Validate Aspire Runtime Skill

Use this skill to start the complete Aspire-orchestrated application and verify all services are running and healthy.

What This Skill Does

1. Starts the Aspire runtime using aspire run command
2. Uses Aspire MCP list_resources tool to poll resource health
3. Waits for all critical resources to reach healthy status:
   • sql-server (database) - must be started
   • cache (Redis) - must be started
   • api (main API service) - must be healthy
   • worker (background worker) - must be started
   • ui (frontend app) - must be started
4. Extracts the UI endpoint URL from resources (typically https://localhost:3000)
5. Communicates the UI endpoint URL back to the agent for use in E2E validation
6. Exits with failure if startup fails or health checks don't pass

When to Use

• After backend and frontend builds succeed
• After all tests pass
• To prepare the application for interactive E2E validation
• To verify the complete system works together before E2E testing

How the Agent Should Use This Skill

1. Prepare: Ensure all previous validation steps (builds, tests) have succeeded

2. Start Aspire: Run Aspire in a terminal/background process:

   aspire run
   

   This will start the Aspire dashboard and orchestrate all resources.

3. Check Resources: Use the Aspire MCP list_resources tool to monitor resource status:

   • Call list_resources repeatedly until all resources reach healthy state
   • Monitor for errors or failed startup
   • Expected resource states: Running or Healthy

4. Extract Endpoint: Once ui resource is healthy, extract its HTTP endpoint (typically https://localhost:3000)

5. Communicate Endpoint: Report the discovered UI endpoint URL to use in the next E2E validation step

6. Monitor Startup: Typical startup sequence:

   • SQL Server starts (takes 5-10 seconds)
   • Redis starts (takes 2-3 seconds)
   • API service starts and runs health checks (takes 5-15 seconds)
   • Worker service starts (takes 3-5 seconds)
   • UI starts and connects to API (takes 5-10 seconds)

7. Handle Failures: If any resource fails to start or becomes unhealthy:

   • Check Aspire dashboard logs for error messages
   • Report the specific resource and error to user
   • Halt further validation

Success Criteria

• Aspire process is running and accepting connections
• list_resources returns all resources with healthy status
• ui resource shows HTTP endpoint URL (typically https://localhost:3000)
• No error logs from resources

Failure Indicators

• Aspire startup fails or crashes
• Resources remain in Failed or Unhealthy state after timeout
• Health check endpoints return non-2xx status
• Logs show connection/initialization errors

Resource Details Reference

Resource Startup Order (from AppHost.cs)

1. sql-server - Base resource, must start first
2. cache - Base resource, starts independently
3. api - Depends on sql-server + cache, includes Dapr sidecar
4. worker - Depends on sql-server + cache
5. ui - Depends on api, Vite app

Health Check Endpoints (on API)

• GET /health/live - Liveness probe (is service running)
• GET /health/ready - Readiness probe (can service handle requests)

Endpoint Mappings

• SQL Server: localhost:1433
• Redis: localhost:6379
• RedisInsight: http://localhost:8001
• API (internal): http://localhost:17623
• UI: https://localhost:3000
• Aspire Dashboard: http://localhost:19888

Important Notes

• First run: First time running Aspire may take longer due to container pulls/initialization
• Dapr: API service includes Dapr sidecar; Dapr runtime is auto-managed by Aspire
• Database: Uses persistent data volume; survives restarts during development
• Certificates: UI uses developer certificates for HTTPS (auto-trusted on first run)
• Logs: Full resource logs available through Aspire dashboard or list_structured_logs tool

Cleaning Up After Validation

After E2E validation completes (success or failure):

1. Stop Aspire by pressing Ctrl+C in the terminal running aspire run
2. Aspire will gracefully shut down all resources
3. For next validation run, start aspire run again

Next Steps After Success

Once all resources are healthy and UI endpoint is confirmed:

• Validate E2E Skill - to run interactive UI navigation and feature validation