Self Verify Prowl

Self Verify Prowl

Invocation Contract

Run this skill only after an explicit user request. A request to implement, fix, test, or build Prowl does not by itself authorize this workflow.

This skill is an opt-in end-to-end layer on top of focused tests, make check, and make build-app. It launches a real GUI app, reads shared user data, and is slower and less deterministic than those checks.

Use one of these final outcomes for every scenario:

• PASS — every stated assertion has direct evidence.
• FAIL — the observed result contradicts an assertion.
• SKIPPED — a declared capability or permission is unavailable, so no action was attempted.
• INCONCLUSIVE — the action ran, but the available evidence cannot prove or disprove the assertion.

Never turn missing evidence into PASS.

Define the Scenario First

Before building or launching, write a small verification contract:

1. Setup — the worktree, initial tab or window, and required state.
2. Action — the exact CLI command or UI interaction.
3. Assertions — observable terminal text, JSON fields, accessibility state, or pixel-level result.
4. Evidence source — prowl, an accessibility-capable desktop tool, a PID-scoped screenshot, or a targeted log marker.
5. Cleanup — temporary tabs, panes, processes, sockets, and artifacts.

Keep scenarios narrow. “The app launched” or “the UI looks correct” is not a sufficient assertion.

Choose the Control Surface

Use the smallest surface that can prove the assertion:

1. Use prowl for worktrees, tabs, panes, terminal contents, command routing, task state, and agent sessions.
2. Use the repository's prowl-ui skill for native UI labels, roles, enabled or selected state, navigation, sheets, menus, popovers, and buttons, but only after its deterministic preflight returns READY.
3. Use a PID-scoped screenshot only for geometry, clipping, visual hierarchy, or other pixel-level assertions.
4. Use targeted ProwlLogger markers only when neither public CLI state nor accessibility state exposes the behavior.

A screenshot alone does not prove that a control is enabled, selected, actionable, or wired to the intended behavior. AppleScript coordinate loops are not an acceptable fallback. If no suitable control surface exists, report SKIPPED or INCONCLUSIVE instead of retrying blindly.

Before writing any prowl command, load and read the prowl-cli skill. It is authoritative for JSON fields, selectors, quoting, argument semantics, and error codes.

For a native UI scenario, run the cheap dependency gate before loading the full prowl-ui skill:

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ui_status=0
ui_preflight="$(.claude/skills/prowl-ui/scripts/preflight.sh)" || ui_status=$?
printf '%s\n' "$ui_preflight"

Exit 0 means READY: load .claude/skills/prowl-ui/SKILL.md and continue. Exit 2 means SKIPPED: record its JSON reason and stop that UI scenario without entering an LLM-driven interaction loop. Do not install or authorize a dependency during self-verification.

Preconditions

• Work from the Prowl repository root.
• Preserve unrelated user changes and never stop the user's installed Prowl app.
• Use the repo CLI (./CLI/.build/debug/prowl) when CLI code or protocol behavior changed.
• Treat the debug app as sharing the installed app's ~/Library data. Do not mutate real settings unless the scenario explicitly requires it and restores the previous value.
• Limit read-only recovery to two short retries after a transient error. Never retry an action whose delivery is uncertain; observe the resulting state first.

Launch the Separate Debug App

Use the dedicated socket /tmp/prowl-self-verify.sock. Clean stale artifacts, then keep make run-app alive in a persistent shell or PTY for the whole run:

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rm -f /tmp/prowl-self-verify.sock /tmp/prowl-self-verify.sock.lock
mkdir -p /tmp/prowl-self-verify
PROWL_CLI_SOCKET=/tmp/prowl-self-verify.sock make run-app >/tmp/prowl-self-verify/run-app.log 2>&1

Do not launch the ProwlApp executable directly from a short-lived background shell. When PROWL_CLI_SOCKET is set, CLI auto-launch is disabled; every CLI call must use the same socket.

If the socket exists but the CLI returns APP_NOT_RUNNING, remove the stale socket and lock only after confirming no debug ProwlApp process remains, then relaunch. If it returns SOCKET_PERMISSION_DENIED, report the sandbox limitation instead of repeatedly reconnecting.

Load the Helpers and Check Health

Source the bundled helpers after launch and before each later shell command:

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. .claude/skills/self-verify-prowl/scripts/helpers.sh
wait_for_prowl_debug

The helpers provide:

• prowl_debug — runs the configured CLI against the dedicated socket.
• debug_pids — returns only Prowl executables inside a DerivedData Debug product.
• debug_pid_with_window and debug_window_id — select the visible debug window by PID.

