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name: common-web-visual-testing description: Standardizes visual audits, responsive design, and behavioral testing for web apps. Use to verify a web UI fix or cross-browser behavior; defer backend API refactors, Playwright installation/tooling setup, and Appium/mobile automation. metadata: triggers: keywords: - web test - browser test - responsive audit - verify web ui - cross-browser check - web accessibility

🌐 Web Visual & Behavioral Testing

Priority: P1 (HIGH)

[!IMPORTANT] Tier 2 (Methodology): Strategy web UI/UX audit. Tier 3 (Domain): Responsive, A11y (WCAG), Browser Engine quirk.

🧪 Testing Mindset (Comparative Audit)

Visual test best as Comparative Audit loop:

1. Baseline (Before): Capture snapshot --aria + screenshot prod/main.
2. Implementation (After): Capture same local/feature.
3. Audit: Compare state for regression, CLS, Aria drift.

Responses must label the two captures as Before and After (or Baseline and Fixed) and include the diff and neighboring-element side-effect check.

📋 Scenario Matrix

Change Type	Scenarios to Run
CSS/Layout	Responsive Audit + Hover + CLS Check
Forms/Input	Validation Msg + Focus State + Error Boundary
Navigation	URL Sync + Sticky Header + Back-Button Persistence
Assets/Fonts	Lazy Load + Icon Check + LCP Audit
Accessibility	Tab Order + Aria-Snapshot + Color Contrast

🚫 Anti-Patterns

• Single-Viewport: Never verify Desktop only. Check Mobile (375px) + Tablet (768px).
• Ignore Layout Shift: Check loading state (skeleton) → no page jump.
• Unmasked Dynamic: MUST mask timestamp/balance via --mask or JS (opacity: 0). Avoid "False Regression".
• Blind Assertion: Use playwright-cli snapshot --aria (CLI) or browser_snapshot (Playwright MCP) verify state before done.

📁 Evidence

Before/After pairs live in .playwright-cli/<session>/ as <AC|step>-before.png / <AC|step>-after.png plus matching .aria.txt. Driver rung and dir go in the walkthrough driver: / evidence_dir: lines.

• External Dependency: Mock/bypass 3rd-party (Chat, Analytics) → prevent flakiness.

🔗 References

• playwright-cli: playwright-cli
• Driver Ladder: driver-ladder — CLI first, Playwright MCP fallback, BLOCKED rule.
• Diagnostic Decoder: diagnostic-decoder
• DOM vs Screenshot: dom-snapshot-vs-screenshot
• Login & Data: login-and-test-data
• Scenario Details: scenarios