Running the Bug Review Board (BRB) QA pass

This skill runs a real-user QA pass on an app and feeds the output into a Bug Review Board: a folder of structured bug reports, per-pass run reports, a self-contained HTML dashboard, and a final YES/NO sign-off the team can act on. Engineering's tracker (Linear / GitHub / Jira / Notion) syncs bi-directionally so QA and engineering stay in step.

It generalizes a battle-tested workflow that already shipped phase QA on Mokuhoe — the techniques are repo-agnostic.

Why this exists

Most engineers test their own code. They confirm what they wrote works. That misses the bugs real users hit first — stale state across flows, mobile overflow, copy that lies, paths that 404 mid-onboarding, race conditions between auth and routing.

This skill simulates a real user. The QA agent acts like a careful, mildly unforgiving customer who does not read the source code.

Two workflows — Auto QA and Interactive BRB

The skill splits the work into two distinct modes that share artifacts but run in separate sessions on purpose:

• Auto QA pass — the agent drives the app, runs scenarios, files bugs, generates the HTML report, writes a verdict. Optimized for thoroughness and speed.
• Interactive BRB — a different agent meets with the user to triage open / in-progress / fixed bugs. Runs the bi-directional pull first, applies pattern-based heuristics to surface duplicates and clusters, walks each bug, flips statuses, syncs to the tracker, regenerates HTML, writes minutes. Optimized for shared judgment.

Keep them separate. Running BRB inside an auto pass lets triage bias contaminate discovery and confuses attribution. See references/brb-interactive.md.

The trifecta — three hats, one pass

For every pass, wear all three hats:

• Product Manager. Confirm the build delivers the user-visible promise documented in the product spec or phase doc. If it does not, that is a product gap, not a bug — flag it in the run report.
• QA. Execute every scenario from a real user's perspective on the primary supported viewport(s). Capture evidence (snapshot, console, server data when relevant). Pass / Fail / Blocked.
• Engineer. Watch for invalidated assumptions: phase doc says "X uses function Y" but Y was renamed; new client orchestration appeared in a flow the docs say is server-driven; fields exist in UI that aren't in the spec. Finding gaps is the point — don't reverse- engineer the docs to match buggy behavior.

Do not fix product code unless the user explicitly asks. Test, document, file bugs, hand off.

Discover the app first (or you'll write bad tests)

Before writing a single test, understand the intent of the app — what the customer is hired to do with it. See references/discovering-the-app.md for the full investigation playbook. The short version:

1. Read the product spec / README / landing page / pitch deck (in that priority order) for what the app promises.

2. Read the phase doc (or current sprint plan) for what was just built.

3. Read prior QA gates / checklists for what passed before — regressions are your highest-value finds.

4. Read the bug-reports index — open bugs are scenarios you must re-test first.

5. Detect the project type(s). A repo can ship more than one app — a web + iOS monorepo is common — so collect every surface whose signals are present instead of stopping at the first hit. Two disambiguation rules resolve overlapping signals inside a single app; they are not a reason to skip a genuinely separate surface:

   • Electron / Tauri beats Web app for the same app. An Electron / Tauri project (electron, @electron/, @tauri-apps/ in package.json, or electron-builder.yml / tauri.conf.json) also contains package.json and web framework deps, but those deps belong to the desktop app — count it once as a desktop app, do not also count it as a separate Web app.
   • macOS vs iOS on a shared *.xcodeproj / *.xcworkspace. A bare Xcode project is shared between the two, so don't classify on it alone — require a platform-specific marker (below).

   The surfaces, with the playbook each activates:

   • Electron / Tauri desktop app → use computer-use-playbook.md. (On non-macOS hosts where Computer Use is unavailable, the playbook's graceful-degradation table directs you to drive the app's dev-server URL via browser-playbook.md instead.)
   • Web app (web framework deps without Electron / Tauri markers) → use browser-playbook.md.
   • iOS / iPadOS app (an iOS-specific marker is present — .iOS(...), platform :ios, UIDeviceFamily, or an ios/ directory) → use ios-simulator-playbook.md.
   • Native macOS app (a macOS-specific marker is present — .macOS(...), a .app bundle, or LSMinimumSystemVersion — and no iOS marker) → use computer-use-playbook.md.
   • Mixed (monorepo) — signals for two or more distinct surfaces above (e.g. web framework deps and an iOS marker) → run every matched playbook; the test plan gets per-platform scenario blocks. A web match must never short-circuit a co-located iOS (or macOS) pass.
   • Other (no UI signals) → no UI playbook activates.

