn't expect — revert and isolate

Pure HTML/CSS/JS exception: If no test runner exists, TDD evidence may use manual browser verification. Set TDD_RED_EXIT=1, TDD_GREEN_EXIT=0 with manual check evidence.