Core Tester Skill

QA specialist focused on ensuring code quality through comprehensive testing strategies and validation techniques.

Quick Start

// Spawn tester agent
Task("Tester agent", "Create comprehensive tests for [feature]", "tester")

// Store test results
  action: "store",
  key: "swarm/tester/results",
  namespace: "coordination",
  value: JSON.stringify({ passed: 145, failed: 0, coverage: "87%" })
}

When to Use

• Writing tests for new features (TDD)
• Creating integration tests for APIs
• Building E2E tests for user flows
• Performance testing critical paths
• Security testing authentication/authorization

Prerequisites

• Test framework installed (Jest, Vitest, etc.)
• Understanding of feature requirements
• Access to implementation code
• Mock setup for external dependencies

Core Concepts

Test Pyramid

         /\
        /E2E\      <- Few, high-value
       /------\
      /Integr. \   <- Moderate coverage
     /----------\
    /   Unit     \ <- Many, fast, focused
   /--------------\

Test Quality Metrics

Metric	Target	Description
Statements	>80%	Line coverage
Branches	>75%	Decision coverage
Functions	>80%	Function coverage
Lines	>80%	Total line coverage

Test Characteristics (FIRST)

• Fast: Tests should run quickly (<100ms for unit tests)
• Isolated: No dependencies between tests
• Repeatable: Same result every time
• Self-validating: Clear pass/fail
• Timely: Written with or before code

Implementation Pattern

Unit Tests

describe('UserService', () => {
  let service: UserService;
  let mockRepository: jest.Mocked<UserRepository>;

  beforeEach(() => {
    mockRepository = createMockRepository();
    service = new UserService(mockRepository);
  });

  describe('createUser', () => {
    it('should create user with valid data', async () => {
      const userData = { name: 'John', email: 'john@example.com' };
      mockRepository.save.mockResolvedValue({ id: '123', ...userData });

      const result = await service.createUser(userData);

      expect(result).toHaveProperty('id');
      expect(mockRepository.save).toHaveBeenCalledWith(userData);
    });

    it('should throw on duplicate email', async () => {
      mockRepository.save.mockRejectedValue(new DuplicateError());

      await expect(service.createUser(userData))
        .rejects.toThrow('Email already exists');
    });
  });
});

Integration Tests

describe('User API Integration', () => {
  let app: Application;
  let database: Database;

  beforeAll(async () => {
    database = await setupTestDatabase();
    app = createApp(database);
  });

  afterAll(async () => {
    await database.close();
  });

  it('should create and retrieve user', async () => {
    const response = await request(app)
      .post('/users')
      .send({ name: 'Test User', email: 'test@example.com' });

    expect(response.status).toBe(201);
    expect(response.body).toHaveProperty('id');

    const getResponse = await request(app)
      .get(`/users/${response.body.id}`);

    expect(getResponse.body.name).toBe('Test User');
  });
});

E2E Tests

describe('User Registration Flow', () => {
  it('should complete full registration process', async () => {
    await page.goto('/register');

    await page.fill('[name="email"]', 'newuser@example.com');
    await page.fill('[name="password"]', 'SecurePass123!');
    await page.click('button[type="submit"]');

    await page.waitForURL('/dashboard');
    expect(await page.textContent('h1')).toBe('Welcome!');
  });
});

Edge Case Testing

describe('Edge Cases', () => {
  // Boundary values
  it('should handle maximum length input', () => {
    const maxString = 'a'.repeat(255);
    expect(() => validate(maxString)).not.toThrow();
  });

  // Empty/null cases
  it('should handle empty arrays gracefully', () => {
    expect(processItems([])).toEqual([]);
  });

  // Error conditions
  it('should recover from network timeout', async () => {
    jest.setTimeout(10000);
    mockApi.get.mockImplementation(() =>
      new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 5000))
    );

    await expect(service.fetchData()).rejects.toThrow('Timeout');
  });

  // Concurrent operations
  it('should handle concurrent requests', async () => {
    const promises = Array(100).fill(null)
      .map(() => service.processRequest());

    const results = await Promise.all(promises);
    expect(results).toHaveLength(100);
  });
});

Configuration

Performance Testing

describe('Performance', () => {
  it('should process 1000 items under 100ms', async () => {
    const items = generateItems(1000);

    const start = performance.now();
    await service.processItems(items);
    const duration = performance.now() - start;

    expect(duration).toBeLessThan(100);
  });

  it('should handle memory efficiently', () => {
    const initialMemory = process.memoryUsage().heapUsed;

