Skills

e2e-test-service-management

Installation
SKILL.md

E2E Test Service Management

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

  • Start all services for interactive E2E testing
  • Verify service health before running tests
  • Monitor logs during test execution
  • Stop services cleanly after testing
  • Debug test failures with real backend/database
  • Test with different configurations (mock LLM vs real LLM)
  • Manage service lifecycle in CI/CD pipelines

Perfect For

✅ E2E Testing Workflows - Running Playwright tests with real services
✅ Interactive Debugging - Testing features manually with live backend
✅ Service Isolation - Starting only specific services
✅ Health Monitoring - Detecting service crashes/failures
✅ Log Inspection - Troubleshooting backend/database issues
✅ Test Isolation - Cleaning services between test runs

Service Architecture

Services Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           E2E Testing Environment            │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                              │
│  Frontend (Next.js)         Port 3000        │
│  ├─ Playwright Tests                        │
│  ├─ Hot Reload Development                  │
│  └─ TypeScript/React Components              │
│                                              │
│  Backend (Rust)             Port 8080        │
│  ├─ RAG Query Engine                        │
│  ├─ Document Processing                     │
│  ├─ Knowledge Graph API                     │
│  └─ LLM Integration                         │
│                                              │
│  Database (PostgreSQL)       Port 5432       │
│  ├─ pgvector Extension (embeddings)         │
│  ├─ Apache AGE (graph storage)              │
│  ├─ Conversation History                    │
│  └─ Document Metadata                       │
│                                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Service Dependencies

Frontend (3000)
    ↓
Backend (8080)
    ↓
Database (5432)

Services should be started in reverse dependency order: Database → Backend → Frontend
Services should be stopped in dependency order: Frontend → Backend → Database

Quick Start

Start Full Stack (Recommended for Testing)

make dev

What this does:

  1. Starts PostgreSQL container (port 5432)
  2. Runs backend in development mode (port 8080)
  3. Starts frontend dev server (port 3000)
  4. Displays URLs and health status

Output example:

✓ PostgreSQL started on localhost:5432
✓ Backend running on http://localhost:8080
✓ Frontend ready on http://localhost:3000

Wait time: 15-30 seconds (depends on system)

Stop All Services

make stop

Stops all services gracefully in the correct order.

Check Service Status

make status

Returns health status of all three services:

🟢 Frontend: http://localhost:3000 (200 OK)
🟢 Backend:  http://localhost:8080 (200 OK)
🟢 Database: localhost:5432 (responding)

Service-Specific Management

Database (PostgreSQL)

Start PostgreSQL Only

make db-start

Starts PostgreSQL container with pgvector and Apache AGE extensions.

Configuration:

  • Container name: edgequake-postgres
  • Image: postgres:15-alpine with custom extensions
  • Volume: edgequake_postgres_data (persistent)
  • Port mapping: 5432:5432

Stop PostgreSQL

make db-stop

Stops container gracefully (saves state).

View Database Logs

make db-logs

Streams PostgreSQL logs in real-time for debugging connection issues.

Open Database Shell

make db-shell

Opens interactive psql terminal to:

  • Run SQL queries directly
  • Inspect conversation history
  • Check embeddings storage
  • View entity relationships

Reset Database (⚠️ DANGER)

make db-reset

WARNING: Deletes ALL data and reinitializes database. Use only for:

  • Cleaning up between test cycles
  • Starting with fresh state
  • Removing test artifacts

Backend (Rust API)

Start Backend in Development Mode

make backend-dev

Starts backend with:

  • Hot reload on code changes
  • Debug logging enabled
  • Port 8080 (configurable via BACKEND_PORT)
  • Automatic database migration

Important Environment Variables:

# Test with real OpenAI
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-your-key-here"
make backend-dev

# Test with mock provider (default)
make backend-dev  # Uses mock by default

Build Backend

make backend-build

Creates optimized release binary (slower build, faster runtime).

Run Backend Binary

make backend-run

Runs pre-compiled backend binary (requires backend-build first).

Run Backend Tests

make backend-test

Runs all Rust tests:

  • Uses mock LLM provider by default (fast, free)
  • To use real OpenAI: OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-... make backend-test

Format & Lint Backend

make backend-fmt      # Format code with rustfmt
make backend-clippy   # Run clippy linter

Frontend (Next.js)

Start Frontend Dev Server

make frontend-dev

Starts development server with:

  • Turbopack for fast hot reload
  • Port 3000
  • TypeScript compilation
  • Live error overlay

Build Frontend

make frontend-build

Creates optimized production build in .next/.

