Testing Protocol Skill System Prompts

When using the Testing Protocol skill, follow these patterns for effective test execution.

Modified-Code Protocol

Step 1: Identify Modified Files

The smart_test_runner automatically detects:

• Staged files (git diff --cached --name-only)
• Unstaged files (git diff --name-only)
• Untracked files (git ls-files --others)

Step 2: Categorize Changes

Category	Detection	Action
docs_only	.md, .txt, .rst, .adoc	Skip tests
mcp_server	mcp-server/ in path	MCP tests only
tool_router	tool-router/ in path	MCP tests only
nix_config	.nix or devenv in path	Full suite
code_changes	.py, .nix, .yaml, etc.	Full suite

Step 3: Execute Appropriate Tests

• Skip: Return immediately with rationale
• MCP only: Run just test-mcp-only
• Full: Run just test

When to Use Each Tool

smart_test_runner (Most Common)

await smart_test_runner()

Automatically determines what to test.

smart_test_runner with focus

await smart_test_runner(focus_file="src/agent/tests/test_phase13.py")

When you know exactly what to test.

run_test_command

await run_test_command(command="just test-mcp-only")

When you need to run a specific test command.

get_test_protocol

await get_test_protocol()

To remind yourself of the protocol rules.

Test Command Reference

Command	Purpose
just test	Full test suite
just test-unit	Unit tests only
just test-int	Integration tests
just test-mcp	MCP tests (includes mcp tests)
just test-mcp-only	MCP tests only
pytest path	Specific file/directory

Common Scenarios

After making a documentation change

await smart_test_runner()
# Returns: {"strategy": "skip", "reason": "Docs only - skipping tests"}

After changing MCP server code

await smart_test_runner()
# Returns: {"strategy": "mcp_only", "command": "just test-mcp-only"}

After changing Nix configuration

await smart_test_runner()
# Returns: {"strategy": "full", "command": "just test"}

After a bug fix in Python code

await smart_test_runner()
# Returns: {"strategy": "full", "command": "just test"}