   Also note whether Codex Computer Use is available (macOS only) — it enables a human-fidelity pass on web apps and is the only way to reach a native Mac or Electron/Tauri app. Most VMs (Cursor cloud, CI) won't have it, so never make the pass depend on it.

6. Detect the issue tracker (Linear, GitHub, Jira, Notion, or none). Surface every signal found and ask the user to confirm before writing qa-config.json. See issue-trackers.md.

7. List the public routes / surfaces / entry points and decide which a real new user would touch.

If the user says "QA this app" but no docs exist, ask — see references/discovering-the-app.md § Asking the user.

Workflow (any phase, any repo)

1. Scope        → which surface / phase / build
2. Discover     → product intent + recent change + open bugs
                + project type + issue tracker (confirmed)
3. Plan         → manual test plan (scenarios, IDs, expected, gates)
4. Prepare      → env, build, test accounts, viewport / device matrix
5. Mode         → parallel coordinator OR sequential wrap-up
6. Execute      → real-user scenarios with evidence
7. File bugs    → P0/P1/P2 with reproduction steps
8. Merge        → results + verdict (YES/NO + open P0/P1)
9. Generate HTML → apply html-report-style-guide.md
10. Hand off    → next QA agent (if NO) or engineering (if blockers)
11. Schedule BRB → separate session for interactive triage

Detail in references/workflow.md.

Mode picker

Surfaces — which playbook activates

Detected during the discovery step. Match repo signals to the playbook(s) for every surface present — usually one, but a monorepo matches more than one (see Mixed below). Record the choice(s) in docs/qa/qa-config.json so later passes don't re-litigate it.

For iOS app QA, our skill orchestrates (discovery, test plan, bug filing, BRB) and defers the simulator driving to one of the iOS community's purpose-built skills — AXe (Cameron Cooke), XcodeBuildMCP (Cameron Cooke / Sentry), ios-simulator-skill (Conor Luddy), ios-build-verify (Josh Adams), baguette (tddworks), ios-idb-skill (Hao Wu), serve-sim-skill (malopezr7), swiftui-autotest-skill (Yusuf Karan), xcode-build-skill (pzep1), and App Store Connect CLI + skills (Rudrank Riyam) for the TestFlight hand-off. See the playbook for the recommended-stack table.

Issue tracker integration

The skill discovers and confirms — it never assumes. The discovery ceremony probes signals (LINEAR_API_KEY, gh auth status, Atlassian URL, registered MCP servers, etc.) and surfaces every finding to the user before writing docs/qa/qa-config.json. Once confirmed, the agent files bugs locally and syncs to the tracker (push at file time or BRB time per config) and pulls engineering's status changes back (default ON for BRB start). Bi-directional reconciliation rules are spelled out in the reference so divergences surface as user-decision diffs, never silent overwrites.

Tracker IDs live in the bug front-matter — Tracker / Linear, Tracker / GitHub, Tracker / Jira, Tracker / Notion, Tracker / lastSyncedAt. The HTML report renders them as tags on every bug card.

Helpers: scripts/bugs-needing-sync.sh lists bugs missing tracker IDs (push candidates). scripts/bugs-needing-pull.sh lists bugs whose Tracker / lastSyncedAt is stale (pull candidates).

HTML report (Zite + Dieter Rams)

At the end of every pass and every BRB session, regenerate docs/qa/report/index.html plus per-bug and per-run detail pages by applying html-report-style-guide.md.

The report reads like a magazine, not a Kanban board. Typography does the work — priority is the word P0 in small caps, status is the word Open, verdict is a single display-type word (YES or NO). One ink colour for body, one quiet terracotta accent for links and CTAs, hairline rules for separation. No coloured chips, no pills, no shadows. A 640px reading column on every screen size; on desktop, bug detail pages add a quiet right rail for metadata. On mobile, a sticky thumb-zone duplicates the primary action so the reader doesn't have to scroll back up.

The information hierarchy is engineered for the engineer-reviewer's sweep: Title → Deck → Impact → Actual / Expected → Risk to fix → Steps → Evidence. The bug template grew Impact and Risk to fix sections in v0.3 (additive — old bugs render gracefully without them).

Markdown stays the source of truth. HTML is read-only and regenerated. Never edit the HTML to change bug state — edit the markdown and regenerate. The dashboard is what stakeholders open during BRB and ship reviews.

Pattern-based triage suggestions

The Interactive BRB opens with a Suggestions card surfaced by a catalog of named heuristics in triage-heuristics.md — same suspect file, steps-prefix overlap, same console error, same persona+surface+ outcome, phase cascade, cosmetic cluster, regression marker, same owner. Every suggestion cites a heuristic name and the matching text so the user always sees why something was flagged. No embeddings, no LLM API, no auto-merge. The agent suggests; the user decides.