    // Process large dataset
    processLargeDataset();
    global.gc(); // Force garbage collection

    const finalMemory = process.memoryUsage().heapUsed;
    const memoryIncrease = finalMemory - initialMemory;

    expect(memoryIncrease).toBeLessThan(50 * 1024 * 1024); // <50MB
  });
});

Security Testing

describe('Security', () => {
  it('should prevent SQL injection', async () => {
    const maliciousInput = "'; DROP TABLE users; --";

    const response = await request(app)
      .get(`/users?name=${maliciousInput}`);

    expect(response.status).not.toBe(500);
    // Verify table still exists
    const users = await database.query('SELECT * FROM users');
    expect(users).toBeDefined();
  });

  it('should sanitize XSS attempts', () => {
    const xssPayload = '<script>alert("XSS")</script>';
    const sanitized = sanitizeInput(xssPayload);

    expect(sanitized).not.toContain('<script>');
    expect(sanitized).toBe('&lt;script&gt;alert("XSS")&lt;/script&gt;');
  });
});

Usage Examples

Example 1: TDD Workflow

// Step 1: Write failing test
describe('calculateDiscount', () => {
  it('should return 10% discount for users with 10+ purchases', () => {
    const user = { purchases: 15 };
    expect(calculateDiscount(user)).toBe(0.1);
  });
});

// Step 2: Run test (fails)
// Step 3: Implement minimal code
function calculateDiscount(user) {
  return user.purchases >= 10 ? 0.1 : 0;
}

// Step 4: Run test (passes)
// Step 5: Refactor if needed

Example 2: Complete Test Suite

/**
 * @test User Registration
 * @description Validates the complete user registration flow
 * @prerequisites
 *   - Database is empty
 *   - Email service is mocked
 * @steps
 *   1. Submit registration form with valid data
 *   2. Verify user is created in database
 *   3. Check confirmation email is sent
 *   4. Validate user can login
 * @expected User successfully registered and can access dashboard
 */
describe('User Registration', () => {
  it('should register user successfully', async () => {
    // Implementation
  });
});

Execution Checklist

• Identify test scenarios from requirements
• Write unit tests for new functions
• Create integration tests for APIs
• Add E2E tests for critical flows
• Test edge cases and error scenarios
• Verify security (SQL injection, XSS)
• Run performance tests
• Check coverage meets targets (>80%)
• Store results in memory
• Report to reviewer

Best Practices

1. Test First: Write tests before implementation (TDD)
2. One Assertion: Each test should verify one behavior
3. Descriptive Names: Test names should explain what and why
4. Arrange-Act-Assert: Structure tests clearly
5. Mock External Dependencies: Keep tests isolated
6. Test Data Builders: Use factories for test data
7. Avoid Test Interdependence: Each test should be independent
8. Report Results: Always share test results via memory

Error Handling

Scenario	Recovery
Test timeout	Increase timeout or optimize test
Flaky test	Add retries or fix race condition
Mock failure	Verify mock setup
Coverage gap	Add missing tests

Metrics & Success Criteria

• All tests passing
• Coverage >80%
• No flaky tests
• Performance within targets
• Security tests passing
• Results stored in memory

Integration Points

MCP Tools

// Report test status
  action: "store",
  key: "swarm/tester/status",
  namespace: "coordination",
  value: JSON.stringify({
    agent: "tester",
    status: "running tests",
    test_suites: ["unit", "integration", "e2e"],
    timestamp: Date.now()
  })
}

// Share test results
  action: "store",
  key: "swarm/shared/test-results",
  namespace: "coordination",
  value: JSON.stringify({
    passed: 145,
    failed: 2,
    coverage: "87%",
    failures: ["auth.test.ts:45", "api.test.ts:123"]
  })
}

// Check implementation status
  action: "retrieve",
  key: "swarm/coder/status",
  namespace: "coordination"
}

Performance Testing

// Run performance benchmarks
  type: "test",
  iterations: 100
}

// Monitor test execution
  format: "detailed"
}

Hooks

# Pre-execution
echo "🧪 Tester agent validating: $TASK"
if [ -f "jest.config.js" ] || [ -f "vitest.config.ts" ]; then
  echo "✓ Test framework detected"
fi

# Post-execution
echo "📋 Test results summary:"
npm test -- --reporter=json 2>/dev/null | jq '.numPassedTests, .numFailedTests' 2>/dev/null || echo "Tests completed"

Related Skills

• core-coder - Provides implementation to test
• core-reviewer - Reviews test quality
• core-researcher - Provides edge cases
• core-planner - Test planning

Remember: Tests are a safety net that enables confident refactoring and prevents regressions. Invest in good tests--they pay dividends in maintainability. Coordinate with other agents through memory.

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Version History

• 1.0.0 (2026-01-02): Initial release - converted from tester.md agent