Start Production Frontend

make frontend-start

Runs production-optimized server (requires frontend-build first).

Run Frontend Tests

make frontend-test

Runs Jest unit tests for React components.

Lint Frontend Code

make frontend-lint

Runs ESLint to check for code quality issues.

E2E Testing Workflow

Typical Test Execution

# 1. Start all services
make dev
make status              # Verify all are running

# 2. Run Playwright tests
cd edgequake_webui
pnpm exec playwright test

# 3. View test results
# Reports generated in: playwright-report/

# 4. Stop services (when done)
make stop

Running Specific E2E Tests

# Test a specific file
cd edgequake_webui
pnpm exec playwright test e2e/query-page.spec.ts

# Test with specific browser
pnpm exec playwright test --project=chromium

# Run in headed mode (see browser)
pnpm exec playwright test --headed

# Debug mode (pause on failures)
pnpm exec playwright test --debug

Interactive E2E Testing (with MCP Tools)

# 1. Start services
make dev

# 2. Use Playwright MCP tools for interactive testing
# - mcp_microsoft_pla_browser_navigate
# - mcp_microsoft_pla_browser_click
# - mcp_microsoft_pla_browser_type
# - mcp_microsoft_pla_browser_take_screenshot

# 3. Inspect results and failures
# 4. Stop when complete
make stop

Monitor Services During Testing

In separate terminal:

# Watch logs continuously
make db-logs &      # Terminal 1
make backend-logs & # Terminal 2
make frontend-logs &# Terminal 3

# Or view combined logs
tail -f edgequake/target/debug/backend.log

Health Checks & Verification

Manual Health Checks

# Frontend
curl -s http://localhost:3000 | head -20

# Backend API
curl -s http://localhost:8080/api/v1/health | jq

# Database connection
psql -h localhost -U edgequake -d edgequake -c "SELECT 1"

Service Readiness Script

#!/bin/bash
# Wait for all services to be ready

echo "Waiting for services..."

# Frontend
until curl -s http://localhost:3000 > /dev/null 2>&1; do
  echo "  ⏳ Frontend not ready..."
  sleep 1
done
echo "✓ Frontend ready"

# Backend
until curl -s http://localhost:8080/api/v1/health > /dev/null 2>&1; do
  echo "  ⏳ Backend not ready..."
  sleep 1
done
echo "✓ Backend ready"

# Database
until psql -h localhost -U edgequake -d edgequake -c "SELECT 1" > /dev/null 2>&1; do
  echo "  ⏳ Database not ready..."
  sleep 1
done
echo "✓ Database ready"

echo "✅ All services ready for testing"

Troubleshooting

Services Won't Start

Check logs:

make db-logs      # Database issues
make backend-logs # Backend/API issues
make frontend-logs # Frontend issues

Common issues:

Issue Solution
Port already in use (3000/8080/5432) make stop then make dev OR change ports in .env
Database won't connect Ensure Docker is running: docker ps
Backend panic on startup Check migrations: make db-reset
Frontend build errors Clear cache: cd edgequake_webui && rm -rf .next node_modules && make frontend-dev

Database Connection Issues

# Check PostgreSQL is running
docker ps | grep postgres

# Check logs
docker logs edgequake-postgres

# Test connection directly
psql -h localhost -U edgequake -d edgequake -c "SELECT version()"

Backend Test Failures

# Run backend tests with real LLM
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."
make backend-test

# Run specific test
cargo test --package edgequake-core --test e2e_pipeline

# See detailed output
cargo test -- --nocapture

Playwright Test Failures

# Run in headed mode to see what's happening
cd edgequake_webui && pnpm exec playwright test --headed

# Run with debug tracing
pnpm exec playwright test --debug

# View test reports
open playwright-report/index.html

Environment Variables

Key Configuration

# Backend
BACKEND_PORT=8080                    # Default
RUST_LOG=debug                       # Log level
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...               # Optional (mock by default)

# Frontend
NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:8080

# Database
POSTGRES_USER=edgequake
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=edgequake
POSTGRES_DB=edgequake
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://edgequake:edgequake@localhost:5432/edgequake