If the helper test changed, run it directly:

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bash .claude/skills/self-verify-prowl/scripts/helpers_test.sh

Parse JSON with direct pipes, files, or printf '%s\n' "$json" | jq. Do not use echo "$json" | jq; zsh may reinterpret escape sequences. Invalid control characters in direct CLI output are a CLI regression, not a reason to weaken parsing.

Drive Terminal Scenarios with Prowl CLI

Build the repo CLI when required:

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make build-cli
cli="./CLI/.build/debug/prowl"

Seed the debug app and create a disposable tab:

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opened="$(prowl_debug open . --json)"
worktree="$(printf '%s\n' "$opened" | jq -r '.data.target.worktree.id')"
created="$(prowl_debug tab create --worktree "$worktree" --json)"
pane="$(printf '%s\n' "$created" | jq -r '.data.target.pane.id')"
tab="$(printf '%s\n' "$created" | jq -r '.data.target.tab.id')"

prowl_debug send --pane "$pane" 'printf "SELF_VERIFY:%s\n" "$PWD"' \
  --capture --timeout 30 --json | jq -r '.data.capture.text'
prowl_debug read --pane "$pane" --last 80 --wait-stable --json | jq -r '.data.text'

Prefer pane and tab UUIDs returned by JSON over titles. A fresh debug app may be windowless, so call open . before expecting list to contain panes.

Important JSON fields:

• read --json: .data.text
• send --capture --json: .data.capture.text and .data.wait.exit_code
• list --json: .data.items[], including .pane.id, .tab.id, .worktree.id, and .task.status

For command routing, assert a unique marker, cwd, or environment value. For tab, pane, focus, or worktree behavior, compare the targeted JSON state before and after the action. Use agents --json only when the changed behavior concerns Active Agents.

Verify UI Semantics

After the prowl-ui preflight is READY, follow that skill's Prowl-specific workflow. At minimum:

1. Resolve the debug PID with debug_pid_with_window, then pin the AX session to that PID.
2. Start with a compact accessibility snapshot and drill into the relevant region.
3. Act once through a fresh semantic element reference.
4. Re-snapshot the affected region or surface and assert the resulting label, value, role, state, window, or matching prowl JSON.
5. Close the AX session and restore any UI state changed by the scenario.

Do not identify the debug app by appearance: it shares data with the installed app and may look identical. If a tool cannot pin reads and actions to the debug PID or exact window, do not use it while both instances are running.

Use headed or physical input only when the semantic action is unavailable and the scenario explicitly needs physical delivery. If an action returns an uncertain-delivery or app-unresponsive result, inspect the new UI state before deciding whether it failed; never repeat the action blindly.

Use Screenshots Only for Visual Assertions

Capture only the debug app's window:

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. .claude/skills/self-verify-prowl/scripts/helpers.sh
wid="$(debug_window_id)"
test -n "$wid"
screencapture -o -l"$wid" /tmp/prowl-self-verify/prowl-debug-window.png

Review that image only for the visual assertion declared in the scenario. A screenshot path or successful capture is not itself a verification result.

Use Targeted Logs Sparingly

The run log is /tmp/prowl-self-verify/run-app.log. Record its line count before the scenario and inspect only appended lines after the action. Filter for a marker specific to the changed behavior; do not scan the entire log or treat generic warnings as proof.

Logs can arrive asynchronously. One short wait and a second read is acceptable. After that, report the log assertion as failed or inconclusive.

Cleanup

Close every temporary tab or pane by UUID:

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prowl_debug tab close --tab "$tab" --force --json

Stop only the DerivedData debug process:

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for pid in $(debug_pids); do kill "$pid"; done
sleep 2
alive="$(debug_pids | tr '\n' ' ')"
[ -n "$alive" ] && printf 'debug still alive:%s\n' "$alive" || printf 'debug app stopped\n'

After the process stops, remove the dedicated socket, lock, and scratch directory. Never use pkill -f, and never target /Applications/Prowl.app.

Report

Report:

• The outcome (PASS, FAIL, SKIPPED, or INCONCLUSIVE) for each scenario.
• The CLI binary and UI control surface used.
• Each assertion and its direct evidence.
• Any retry, permission, or targeting limitation that affected confidence.
• Cleanup status.

Keep build, lint, and unit-test results separate from end-to-end scenario outcomes.