Fixing Tests

Invariant Principles

1. Tests catch bugs, not checkmarks. Every fix must detect real failures, not just achieve green status.
2. Production bugs are not test issues. Flag and escalate; never silently fix broken behavior.
3. Read before fixing. Read the test file AND the production file under test. Never guess.
4. Verify proves value. Unverified fixes are unfinished fixes.
5. Scope discipline. Fix tests, not features.

Inputs

Input Modes

Detect mode from user input, build work items accordingly.

If unclear: ask user to clarify target.

WorkItem Schema

interface WorkItem {
  id: string;                           // "finding-1", "failure-1", etc.
  priority: "critical" | "important" | "minor" | "unknown";
  test_file: string;
  test_function?: string;
  line_number?: number;
  pattern?: number;                     // 1-10 from green mirage
  pattern_name?: string;
  current_code?: string;                // Problematic test code
  blind_spot?: string;                  // What broken code would pass
  suggested_fix?: string;               // From audit report
  production_file?: string;             // Related production code
  error_type?: "assertion" | "exception" | "timeout" | "skip";
  error_message?: string;
  expected?: string;
  actual?: string;
}

Phase 0: Input Processing

Dispatch subagent (Task tool) with /fix-tests-parse command. Subagent parses input (audit YAML, fallback headers, or general instructions) into WorkItems and determines commit strategy.

Phase 1: Discovery (run_and_fix only)

Skip for audit_report/general_instructions modes.

pytest --tb=short 2>&1 || npm test 2>&1 || cargo test 2>&1

Parse failures into WorkItems with error_type, message, stack trace, expected/actual. If suite passes completely: report "no failures found" and confirm with user before exiting.

Phase 2: Fix Execution

Dispatch subagent (Task tool) with the /fix-tests-execute command. The subagent MUST read, before writing any fix:

• The fix-tests-execute command file — the fix execution protocol, the assertion quality gate, the production bug protocol, the banned-pattern list, and the special-case playbooks
• patterns/assertion-quality-standard.md — the complete Assertion Strength Ladder and Full Assertion Principle

Pass the work items for this batch, and copy in the full Test Writer Template from skills/dispatching-parallel-agents/SKILL.md.

The assertion quality gate applies in ALL input modes, not only audit_report. A production bug found during a fix is escalated to the user, never silently fixed as a "test fix." Both protocols are specified in the fix-tests-execute command.

Phase 3: Batch Processing

FOR priority IN [critical, important, minor]:
    FOR item IN work_items[priority]:
        Execute Phase 2
        IF stuck after 2 attempts:
            Add to stuck_items[]
            Continue to next item

Stuck Items Report

## Stuck Items

### [item.id]: [test_function]
**Attempted:** [what was tried]
**Blocked by:** [why it didn't work]
**Recommendation:** [manual intervention / more context / etc.]

Phase 3.5: Post-Fix Adversarial Review (MANDATORY)

Dispatch a Test Adversary subagent (Task tool). The fix-tests-execute command carries the adversary dispatch prompt and its mandatory checks; pass the modified test files, the diff of the fix phase, and the production files under test.

If verdict is FAIL: Re-execute Phase 2 for the failed items with explicit instructions about what went wrong. Do NOT skip re-review.

Phase 4: Final Verification

pytest -v  # or appropriate test command

Summary Report

## Fix Tests Summary

### Input Mode
[audit_report / general_instructions / run_and_fix]

### Metrics
| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| Total items | N |
| Fixed | X |
| Stuck | Y |
| Production bugs | Z |

### Fixes Applied
| Test | File | Issue | Fix | Commit |
|------|------|-------|-----|--------|
| test_foo | test_auth.py | Pattern 2 | Strengthened to full object match | abc123 |

### Test Suite Status
- Before: X passing, Y failing
- After: X passing, Y failing

### Stuck Items (if any)
[List with recommendations]

### Production Bugs Found (if any)
[List with recommended actions]

Re-audit Option (if from audit_report)

Fixes complete. Re-run audit-green-mirage to verify no new mirages?
A) Yes, audit fixed files
B) No, satisfied with fixes

Special Cases

Playbooks for flaky tests, implementation-coupled tests, missing tests, and slow or bloated tests live in the fix-tests-execute command, alongside the fix type classification they belong to.

Over-Engineering

• Creating elaborate test infrastructure for simple fixes
• Adding abstraction layers "for future flexibility"
• Refactoring unrelated code while fixing tests

Under-Testing

• Weakening assertions to make tests pass
• Removing tests instead of fixing them
• Marking tests as skip without fixing

Scope Creep

• Fixing production bugs without flagging them
• Refactoring production code to make tests easier
• Adding features while fixing tests

Blind Fixes

• Applying suggested fixes without reading context
• Copy-pasting fixes without understanding them
• Not verifying fixes actually catch failures</FORBIDDEN>

Self-Check

<RULE>Before completing, ALL boxes must be checked. If ANY unchecked: STOP and fix.</RULE>

• All work items processed or explicitly marked stuck
• Each fix verified to pass
• Each fix verified to catch the failure it should catch
• Each fix verified to be Level 4+ on the Assertion Strength Ladder (patterns/assertion-quality-standard.md)
• Each new assertion has a named mutation that would cause it to fail
• No bare substring checks introduced (assert "X" in result is BANNED on all output)
• No partial assertions on dynamic output (full expected constructed, not membership checked)
• All mock calls fully asserted: every call, all args, call count verified
• No mock.ANY introduced
• No Pattern 10 violations (partial-to-partial upgrades)
• Phase 3.5 adversarial review completed with PASS verdict
• Full test suite ran at end
• Production bugs flagged, not silently fixed
• Commits follow agreed strategy
• Summary report provided

<FINAL_EMPHASIS> Tests exist to catch bugs. Every fix you make must result in tests that actually catch failures, not tests that achieve green checkmarks.

Fix it. Prove it works. Move on. No over-engineering. No under-testing. </FINAL_EMPHASIS>