Browser Verify — Test + Screenshot Combo

Combines expect-cli (AI-generated browser tests) with debug-bridge (screenshots + DOM inspection) for full verification with visual evidence.

When to Use

After fixing UI bugs — need both test pass AND screenshot proof
Before raising a PR — capture evidence for PR comments
When /validate needs visual verification
Anytime you hear "prove it works"

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    /browser-verify                           │
│                                                             │
│  Phase 1: expect-cli (Playwright browser)                   │
│  ├─ Auto-detect dev server                                  │
│  ├─ AI generates test plan from git diff                    │
│  ├─ Execute tests → pass/fail results                       │
│  └─ Session recording (ephemeral replay)                    │
│                                                             │
│  Phase 2: debug-bridge (App's own browser via WebSocket)    │
│  ├─ Open app with ?session=X&port=Y                         │
│  ├─ Navigate to affected pages                              │
│  ├─ Take before/after screenshots → saved as PNG            │
│  ├─ Inspect DOM state, console errors, network              │
│  └─ Upload screenshots via /imgbb-upload for PR comments    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Quick Start

/browser-verify                          # Full: expect-test + debug-bridge screenshots
/browser-verify --test-only              # Just expect-cli tests
/browser-verify --screenshot-only        # Just debug-bridge screenshots
/browser-verify -m "test the login flow" # Specific test instruction

Phase 1: Automated Testing (expect-cli)

Prerequisites

# Auto-install if missing
if ! command -v expect-cli &>/dev/null; then
  npm install -g expect-cli@latest
fi

Run Tests

SESSION_NAME="verify-$(date +%s)"
tmux new-session -d -s "$SESSION_NAME"

# Run expect-cli with auto-detect
tmux send-keys -t "$SESSION_NAME" "expect-cli -t changes -y --headed --verbose 2>&1 | tee verify-expect.log" C-m

# Monitor (check every 30s)
sleep 30
tmux capture-pane -t "$SESSION_NAME" -p | tail -20

# Collect results
RESULTS=$(cat verify-expect.log 2>/dev/null | grep -E '✔|✘' | head -20)

Result Format

✔ = Test passed
✘ = Test failed (description of failure)

Phase 2: Visual Evidence (debug-bridge)

Start Debug Bridge Server

DB_PORT=$(shuf -i 4000-4999 -n 1)
DB_SESSION="verify-$(date +%s)"
tmux new-session -d -s "$DB_SESSION"
tmux send-keys -t "$DB_SESSION" "npx debug-bridge-cli connect --session $DB_SESSION --port $DB_PORT 2>&1 | tee debug-bridge-$DB_PORT.log" C-m
sleep 3

Open App with Debug Bridge

# Get dev server port
DEV_PORT=$(lsof -iTCP -sTCP:LISTEN -nP 2>/dev/null | grep -E 'node|vite' | awk '{print $9}' | grep -oE '[0-9]+$' | head -1)

# Open in browser with debug params
open "http://localhost:${DEV_PORT}/login?session=${DB_SESSION}&port=${DB_PORT}"
sleep 5

Take Screenshots

# Navigate and screenshot
tmux send-keys -t "$DB_SESSION" "go /perform" C-m
sleep 3
tmux send-keys -t "$DB_SESSION" "screenshot" C-m
sleep 2

# Read screenshot path from output
SCREENSHOT=$(tmux capture-pane -t "$DB_SESSION" -p | grep "screenshot.*saved" | tail -1 | grep -oE 'screenshot-[0-9]+\.png')

Inspect DOM

# List interactive elements
tmux send-keys -t "$DB_SESSION" "ui" C-m
sleep 2
tmux capture-pane -t "$DB_SESSION" -p | tail -20

# Run JavaScript in browser
tmux send-keys -t "$DB_SESSION" "eval console.log('CHECK:', document.querySelector('.some-element')?.textContent)" C-m
sleep 1
tmux capture-pane -t "$DB_SESSION" -p | grep "CHECK:"

# Check for console errors
tmux send-keys -t "$DB_SESSION" "eval console.log('ERRORS:', window.__errors?.length || 0)" C-m

Capture Network Activity

Debug-bridge auto-captures fetch/XHR when enabled:

🌐 [POST] /auth/v1/token → ✓ 200 OK (45ms)
🌐 [GET] /rest/v1/events → ✓ 200 OK (120ms)
🌐 [GET] /rest/v1/profiles → ✗ 401 Unauthorized (12ms)

Combined Workflow Example

# === PHASE 1: Automated Tests ===
SESSION="verify-$(date +%s)"
tmux new-session -d -s "expect-$SESSION"
tmux send-keys -t "expect-$SESSION" "expect-cli -m 'verify the events calendar Future/Past toggle and event preview sheet' -y --headed --verbose 2>&1 | tee verify-expect.log" C-m

# Wait for expect-cli to complete
sleep 180
EXPECT_RESULTS=$(cat verify-expect.log | grep -E '✔|✘')

# === PHASE 2: Screenshots ===
DB_PORT=$(shuf -i 4000-4999 -n 1)
tmux new-session -d -s "debug-$SESSION"
tmux send-keys -t "debug-$SESSION" "npx debug-bridge-cli connect --session $SESSION --port $DB_PORT" C-m
sleep 3

DEV_PORT=$(cat .tmux-dev-session.json 2>/dev/null | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['dev_port'])" 2>/dev/null || echo "7083")
open "http://localhost:${DEV_PORT}/perform?session=${SESSION}&port=${DB_PORT}"
sleep 5

# Take evidence screenshots
tmux send-keys -t "debug-$SESSION" "screenshot" C-m
sleep 2

# === PHASE 3: Report ===
echo "## Browser Verification Report"
echo ""
echo "### Automated Tests (expect-cli)"
echo "$EXPECT_RESULTS"
echo ""
echo "### Screenshots"
echo "Saved: $(ls screenshot-*.png 2>/dev/null | tail -3)"

# Cleanup
tmux kill-session -t "expect-$SESSION" 2>/dev/null
tmux kill-session -t "debug-$SESSION" 2>/dev/null

Cleanup

# Kill specific sessions
tmux kill-session -t "expect-$SESSION" 2>/dev/null
tmux kill-session -t "debug-$SESSION" 2>/dev/null

# Clean screenshot files
rm -f screenshot-*.png verify-expect.log debug-bridge-*.log

Integration with /validate

When /validate invokes browser verification, it can use /browser-verify as the implementation:

/validate
  └── Step 2.5: Browser Verification
       └── /browser-verify
            ├── expect-cli (automated tests)
            └── debug-bridge (screenshots + evidence)

Limitations

Two separate browser instances — expect-cli and debug-bridge don't share state
Auth must be done separately in each — expect-cli uses its own Playwright session, debug-bridge uses the opened browser tab
expect-cli is v0.0.x — may crash on complex scenarios
debug-bridge needs SDK in the app — already installed in SHOT
Sequential, not parallel — run expect-cli first, then debug-bridge for evidence

browser-verify