TEA Knowledge Base Index

TEA Knowledge Base Index

TEA’s knowledge base has 59 fragments of testing patterns and standards. Skill steps use tea-index.csv to find the fragments their loading rules select. See Knowledge Base System for how this is wired.

This page indexes every manifest row by its id and links to the fragment file. The Tier column records the manifest’s priority label; step-specific loading rules determine which fragments load (see Loading tiers).

Fragment Categories

Architecture & Fixtures

Core patterns for test infrastructure and fixture composition.

Fragment	Tier	Description	Key Topics
fixture-architecture	core	Pure function → Fixture → mergeTests composition with auto-cleanup	Testability, composition, reusability
network-first	core	Intercept-before-navigate pattern, HAR capture, deterministic waits	Flakiness prevention, network patterns
playwright-config	extended	Environment switching, timeout standards, artifact outputs	Configuration, environments, CI
fixtures-composition	extended	mergeTests composition patterns for combining utilities	Fixture merging, utility composition

Used in: framework, test-design, automate red mode, automate expand mode, test-review

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Data & Setup

Patterns for test data generation, authentication, and setup.

Fragment	Tier	Description	Key Topics
data-factories	core	Factory patterns with faker, overrides, API seeding, cleanup	Test data, factories, cleanup
auth-session	core	Token persistence, multi-user, API/browser authentication	Auth patterns, session management
email-auth	specialized	Magic link extraction, state preservation, negative flows	Authentication, email testing

Used in: framework, automate red mode, automate expand mode, test-review

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Network & Reliability

Network interception, error handling, and reliability patterns.

Fragment	Tier	Description	Key Topics
network-recorder	extended	HAR record/playback, CRUD detection for offline testing	Offline testing, network replay
intercept-network-call	extended	Network spy/stub, JSON parsing for UI tests	Mocking, interception, stubbing
error-handling	extended	Scoped exception handling, retry validation, telemetry logging	Error patterns, resilience
network-error-monitor	extended	HTTP 4xx/5xx detection for UI tests	Error detection, monitoring

Used in: automate red mode, automate expand mode, test-review

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Test Execution & CI

CI/CD patterns, burn-in testing, and selective test execution.

Fragment	Tier	Description	Key Topics
ci-burn-in	extended	Staged jobs, shard orchestration, burn-in loops	CI/CD, flakiness detection
burn-in	extended	Smart test selection, git diff for CI optimization	Test selection, performance
selective-testing	extended	Tag/grep usage, spec filters, diff-based runs	Test filtering, optimization

Used in: framework CI phase, test-review

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Quality & Standards

Test quality standards, test level selection, TDD patterns, and the generation-safety gate.

Fragment	Tier	Description	Key Topics
test-quality	core	Execution limits, isolation rules, green criteria	DoD, best practices, anti-patterns
test-levels	core	Guidelines for choosing unit, integration, or end-to-end coverage	Test pyramid, level selection
test-priorities	core	P0–P3 criteria, coverage targets, execution ordering	Prioritization, risk-based testing
test-healing-patterns	core	Common failure patterns and automated fixes	Debugging, healing, fixes
confidence-gate	core	1-10 confidence score; below the threshold, record unknowns and ask for the missing facts	Agent safety, generation, governance
evidence-integrity	core	Assertions that can detect a failure, three-state diagnostics, probes that use the real client, outcome checks, verified framework behavior, and environment differences	Falsifiability, hollow green, diagnostics
component-tdd	extended	Red→green→refactor workflow, provider isolation	TDD, component testing

Used in: test-design, automate red mode, automate expand mode, test-review, trace

confidence-gate covers selectors, endpoints, risk classification, fixtures, schemas, and data factories. A generation step records values it cannot establish from the repository as unknown.

evidence-integrity requires checks that can fail and diagnostics that report what they measured. It informs the review registry’s CRITICAL rows.

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Risk & Gates

Risk assessment, governance, and gate decision frameworks.

Fragment	Tier	Description	Key Topics
risk-governance	core	Scoring matrix, category ownership, gate decision rules	Risk assessment, governance
probability-impact	core	Probability × impact scale for scoring matrix	Risk scoring, impact analysis
nfr-criteria	extended	Security, performance, reliability, maintainability status	NFRs, compliance, enterprise
adr-quality-readiness-checklist	extended	8-category, 29-criteria framework for testability and NFR compliance	Quality readiness, ADR, NFR checklist

Used in: test-design, nfr-assess, trace

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Selectors & Timing

Selector resilience, race condition debugging, and visual debugging.

Fragment	Tier	Description	Key Topics
selector-resilience	core	Stable selector strategies and debugging	Selectors, locators, resilience
timing-debugging	extended	Race condition identification and deterministic fixes	Race conditions, timing issues
visual-debugging	specialized	Trace viewer usage, artifact expectations	Debugging, trace viewer, artifacts

Used in: automate red mode, automate expand mode, test-review

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Feature Flags & API Patterns

Feature flag testing and pure API testing patterns.

