qa-gate

Family: build-and-qa Status: Stable

Purpose

The mandatory pre-delivery gate for any client-bound build. Walks the build through 9 phases and produces a structured pass/fail report with a risk rating and an explicit YES/NO client-ready verdict. This is the gate, not the fix — it reports; remediation happens in the appropriate skills.

Triggers

• "qa check" / "qa gate"
• "is this ready to ship" / "client-ready check"
• "pre-delivery review"
• "stress test the site"

Inputs

• Build URL or local path
• Target client/audience
• Deployment target (Vercel, WordPress, GHL, etc.)
• Brief or original spec (for the completeness check)

Steps

1. Load the report template templates/qa-report-template.md.
2. Run the static gate in one command — it drives the plugin's own engines (a11y_static, tech_audit, image_audit, content_audit, schema_gen, link_graph) over every page of the build, adds the exposed-secret scan and the deployment checks (staging Disallow: / left on, robots/sitemap/404/favicon, analytics), merges repeats across pages, applies the verdict rule, and fills the template:

   python3 "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/workflow/qa_gate.py" --dir dist/ --base-url https://client.example --project "<client>" --report

   (--file page.html --url <URL> for a single page; JSON without --report.) Then detect tooling: if the Playwright extension is available (see extensions/playwright/), deepen the live phases below; if not, the static report already marks them N/A — needs Playwright.
3. Run the 9 phases, recording PASS / WARN / FAIL / N/A for each:
   1. Functional — forms submit, links resolve, no console JS errors.
   2. Visual fidelity — matches the design system; responsive at 375/768/1280; no broken layouts. (Playwright deepens this; design-visual-qa for diffs.)
   3. Accessibility — dispatch the design-accessibility agent (axe + WCAG AA when Playwright is connected; else its bundled a11y_static.py structural checks — contrast, alt text, heading order, labels, focus visibility).
   4. Performance — Core Web Vitals (LCP < 2.5s, CLS < 0.1, INP < 200ms). Dispatch the seo-google agent for PSI/CrUX field data when a key/MCP is connected (the free PSI/CrUX key is preferred; any paid call routes through cost_guard.py, which fails open to the free path); else flag CWV for field verification.
   5. Security — HTTPS, security headers, no exposed secrets in source, audit third-party scripts.
   6. Content completeness — no lorem ipsum, no broken images, no placeholder copy; compare against the brief for missing pieces.
   7. SEO baseline — dispatch the seo-page agent (title, meta, OG, schema, canonical, images, internal links) as a real fan-out, not a prose handoff.
   8. Cross-device / browser — sanity at key breakpoints/browsers.
   9. Deployment readiness — env vars set, redirects, analytics installed, DNS.
4. Apply the verdict rule. Any unresolved CRITICAL ⇒ OVERALL = FAIL and CLIENT-READY = NO. CONDITIONAL PASS only when remaining items are WARN or lower.
5. Estimate fix time and bucket findings into Critical / Warnings / Recommendations / Nice-to-haves.
6. Render the filled qa-report-template.md. Never declare client-ready with an open critical issue.

Outputs

Structured QA Summary Report (from templates/qa-report-template.md): overall status, risk rating, per-phase results, bucketed findings, estimated fix time, and an explicit client-ready YES/NO.

Dependencies

• templates/qa-report-template.md (required)
• scripts/workflow/qa_gate.py (required) — the static 9-phase runner (imports the SEO, content, image, schema, link-graph and a11y engines)
• design-accessibility (optional — adds axe/WCAG delegation; free path: static contrast/alt/heading/label/focus checks) — phase 3
• seo-page (optional — adds full on-page SEO pass; free path: inline title/meta/OG/canonical check) — phase 7
• seo-google (optional — adds PSI/CrUX field data; free path: flag CWV for field verification) — phase 4
• design-visual-qa (optional — adds screenshot diffs; free path: manual visual review) — phase 2/8
• Playwright extension (optional — deepens phases 2/3/4/8; static path otherwise)

Notes

This is the gate, not the fix. Remediation happens in design-build, seo-technical, etc. Pairs with blast-prompt as the build bookend. Never skip this gate when delivering to a paying client.