MicrosoftKnown publishermicrosoft/intelligent-terminal/src/cascadia/LocalTests_TerminalApp/TestHostApp/AGENTS.md

intelligent-terminal / TestHostApp

AGENTS.md2.1k starsChanged 3 months agoMITView on GitHub

One packaged Windows app hosts TerminalApp local tests and real production UI for isolated accessibility checks. It does not replace full-app integration tests. The harness surface fre-settings launches the FRE mode, invokes Next through UI Automation, and scans the resulting settings controls. It is not a separate app or launch argument. Agents mode activates the host window before creating the production view model and navigates its Frame with NavigateToPageArgs. This exercises the page's normal OnNavigatedTo initialization, not a TestHost-only Agents…

We split this AGENTS.md into the rules it gives an agent

3 rules. About 0 are common, 2 are distinctive, and 1 is very specific to this project.

≈0
Common · estimate
Many files like this have a rule of this kind.
≈2
Distinctive · estimate
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
1
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

Common
Distinctive
Very specific

Distinctive:
Do not construct the full Settings MainPage in this AppContainer host.
line 22
Very specific:
Add an explicit launch route in UnitTestApp.xaml.cpp and matching readiness/ UIA assertions in the scan harness.
line 49
Distinctive:
Use the test package, not deployment over the user's Intelligent Terminal.
line 51

≈ “Common” is an estimate: at least 1 in 5 of the 36,368 AGENTS.md files we read have a rule of the same kind, not the same words. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.

Files

AGENTS.md

TestHostApp

One packaged Windows app hosts TerminalApp local tests and real production UI for isolated accessibility checks. It does not replace full-app integration tests.

Launch modes

Argument	Purpose
No accessibility argument	Default test-client path for TAEF local tests.
`--accessibility-page=fre`	Real FRE overlay, initialized with default settings.
`--accessibility-page=agents`	Real Agents page reached through Frame navigation with the production view model and navigation arguments.

The harness surface fre-settings launches the FRE mode, invokes Next through UI Automation, and scans the resulting settings controls. It is not a separate app or launch argument. Agents mode activates the host window before creating the production view model and navigates its Frame with NavigateToPageArgs. This exercises the page's normal OnNavigatedTo initialization, not a TestHost-only Agents constructor. No native window root is supplied because this page's initialization does not require one.

Do not construct the full Settings MainPage in this AppContainer host. MainPage eagerly loads Extensions; its filesystem discovery fails with access denied in AppContainer and reaches the debug coroutine assertion. This was confirmed with an owned-process debugger, not inferred from activation errors. The fixture does not establish full Settings navigation, native-window integration or persistence coverage.

Build and test

Build from the repository root:

cmd.exe /c "tools\razzle.cmd && cd src\cascadia\LocalTests_TerminalApp\TestHostApp && bx"

For TAEF, also build TerminalApp.LocalTests.dll; runut in a razzle environment runs it from the TestHostApp output, not the LocalTests output.

For native scans, use test\accessibility\Invoke-AxeWindowsTestHost.ps1 with -Surface set to fre, fre-settings, or agents. Supply the built manifest, Axe.Windows path, output directory, and exact source SHA. An interactive Windows desktop and the app's framework dependencies are required. Setup and artifact limitations are documented in doc\ghaw\ghaw-pr-accessibility.md.

Extending coverage

Reuse production pages, view models, and resources; do not duplicate UI in mocks. Add an explicit launch route in UnitTestApp.xaml.cpp and matching readiness/ UIA assertions in the scan harness. Preserve the default TAEF launch path. Use the test package, not deployment over the user's Intelligent Terminal.

These scans cover selected states, not all Settings pages, terminal-window integration, complete keyboard journeys, Narrator, contrast, or scaling.

Download now (ZIP)

Sep 21, 2026Historical validation: agent-pane lifetime and cross-window transfers (#898) — yeelam-gordon/intelligent-terminal0 reactions
Sep 10, 2026Defer WSL shell integration installation until a new tab opens — yeelam-gordon/intelligent-terminal0 reactions · 3 comments
Aug 27, 2026Make session MCP tool schemas safe for strict function-calling providers — yeelam-gordon/intelligent-terminal0 reactions · 3 comments
Aug 27, 2026Tamil Language Text Overlaps in Terminal. — microsoft/terminal0 reactions · 14 comments
Jul 15, 2026Mirror of #218 upstream-sync skill (for review loop) — yeelam-gordon/intelligent-terminal0 reactions

4 more on GitHub

Jul 14, 2026integrate Intelligent Terminal with b00t ACP — bridge to Windows desktop — elasticdotventures/_b00t_0 reactions · 1 comment
Jul 14, 2026Add release-notes agent skill (mirror of #408 for review loop) — yeelam-gordon/intelligent-terminal0 reactions
Jun 17, 2026New version: Microsoft.IntelligentTerminal version 0.1.1681.0 — microsoft/winget-pkgs0 reactions · 8 comments
May 29, 2026jun 2026 — kimtth/azure-openai-llm-notes0 reactions · 1 comment

On Bluesky · 1

Sep 16, 2026"Intelligent Terminal is an experimental fork of Windows Terminal with native agent integration." Microsoft is forking its own Windows… — @awakecoding.com2 likes and reposts

Where files are headingNew AGENTS.md files have more rules about keeping secrets out of the code, and fewer about code style.
Of the AGENTS.md files we read, the 28,693 first seen in the last six months, against the older ones: the kind of rule that gained most share, and the kind that lost most. About files like this in general, not this one, and an estimate, since a kind is a pattern in the words.
In this repository13 other files it gives its agents.
- AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- tools/wta/AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- .github/copilot-instructions.mdCopilot instructions
- add-acp-agent-supportSkill
- copilot-pr-review-loopSkill
- ensure-localizationSkill
- ghaw-pr-securitySkill
- performance-reviewSkill
- pr-accessibilitySkill
- pr-integration-testSkill
- release-notesSkill
- store-listing-localizerSkill
- upstream-syncSkill

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