bi-agents/.agents/skills/bmad-testarch-test-review/steps-c/step-01-load-context.md

name, description, nextStepFile, knowledgeIndex, outputFile

name	description	nextStepFile	knowledgeIndex	outputFile
step-01-load-context	Load knowledge base, determine scope, and gather context	./step-02-discover-tests.md	{project-root}/_bmad/tea/testarch/tea-index.csv	{test_artifacts}/test-review.md

Step 1: Load Context & Knowledge Base

STEP GOAL

Determine review scope, load required knowledge fragments, and gather related artifacts.

MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES

• 📖 Read the entire step file before acting
• ✅ Speak in {communication_language}

---

EXECUTION PROTOCOLS:

• 🎯 Follow the MANDATORY SEQUENCE exactly
• 💾 Record outputs before proceeding
• 📖 Load the next step only when instructed

CONTEXT BOUNDARIES:

• Available context: config, loaded artifacts, and knowledge fragments
• Focus: this step's goal only
• Limits: do not execute future steps
• Dependencies: prior steps' outputs (if any)

MANDATORY SEQUENCE

CRITICAL: Follow this sequence exactly. Do not skip, reorder, or improvise.

1. Determine Scope and Stack

Use review_scope:

• single: one file
• directory: all tests in folder
• suite: all tests in repo

If unclear, ask the user.

Stack Detection (for context-aware loading):

Read test_stack_type from {config_source}. If "auto" or not configured, infer {detected_stack} by scanning {project-root}:

• Frontend indicators: playwright.config.*, cypress.config.*, package.json with react/vue/angular
• Backend indicators: pyproject.toml, pom.xml/build.gradle, go.mod, *.csproj, Gemfile, Cargo.toml
• Both present → fullstack; only frontend → frontend; only backend → backend
• Explicit test_stack_type overrides auto-detection

---

Tiered Knowledge Loading

Load fragments based on their tier classification in tea-index.csv:

1. Core tier (always load): Foundational fragments required for this workflow
2. Extended tier (load on-demand): Load when deeper analysis is needed or when the user's context requires it
3. Specialized tier (load only when relevant): Load only when the specific use case matches (e.g., contract-testing only for microservices, email-auth only for email flows)

Context Efficiency: Loading only core fragments reduces context usage by 40-50% compared to loading all fragments.

Playwright Utils Loading Profiles

If tea_use_playwright_utils is enabled, select the appropriate loading profile:

• API-only profile (when {detected_stack} is backend or no page.goto/page.locator found in test files): Load: overview, api-request, auth-session, recurse (~1,800 lines)

• Full UI+API profile (when {detected_stack} is frontend/fullstack or browser tests detected): Load: all Playwright Utils core fragments (~4,500 lines)

Detection: Scan {test_dir} for files containing page.goto or page.locator. If none found, use API-only profile.

Pact.js Utils Loading

If tea_use_pactjs_utils is enabled (and contract tests detected in review scope):

Load: pactjs-utils-overview.md, pactjs-utils-provider-verifier.md, pactjs-utils-request-filter.md (the 3 most relevant for reviewing provider verification tests)

If tea_use_pactjs_utils is disabled but contract tests are in review scope:

Load: contract-testing.md

Pact MCP Loading

If tea_pact_mcp is "mcp":

Load: pact-mcp.md — enables agent to use SmartBear MCP "Review Pact Tests" tool for automated best-practice feedback during test review.

2. Load Knowledge Base

From {knowledgeIndex} load:

Read {config_source} and check tea_use_playwright_utils, tea_use_pactjs_utils, tea_pact_mcp, and tea_browser_automation to select the correct fragment set.

Core:

• test-quality.md
• data-factories.md
• test-levels-framework.md
• selective-testing.md
• test-healing-patterns.md
• selector-resilience.md
• timing-debugging.md

If Playwright Utils enabled:

• overview.md, api-request.md, network-recorder.md, auth-session.md, intercept-network-call.md, recurse.md, log.md, file-utils.md, burn-in.md, network-error-monitor.md, fixtures-composition.md

If disabled:

• fixture-architecture.md
• network-first.md
• playwright-config.md
• component-tdd.md
• ci-burn-in.md

Playwright CLI (if tea_browser_automation is "cli" or "auto"):

• playwright-cli.md

MCP Patterns (if tea_browser_automation is "mcp" or "auto"):

• (existing MCP-related fragments, if any are added in future)

Pact.js Utils (if enabled and contract tests in review scope):

• pactjs-utils-overview.md, pactjs-utils-provider-verifier.md, pactjs-utils-request-filter.md

Contract Testing (if pactjs-utils disabled but contract tests in review scope):

• contract-testing.md

Pact MCP (if tea_pact_mcp is "mcp"):

• pact-mcp.md

---

3. Gather Context Artifacts

If available:

• Story file (acceptance criteria)
• Test design doc (priorities)
• Framework config

Summarize what was found.

Coverage mapping and coverage gates are out of scope in test-review. Route those concerns to trace.

---

4. Save Progress

Save this step's accumulated work to {outputFile}.

• If {outputFile} does not exist (first save), create it using the workflow template (if available) with YAML frontmatter:

  ---
  stepsCompleted: ['step-01-load-context']
  lastStep: 'step-01-load-context'
  lastSaved: '{date}'
  ---
  

  Then write this step's output below the frontmatter.

• If {outputFile} already exists, update:

  • Add 'step-01-load-context' to stepsCompleted array (only if not already present)
  • Set lastStep: 'step-01-load-context'
  • Set lastSaved: '{date}'
  • Append this step's output to the appropriate section of the document.

Update inputDocuments: Set inputDocuments in the output template frontmatter to the list of artifact paths loaded in this step (e.g., knowledge fragments, test design documents, configuration files).

Load next step: {nextStepFile}

🚨 SYSTEM SUCCESS/FAILURE METRICS:

✅ SUCCESS:

• Step completed in full with required outputs

❌ SYSTEM FAILURE:

• Skipped sequence steps or missing outputs Master Rule: Skipping steps is FORBIDDEN.