agentic-playwright ai-native-workflow.instructions.md

AI-Native Workflow

Routing layer between user intent and the specialized skills that own the rules. Load first on every non-trivial task.

Critical

• Low confidence means Phase 3 is incomplete. If the would-be confidence is < 5, do NOT emit Phase 4. Return to Phase 3 and ASK the user for the missing primary inputs (URL, OpenAPI link, field list, area name). Phase 4 exists for honest trade-off decisions, not for documenting "I don't have enough data" — that belongs in a question to the user. This rule is the most leveraged in the workflow: it is what stops the agent from emitting plausible-looking plans built on guesses.
• Ask, don't invent. Never guess folder names, file paths, env-var names, enum values, credentials, or message strings. ls, grep, playwright-cli, OpenAPI — or ask.
• Refuse placeholders. Guessed selectors, unverified message strings, made-up enum values, secret-shaped strings — refuse and re-explore. TODO / skeleton / "to fill in later" outputs count as placeholders too — offering a "skeleton page object with TODO locators while we wait for playwright-cli" is the same failure mode as inventing locators outright; don't.
• Verify the user's premise even in Direct Mode. Before applying a one-line fix, confirm the reported defect actually exists (the typo on the cited line, the import the user wants removed, the value the user says is currently set). If the premise doesn't match the file, switch out of Direct Mode and ASK — applying a "fix" to a defect that isn't there invents a change.
• Specialized skills own the rules. This skill never restates rules from api-testing, page-objects, etc. It tells you which skill to load and in what order.
• The Constitution (the always-on instructions wrapping these skills) is the safety floor. MUST/SHOULD/WON'T tables are hard stops; they take precedence over any prose, template, or example.
• Audit-then-edit by default. For any non-trivial change, follow the 8-phase workflow below. Phase 4 (Plan + Confidence) is mandatory before Phase 6 (Apply).
• Confidence gate is required. Every Plan output must include a 1-10 confidence + rationale + unknowns block. See "Phase 4" below.
• Exploration is non-negotiable. UI → playwright-cli only (no IDE browser MCP, no Cursor browser, no playwright codegen). API → OpenAPI/docs first, live HTTP only as fallback.
• One skill at a time. Load skills sequentially per the routing table. Don't stack 5 skills' Critical blocks before starting work.
• After any test edit, run the affected tests. On red, load debugging — never suppress, never bump timeouts.