Skip to main content
Mobile Developmentdotnet

verify-tests-fail-without-fix

Verifies tests catch the bug. Auto-detects test type (UI tests, device tests, unit tests) and dispatches to the appropriate runner. Supports two modes - verify failure only (test creation) or full verification (test + fix validation).

Stars
23,266
Source
dotnet/maui
Updated
2026-05-30
Slug
dotnet--maui--verify-tests-fail-without-fix
View on GitHubRaw SKILL.md

// install — copy + paste into any project

mkdir -p .claude/skills && curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dotnet/maui/HEAD/.github/skills/verify-tests-fail-without-fix/SKILL.md -o .claude/skills/verify-tests-fail-without-fix.md

Drops the SKILL.md into .claude/skills/verify-tests-fail-without-fix.md. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any agent that loads SKILL.md files from .claude/skills/.

Verify Tests Fail Without Fix

Verifies tests actually catch the issue. Supports all test types (UI tests, unit tests, XAML tests, device tests) and two workflow modes.

Supported Test Types

Test Type Auto-Detected From Runner
UITest TestCases.Shared.Tests/, TestCases.HostApp/ BuildAndRunHostApp.ps1
DeviceTest DeviceTests/ Run-DeviceTests.ps1
UnitTest *.UnitTests/, Graphics.Tests/ dotnet test
XamlUnitTest Xaml.UnitTests/ dotnet test

Test type is auto-detected from changed files. Override with -TestType if needed.

-Platform is required for UI and Device tests. It selects which platform to verify the fix on. Unit and XAML tests do not require -Platform.

Activation Guard

🛑 This skill ONLY verifies that existing tests reproduce a bug. Do NOT activate for:

  • Writing new tests → use write-tests-agent
  • Running tests without verification context → use run-device-tests
  • Code review → use code-review skill
  • General test advice

Requires: a platform and either test files in the PR or an explicit TestFilter.

⚠️ CRITICAL: Inverted Pass/Fail Semantics

In this skill, test outcomes mean the OPPOSITE of normal:

Test Result (without fix) Verification Result Why
Tests FAIL ✅ GOOD Tests detect the bug
Tests PASS ❌ BAD Tests miss the bug

NEVER say "verification passed" when tests PASS without the fix.

Workflow

Step 1: Determine Mode

  • Check if fix files exist in the PR (non-test code changes detected by the script from the git diff)
  • If fix files present → Full Verification mode (-RequireFullVerification)
  • If no fix files → Verify Failure Only mode (omit the flag)

Step 2: Construct Command

pwsh .github/skills/verify-tests-fail-without-fix/scripts/verify-tests-fail.ps1 `
  -Platform <platform> `
  -TestFilter "<filter>" `
  [-RequireFullVerification]  # Only if fix files exist

Step 3: Interpret Results

⚠️ Remember: test outcomes are INVERTED from normal!

  • Script outputs VERIFICATION PASSED → Tests catch the bug ✅
  • Script outputs VERIFICATION FAILED → Tests don't catch the bug ❌
  • Script outputs error/timeout → Report as Blocked

Step 4: Report

  • Report the result to the invoking orchestrator

Mode 1: Verify Failure Only (Test Creation)

Use when creating tests before writing a fix:

  • Runs tests to verify they FAIL (proving they catch the bug)
  • No fix files required
  • Perfect for test-first development
# Auto-detect test type and filter
pwsh .github/skills/verify-tests-fail-without-fix/scripts/verify-tests-fail.ps1 -Platform android

# Explicit test type + filter
pwsh .github/skills/verify-tests-fail-without-fix/scripts/verify-tests-fail.ps1 -Platform android -TestType UnitTest -TestFilter "Maui12345"

Mode 2: Full Verification (Fix Validation)

Use when validating both tests and fix:

  1. Without fix - tests should FAIL (bug is present)
  2. With fix - tests should PASS (bug is fixed)
# Auto-detect everything (recommended)
pwsh .github/skills/verify-tests-fail-without-fix/scripts/verify-tests-fail.ps1 -Platform android -RequireFullVerification

# With explicit test filter
pwsh .github/skills/verify-tests-fail-without-fix/scripts/verify-tests-fail.ps1 -Platform ios -TestFilter "Issue33356" -RequireFullVerification

Note: -RequireFullVerification ensures the script errors if no fix files are detected, preventing silent fallback to failure-only mode.