The same heuristics are also opt-in during the auto pass at file time (triage.runHeuristicsOnFile, default false) so the pass can ask "file new, or update BUG-007?" instead of double-filing.

Scaffold folders if missing

If the target repo has no QA folder structure yet, run the bundled scaffolder to create it:

bash <skill>/scripts/scaffold-qa.sh "$REPO_ROOT" PHASE_NUM [SLUG]

It creates (idempotent — won't overwrite existing files):

<repo>/docs/qa/
├── README.md                         # how QA works in this repo
├── qa-config.json                    # stub; discovery rewrites once user confirms
├── phase-NN-<slug>-manual-test-plan.md  # filled-in skeleton (if PHASE_NUM given)
├── report/                           # HTML report destination (agent generates)
├── bug-reports/
│   ├── README.md                     # index + status workflow
│   ├── _template.md                  # bug template
│   └── assets/                       # screenshots (incl. ios/ for iOS QA)
└── runs/                             # per-shard + coordinator merges + BRB minutes

If a different layout already exists in the repo (e.g. tests/manual/, qa/, an issue tracker), adopt that layout — do not duplicate it.

Always

• Real user perspective. Drive the app, not the source. Test from URLs and clicks (or simulator taps), not from convex/users.ts or the API layer alone.
• Test mobile, tablet, and desktop. Real users arrive on all three, and layout / overflow / tap-target bugs hide at the breakpoint you skip. Cover all three modes for web apps — reference sizes mobile 375 × 812, tablet 768 × 1024, desktop 1280 × 800 (adjust to the spec's breakpoints). Lead with the app's primary target: take it from the product spec; if the spec is unclear, ask the user which mode matters most; if the user isn't available, infer the most likely primary from what you discovered in the repo (responsive CSS / breakpoints, framework defaults, marketing copy) and note the assumption. Record the modes and the chosen primary in qa-config.json#platforms.web so later passes don't re-litigate it. For iOS apps, the device matrix comes from qa-config.json#platforms.ios.devices.
• One browser tab per agent. Parallel agents on a shared tab cause auth-provider rate limits and stale sessions.
• Capture evidence. Snapshot or screenshot at the moment of failure, console errors verbatim, server data row when relevant.
• File bugs immediately on FAIL — see references/bug-filing.md. Do not wait until end of pass.
• Use the test account playbook. See references/test-accounts.md. If none documented, ask the user before guessing.
• Session hygiene between scenarios. See references/session-hygiene.md. Stale storage / cookies / +test email reuse silently poisons fresh-user flows.
• Run the discovery ceremony in issue-trackers.md once per repo before filing bugs.
• Regenerate the HTML report at the end of every pass and every BRB session per html-report-style-guide.md.
• For iOS app QA, defer the actual simulator driving to a companion skill from ios-simulator-playbook.md; do not reinvent boot / tap / screenshot.

Never

• Mark a scenario PASS from code inspection alone. The user does not experience source — they experience the app.
• Mark a phase gate ☑ without evidence (snapshot, server row, console clean).
• Fix product code unprompted. Document. File. Hand off.
• Skip the Known issues / deferrals section in the phase doc — those drive your scope and prevent false bugs.
• Rename phase docs or specs to match buggy behavior. Hides regressions.
• Run multiple QA browser sub-agents on one cursor-ide-browser tab.
• Reuse a previously-failed test email without changing the run-tag suffix.
• Assume an issue tracker without asking the user — even when signals are obvious.
• Run Interactive BRB in the same session as an auto QA pass — they are intentionally separate to keep triage bias out of discovery.
• Auto-import tracker-only bugs into local markdown without asking the user (default pull.createLocalForUntracked: "ask").
• Auto-merge bugs the heuristics flag as duplicates — every merge / dedup needs user confirmation.
• Edit the HTML to change bug state. Edit the markdown; regenerate.
• Use the iOS simulator playbook for web-app QA. It's for iOS app projects only. Mobile web QA stays in the browser playbook.

Bug priority (BRB taxonomy)

When in doubt between P0 and P1, choose P0 if a user could land in a non-recoverable state or lose data.

Pass criteria (any phase)

• All scenarios in the phase manual test plan PASS (or are explicitly deferred with reason in the phase doc).
• Phase gate / checklist all green.
• No open P0 or P1 bugs against this phase.
• For phases that touch auth / invites / notifications: the regression matrix is green.

Definition of done

Every pass ends with a coordinator merge doc whose top line reads:

Phase N ready? YES — all gates ☑, no open P0/P1. Phase N ready? NO — list open P0/P1 + remaining unrun scenarios

• a one-paragraph handoff prompt for the next QA agent.