Fragment	Tier	Description	Key Topics
feature-flags	specialized	Enum management, targeting helpers, cleanup, checklists	Feature flags, toggles
api-testing-patterns	specialized	Pure API patterns without browser	API testing, backend testing

Used in: test-design, automate red mode, automate expand mode

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Pact & Contract Testing Integration

Contract testing fundamentals plus Pact.js Utils, Pact MCP, and broker operations.

Fragment	Tier	Description	Key Topics
contract-testing	specialized	Raw Pact patterns, publishing, verification, short-lived branch coordination, resilience, and FFI safety	Contract testing, Pact fundamentals
pactjs-utils-overview	specialized	Installation, flow decision tree, utility map, and branch coordination	pactjs-utils, CDCT/BDCT, integration strategy
pactjs-utils-mandate	core	The binding rule when tea_use_pactjs_utils is true: substitution table, the relevance gate before scaffolding, banned patterns, pre-emit self-check, broker degradation	Standards, contract testing, generation, review
pactjs-utils-zod-to-pact	specialized	zodToPactMatchers for consumer-curated schemas, example precedence, Pact V3 matcher mapping, anti-patterns	pactjs-utils, zod, consumer schemas, matchers
pactjs-utils-consumer-helpers	specialized	Provider-state helpers: createProviderState, toJsonMap; request/response callback helpers: setJsonBody, setJsonContent	pactjs-utils, consumer testing, provider state
pactjs-utils-provider-verifier	specialized	Verifier builders, scoped consumerBranch, provider revision metadata, branch classification	pactjs-utils, provider verification, CI
pactjs-utils-request-filter	specialized	createRequestFilter, noOpRequestFilter auth/header patterns	pactjs-utils, request filter, auth injection
pact-mcp	specialized	SmartBear MCP tools for provider states, review, can-i-deploy, matrix	pact-mcp, broker interaction, pactflow
pact-consumer-framework-setup	specialized	Consumer CDC scaffolding with deterministic tests, PR-only provider branch detection, and additive branch-aware can-i-deploy	pactjs-utils, consumer CDC, framework setup
pact-broker-webhooks	specialized	PactFlow dispatch auth, exact provider target checkout, staleness monitoring, and PAT rotation	pact broker, webhooks, CI operations, security
pact-consumer-di	extended	Dependency-injection pattern for Pact consumer tests using real client code	pact, consumer, DI, contract accuracy

Used in: framework, test-design, automate red mode, automate expand mode, test-review, framework CI phase (conditioned by tea_use_pactjs_utils and tea_pact_mcp)

An expired PAT on the PactFlow webhook is the most common non-code cause of can-i-deploy timing out with There is no verified pact between .... pact-broker-webhooks carries the rotation runbook.

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Webhook Testing

Delivery-side testing for asynchronous, eventually-consistent webhook flows using the @seontechnologies/playwright-utils webhook module.

Fragment	Tier	Description	Key Topics
webhook-fundamentals	core	Why webhook delivery is hard: async arrival, parallel pollution, opaque timeouts, cleanup drift. Polling, typed matchers, rich errors, startedAt isolation	Async, event-driven, eventually consistent
webhook-setup	core	Fixture wiring for WireMock/MockServer/Mockoon providers, matched-only vs full-reset cleanup, the fullyParallel race fix	Fixtures, providers, setup
webhook-matchers	core	matchField (dot-path exact), matchPartial (deep subset), matchPredicate (arbitrary fn), AND semantics, template factories, clone, withTimeout, withInterval	Matchers, templates, patterns
webhook-waiting	core	waitFor, waitForCount, getReceived, the drain pattern for sequential events, parallel worker safety via ID-scoped templates	Polling, querying, parallel safety
webhook-risk	core	When webhook tests are required, the P2×I3 default risk score, the test checklist, failure patterns and mitigations	Risk assessment, governance, TA checklist
webhook-timeout-error	extended	WebhookTimeoutError fields (templateName, timeoutMs, totalReceived, receivedWebhooks, matcherDetails, toJSON) for inspecting what arrived against what was expected	Debugging, errors
webhook-providers	extended	WireMock (deleteById supported), MockServer (deleteById no-op), Mockoon (deleteById no-op, 100-entry limit), the custom WebhookProvider interface	Providers, capability differences

Used in: framework, test-design, automate red mode, automate expand mode, test-review, framework CI phase, trace

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Mobile Native

Maestro device flows and guidance on selecting device-level tests. Loaded when test_stack_type is mobile or when the review set contains a Maestro flow (.yaml/.yml under maestro/ or .maestro/, or *.flow.yaml or *.flow.yml).