Create .env.local for overrides

cat > .env.local << EOF
BACKEND_PORT=8080
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-real-key
RUST_LOG=debug
EOF

Best Practices for E2E Testing

1. Always Start with Fresh Services

make stop
make dev
sleep 5  # Wait for startup

2. Monitor Logs During Tests

# Terminal 1: Run tests
cd edgequake_webui && pnpm exec playwright test

# Terminal 2: Monitor backend
make backend-logs

# Terminal 3: Monitor database
make db-logs

3. Use Database Snapshots

# Before risky tests
docker exec edgequake-postgres \
  pg_dump -U edgequake edgequake > /tmp/backup.sql

# After failures, restore
docker exec -i edgequake-postgres \
  psql -U edgequake edgequake < /tmp/backup.sql

4. Test with Different LLM Providers

# Test with mock (fast, deterministic)
make backend-dev

# Test with real OpenAI (costs money, real behavior)
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-... make backend-dev

5. Check Service Health Before Tests

make status
# All should show 🟢 (green)
# If not, wait and retry

Common E2E Test Patterns

Pattern 1: Test Initial Page Load

# Start services
make dev

# Run focused test
cd edgequake_webui
pnpm exec playwright test --grep "initial load"

Pattern 2: Test with Real Data

# 1. Start services
make dev

# 2. Upload documents via UI or API
curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/documents \
  -F "file=@document.pdf"

# 3. Run tests
cd edgequake_webui && pnpm exec playwright test

Pattern 3: Test Error Handling

# 1. Start services
make dev

# 2. Stop backend to simulate failure
make backend-stop

# 3. Run tests to verify error handling
cd edgequake_webui && pnpm exec playwright test

# 4. Restart backend
make backend-dev

Pattern 4: Performance Testing

# 1. Start services with resource monitoring
make dev

# 2. Monitor during test
watch -n 1 'docker stats edgequake-postgres edgequake-backend'

# 3. Run load tests
cd edgequake_webui
pnpm exec playwright test --workers=5  # Parallel execution

Integration with CI/CD

GitHub Actions Example

name: E2E Tests

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Start services
        run: make dev &

      - name: Wait for services
        run: |
          until curl -s http://localhost:3000; do sleep 1; done
          until curl -s http://localhost:8080/api/v1/health; do sleep 1; done

      - name: Run E2E tests
        run: |
          cd edgequake_webui
          pnpm exec playwright test

      - name: Upload results
        if: always()
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
        with:
          name: playwright-report
          path: edgequake_webui/playwright-report/

      - name: Stop services
        if: always()
        run: make stop

Related Skills

Command Reference Quick Lookup

Task Command
Start all services make dev
Stop all services make stop
Check status make status
Backend dev make backend-dev
Frontend dev make frontend-dev
Database shell make db-shell
Run E2E tests cd edgequake_webui && pnpm exec playwright test
View test reports open edgequake_webui/playwright-report/index.html
Debug test cd edgequake_webui && pnpm exec playwright test --debug
View backend logs make backend-logs
View database logs make db-logs
Reset database make db-reset

Session Reflection: Testing Insights

What Worked Well

✅ Service Start/Stop Simplification - Using Make commands instead of manual docker/cargo calls saves time and prevents mistakes
✅ Browser Automation - Interactive E2E testing with MCP tools provides fast feedback and debugging visibility
✅ Console Log Analysis - Monitoring browser and backend logs during tests reveals issues quickly
✅ Isolated Service Management - Starting only needed services reduces resource usage and startup time

Challenges & Solutions

Challenge Solution Benefit
Services not responding when tests start Wait for health checks before running tests Prevents flaky tests
Stale data between test runs make db-reset between cycles Clean test isolation
Difficult to track issues across services Monitor logs in parallel terminals Faster debugging
Forgetting to stop services make stop creates habit Prevents port conflicts
Tests dependent on real LLM costs Default to mock, override with env var Faster feedback loops

Recommendations

  1. Always check make status before running tests
  2. Monitor logs in separate terminals during test execution
  3. Use db-reset between test cycles for clean state
  4. Start small - test one feature, then expand
  5. Keep services running for interactive debugging
  6. Use MCP tools for browser automation and interactive testing

Last Updated: December 27, 2025
Tested in Session: E2E Testing New Query Button Fix
Verified with: Playwright MCP Tools + Service Management Commands

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