Requirements

Verify Failure Only Mode:

  • Test files in the PR (or working directory)

Full Verification Mode:

  • Test files in the PR
  • Fix files in the PR (non-test code changes)

The script auto-detects which mode to use based on whether fix files are present.

Expected Output

Verify Failure Only Mode:

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║              VERIFICATION PASSED ✅                       ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║  Tests FAILED as expected!                                ║
║  This proves the tests correctly reproduce the bug.       ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Full Verification Mode:

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║              VERIFICATION PASSED ✅                       ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║  - FAIL without fix (as expected)                         ║
║  - PASS with fix (as expected)                            ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

What It Does

Verify Failure Only Mode (no fix files):

  1. Fetches base branch from origin (if available)
  2. Auto-detects test type from changed files (UITest, UnitTest, XamlUnitTest, DeviceTest)
  3. Auto-detects test classes from changed test files
  4. Routes to the appropriate test runner
  5. Runs tests (should FAIL to prove they catch the bug)
  6. Reports result

Full Verification Mode (fix files detected):

  1. Fetches base branch from origin to ensure accurate diff
  2. Auto-detects fix files (non-test code) from git diff
  3. Auto-detects test type and test classes from changed files
  4. Reverts fix files to base branch
  5. Runs tests using the appropriate runner (should FAIL without fix)
  6. Restores fix files
  7. Runs tests using the appropriate runner (should PASS with fix)
  8. Generates markdown reports:
    • CustomAgentLogsTmp/TestValidation/verification-report.md - Full detailed report
    • CustomAgentLogsTmp/PRState/verification-report.md - Validate section for agent
  9. Reports result

Note: PR label management (s/ai-reproduction-confirmed / s/ai-reproduction-failed) is handled by Review-PR.ps1, not by this script.

Output Files

The skill generates output files under CustomAgentLogsTmp/PRState/<PRNumber>/PRAgent/gate/verify-tests-fail/:

File Description
verification-report.md Comprehensive markdown report with test results and full logs
verification-log.txt Text log of the verification process
test-without-fix.log Full test output from run without fix
test-with-fix.log Full test output from run with fix

Plus test logs in CustomAgentLogsTmp/:

  • UITests/ - UI test device logs and output
  • DeviceTests/ - Device test output
  • UnitTests/ - Unit test output

Example structure:

CustomAgentLogsTmp/
├── UITests/                           # UI test logs
│   ├── android-device.log
│   └── test-output.log
├── DeviceTests/                       # Device test logs
│   └── test-output.log
├── UnitTests/                         # Unit/XAML test logs
│   └── test-output.log
└── PRState/
    └── 27847/
        └── PRAgent/
            └── gate/
                └── verify-tests-fail/
            ├── verification-report.md  # Full detailed report
            ├── verification-log.txt
            ├── test-without-fix.log
            └── test-with-fix.log

PR Number Detection:

  • Auto-detected from branch name (e.g., pr-27847)
  • Falls back to gh pr view command
  • Uses "unknown" if detection fails
  • Can be manually specified with -PRNumber parameter

Troubleshooting

Problem Cause Solution
No fix files detected Base branch detection failed or no non-test files changed Use -FixFiles or -BaseBranch explicitly
Tests pass without fix Tests don't detect the bug Review test assertions, update test
Tests fail with fix Fix doesn't work or test is wrong Review fix implementation
App crashes Duplicate issue numbers, XAML error Check device logs
Element not found Wrong AutomationId, app crashed Verify IDs match

Optional Parameters

# Require full verification (fail if no fix files detected) - recommended
-RequireFullVerification

# Explicit test type (auto-detected if omitted)
-TestType UnitTest    # or XamlUnitTest, DeviceTest, UITest

# Explicit test filter
-TestFilter "Issue32030|ButtonUITests"

# Explicit fix files  
-FixFiles @("src/Core/src/File.cs")

# Explicit base branch
-BaseBranch "main"