hai-tdd

Hai TDD

For Chinese readers, see SKILL.zh_CN.md. The English SKILL.md is the execution source of truth.

Overview

Drive development with tests: write a failing test first, confirm it fails for the right reason, write the smallest implementation that passes, then refactor while keeping tests green. This is not "add tests at the end" — TDD defines behavior before implementation.

Core Principle

Red, then green, then refactor.

Do not write production code before a failing test. A test that never failed first has not proven it constrains the target behavior — so the RED failure is the evidence, not a formality. If implementation already exists without a test, do not call the process TDD; either label it as tests-after or return to a test-first path.

Do not invent a test merely to satisfy the ritual. TDD is for behavior and stable contracts, not for creating ad hoc structural tripwires around a one-off cleanup.

When TDD does not fit

Select honest non-TDD verification without pausing for permission when:

• The work is a throwaway prototype or a spike, or the user asked for code reading before implementation.
• The change is pure configuration, copy, or styling.
• The behavior cannot reasonably be verified automatically yet.
• The change is purely structural and has no meaningful behavior-level RED, such as deleting a field, narrowing an interface, moving a type, renaming a symbol, removing an exported helper, or changing package ownership.

In these cases, say TDD does not fit this slice. Use compile failures, existing tests, static checks, or tests-after verification instead of manufacturing a RED test. Ask the user only when the choice would materially change the requested behavior or scope.

No Fake RED

Never add tests whose only purpose is to make a structural refactor look like TDD. Do not add:

• AST/regex/reflection scans for a one-time shape cleanup.
• White-box guards that inspect source rather than a durable behavior or policy boundary.
• Tests that duplicate compiler checks unless the repository already maintains that policy class.
• One-off guards for renames, package moves, aliases, or visibility changes.

Architecture/static boundary tests are allowed only when all of the following are true:

• The boundary is a durable policy the project intends to keep checking over time.
• The test failure would catch a likely future regression, not just document today's edit.
• The user explicitly wants that kind of guard, or the repository already has an established policy-test pattern.

When no legitimate RED exists, prefer this sentence over a fake test: "No TDD for this slice: this is a structural refactor. I will validate it with compiler errors, existing tests, and focused runtime checks."

Workflow

1. Define the target behavior.

   • Pick one minimal behavior slice.
   • State input, output, side effect, boundary, and failure condition.
   • If the slice is only structural, stop here and report "not TDD" instead of forcing RED.
   • If the work is too broad, use hai-goal to split it into verifiable phases.

2. RED: write the failing test first.

   • The test name should describe behavior, not say "works".
   • Test one behavior at a time.
   • Prefer public APIs, user-observable behavior, or stable boundaries — they keep the test stable when you refactor internals.
   • Avoid mocks unless external systems, time, network, randomness, or permissions force them; mocks tie the test to implementation and hide real behavior.

3. Verify RED.

   • Run the smallest relevant test command and confirm the test fails.
   • Confirm it fails because the target behavior is missing, not because of syntax, imports, bad test code, or environment setup — that distinction is what makes the RED a real constraint rather than a broken test.
   • If the test passes immediately, do not damage it merely to manufacture RED. Determine whether the behavior already exists, the reproduction is wrong, or this is regression/tests-after work, then label the evidence honestly.

4. GREEN: write the minimal implementation.

   • Write only enough code to pass the current test. Extra code is unverified by any failing test, so it falls outside TDD's safety net.
   • Do not add future features and do not mix in unrelated refactors.
   • Do not skip the minimal implementation step for a larger "complete" design.

5. Verify GREEN.

   • Rerun the relevant tests.
   • Confirm the new test passes.
   • Based on risk, run broader tests for the directory, module, or full suite.

6. REFACTOR.

   • Refactor only after green.
   • Improve duplication, naming, structure, or boundaries.
   • Rerun tests after refactoring.

7. Continue with the next behavior.

   • Every new behavior returns to RED.
   • Do not put multiple behaviors into one large test.

Test Quality Bar

Good TDD tests:

• Test behavior rather than implementation details.
• Have names that communicate business or system meaning.
• Fail with a message that points to the missing behavior.
• Are stable under refactoring.
• Are small, but not brittle white-box tests.
• Serve as behavior documentation for future maintainers.

Common Mistakes

Traps not already caught by the workflow steps above:

• Forcing TDD onto structural cleanup by writing AST/grep/reflection guard tests that do not protect user-visible behavior or a stable contract.
• Distorting the production API just to make tests convenient — the test should adapt to a good design, not the design to the test.
• Testing only whether a mock was called, not the real behavior, so the test passes even when the behavior is wrong.

Use a different skill when

• The work is too broad to slice into one verifiable behavior, or the goal/phasing is unclear — use hai-goal to turn it into verifiable phases first, then return here to drive each phase.
• The question is module boundaries, abstraction depth, or dependency direction rather than behavior under test — use hai-architecture.
• You are deciding whether the feature is worth building at all — use hai-idea.
• You are choosing the name of the unit, function, or concept under test — use hai-naming.

Output

Report using references/output-template.md — fill every RED / GREEN / REFACTOR field with real evidence when TDD applies; do not collapse it to "tested, passing". If no legitimate RED exists, use the template's "No Legitimate RED" path instead of pretending. Read the template before finalizing.