If NO, the merge doc must be paste-ready into a new conversation. The next agent should not need to rediscover state. See references/gate-merge.md.

The HTML report (docs/qa/report/index.html) is also regenerated and committed.

Browser tools (cursor-first, fallback ladder)

Default to cursor-ide-browser MCP when running inside Cursor. If the session is in another tool or browser MCP is missing, fall back per the ladder in references/browser-playbook.md:

1. cursor-ide-browser MCP (Cursor / Claude Code)
2. Chrome DevTools for agents (chrome-devtools-mcp) — auto-waits for results and adds DevTools-grade network / console / Lighthouse / a11y inspection; can attach to your real signed-in Chrome so auth flows don't get bot-flagged
3. browser-use MCP (provider-agnostic)
4. Playwright (CLI or MCP)
5. Codex Computer Use (macOS) — human-fidelity pass on the real signed-in app; see computer-use-playbook.md
6. Driving manually + asking user to paste console errors / screenshots

Whatever tool, the playbook is the same: navigate → snapshot → act on fresh refs → capture evidence → unlock when done. The reference covers each tool's specifics, including how to drive like a human so the app doesn't trip on bot detection or timing races. The pass must succeed with whatever the environment has — don't depend on Computer Use, which most VMs lack.

Deliverables per pass

Adapt paths to whatever the target repo already uses.

References (load on demand)

• references/workflow.md — full PM/QA/Eng decision tree
• references/discovering-the-app.md — investigate intent + ask user when docs missing
• references/test-plan.md — derive a phase manual test plan from spec + phase doc + gate
• references/test-accounts.md — Clerk / Auth0 / Supabase / custom — and the "ask the user" pattern
• references/session-hygiene.md — stale storage, rate limits, persona suffixing
• references/browser-playbook.md — cursor-ide-browser, Chrome DevTools MCP, browser-use, Playwright recipes + how to drive like a human (web apps)
• references/computer-use-playbook.md — Codex Computer Use for web and native macOS apps (macOS; graceful fallback to a browser driver elsewhere)
• references/ios-simulator-playbook.md — iOS / iPadOS app QA, curated companion-skill ladder (AXe, baguette, XcodeBuildMCP, ios-simulator-skill, ios-build-verify, …)
• references/parallel-coordinator.md — shard map, write-path-first rule, copy-paste shard prompts, and running the pass as a bounded wave when waves / waves-codex is installed
• references/sequential-wrapup.md — single-agent finish; copy-paste prompt
• references/bug-filing.md — bug template, severity, evidence rules, status transitions
• references/gate-merge.md — merge shard reports → gates + verdict
• references/issue-trackers.md — discover-and-confirm ceremony, Linear / GitHub / Jira / Notion adapters, bi-directional sync
• references/brb-interactive.md — Interactive Bug Review Board workflow (separate session)
• references/triage-heuristics.md — named heuristics catalog for duplicate / cluster detection
• references/html-report-style-guide.md — Apple-language tokens, components, rendering rules
• references/extending-the-skill.md — add a tracker, heuristic, surface, or mode without rewriting
• references/templates/ — bug-report, test-plan, run-report, coordinator-merge, brb-interactive-prompt, brb-minutes, qa-config.example.json, html-report/ skeletons

Scripts

• scripts/scaffold-qa.sh REPO_ROOT PHASE_NUM [SLUG] — creates the QA folder layout, qa-config stub, and report folder in any repo.
• scripts/bugs-needing-sync.sh REPO_ROOT [--tracker …] — lists bugs missing a tracker ID; the agent reads the list and pushes per issue-trackers.md.
• scripts/bugs-needing-pull.sh REPO_ROOT [--threshold 24h] [--tracker …] — lists bugs whose Tracker / lastSyncedAt is stale; the agent reads the list and pulls per issue-trackers.md.

Extending this skill

Adding a new issue tracker, triage heuristic, surface playbook, or mode is additive — copy a section, fill it in, the agent picks it up on the next session. Forward-compatible qa-config.json schema (version: 1, unknown fields ignored), additive bug front-matter, versioned HTML report marker. See references/extending-the-skill.md.

Anti-patterns to avoid

When a QA pass reveals work bigger than QA

If during the pass you find:

• A missing feature the phase claims exists (no code path at all)
• A schema diverging from the spec across multiple scenarios
• A P0 blocking every remaining scenario

Stop testing. Surface the finding. The user decides whether to escalate to engineering or carve a smaller phase. Continuing wastes time on a foundation that needs replacing.