Fragment	Tier	Description	Key Topics
mobile-test-strategy	specialized	Mobile test level framework, what belongs in a device flow, mobile risk categories, device matrix with a gate profile matching local, CI shape, no live third-party flag evaluation in the run path	Levels, risk, device matrix, permissions, lifecycle
maestro-flows	specialized	Flow structure, selector hierarchy, clearState isolation, synchronization without sleeps, subflow composition, command semantics that differ by platform, text: selectors as whole-element regex, taps that report COMPLETED without being handled, visible meaning inside the viewport, checking that the action caused a transition	Maestro, selectors, isolation, regex selectors, anti-patterns
mobile-ci-device-lab	specialized	Build artifact selection including why a debug-variant development build does not solve it, dev-server manifest signing in non-interactive CI, one device profile across local and CI, native modules that degrade silently in a shell, deep links reachable through the shell’s routed URL form, emulator snapshot caching, repairing locally created AVDs, per-device identity for sharded runs, runner version pinning, artifact layout and failure diagnosis	Build artifact, emulator, caching, pinning, sharding, artifacts

Used in: framework, automate expand mode, automate red mode, test-design, test-review, framework CI phase (when test_stack_type is mobile or a Maestro flow is present)

Mobile loading rules exclude browser fragments such as network-first, playwright-config, intercept-network-call, and selector-resilience. Maestro flows use device selectors and synchronization.

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Browser Automation

CLI and MCP integration for AI-driven browser automation during test generation.

Fragment	Tier	Description	Key Topics
playwright-cli	core	Token-efficient CLI for AI coding agents: element refs, sessions, snapshots, browser automation	CLI, browser, agent, automation, snapshot

Used in: automate red mode, automate expand mode, test-design, test-review, nfr-assess (when tea_browser_automation is cli or auto)

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Playwright-Utils Integration

Patterns for @seontechnologies/playwright-utils.

Fragment	Tier	Description	Key Topics
overview	core	Installation, design principles, fixture-based utility patterns for API and UI	Overview, architecture, principles
playwright-utils-mandate	core	The binding rule when tea_use_playwright_utils is true: substitution table, REQUIRED vs RECOMMENDED levels, banned patterns, pre-emit self-check, deviation protocol	Standards, generation, review, governance
library-integration-mandate	core	The general contract every library mandate instantiates: two gates (flag plus install), enforcement levels, deviation protocol, scope discipline, the flag-to-mandate registry, and the ten places a new library must be wired	Standards, governance, extensibility
api-request	core	Typed HTTP client, schema validation, retry logic, operation-based overload	API calls, HTTP, OpenAPI, codegen
recurse	extended	Async polling for API responses, background jobs, eventual consistency	Polling, eventual consistency
log	extended	Report logging and structured output for API and UI tests	Logging, debugging, reporting
file-utils	extended	CSV/XLSX/PDF/ZIP validation for API exports and UI downloads	File validation, exports

The package’s remaining fragments are indexed under the category that matches what they do: auth-session (Data & Setup); network-recorder, intercept-network-call, and network-error-monitor (Network & Reliability); burn-in (Test Execution & CI); fixtures-composition (Architecture & Fixtures, since mergeTests applies to all fixtures); and the seven webhook-* fragments (Webhook Testing).

Used in: framework, test-design, automate red mode, automate expand mode, test-review, framework CI phase (all gated on tea_use_playwright_utils: true)

playwright-utils-mandate loads first on every one of them. It decides how the other fragments are applied: generation follows its substitution table by default, and test-review reads its REQUIRED list as the firing predicate for registry rows M9 and L9. pactjs-utils-mandate plays the same role for Pact suites and row M10. Both instantiate library-integration-mandate, which holds the contract they share and the checklist for wiring in the next library.

Official Docs: https://seontechnologies.github.io/playwright-utils/

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Fragment Manifest (tea-index.csv)

Location: skills/bmod-tea/knowledge/tea-index.csv

The 59 fragment files live beside the manifest in skills/bmod-tea/knowledge/.

Structure:

id,name,description,tags,tier,fragment_file
test-quality,Test Quality Definition of Done,"Execution limits, isolation rules, green criteria","quality,definition-of-done,tests",core,test-quality.md
risk-governance,Risk Governance,"Scoring matrix, category ownership, gate decision rules","risk,governance,gates",core,risk-governance.md

Columns:

• id: unique kebab-case identifier used by skill steps; it can differ from the file stem
• name: human-readable fragment name
• description: what the fragment covers
• tags: comma-separated search tags
• tier: priority label (see below)
• fragment_file: path relative to knowledge/

Loading tiers

Step-file frontmatter declares knowledgeIndex: '{tea-knowledge}/tea-index.csv'. {tea-knowledge} resolves to the knowledge/ folder of the installed bmod-tea skill.

The index contains 59 fragments: 24 core, 19 extended, and 16 specialized. Skill steps select their fragments using explicit loading rules, including stack, runner, installed packages, and configuration. The framework and test-review steps define closed sets: a tier label alone cannot add a fragment.

Library branches use tea_use_playwright_utils, tea_use_pactjs_utils, and package checks. Pact broker tools depend on tea_pact_mcp and session tool availability. Browser branches use tea_browser_automation; mobile branches load Maestro guidance. See TEA Configuration.

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Related

• Knowledge Base System: How context engineering works and why
• TEA Overview: How the knowledge base fits in TEA
• TEA Command Reference: Skills that use fragments