oclaw/openclaw/test/helpers/channels/AGENTS.md

Test Helper Boundary

This directory holds shared channel test helpers used by core and bundled plugin tests.

This file adds channel-specific rules on top of test/helpers/AGENTS.md.

Bundled Plugin Imports

• Core test helpers in this directory must not hardcode repo-relative imports into extensions/**.
• When a helper needs a bundled plugin public/test surface, go through src/test-utils/bundled-plugin-public-surface.ts.
• Prefer loadBundledPluginTestApiSync(...) for eager access to exported test helpers.
• Prefer resolveRelativeBundledPluginPublicModuleId(...) when a test needs a module id for dynamic import or mocking.
• If vi.mock(...) hoisting would evaluate the module id too early, use vi.doMock(...) with the resolved module id instead of falling back to a hardcoded path.
• For contract helpers, prefer minimal in-memory channel/plugin fixtures when the contract only needs capabilities, session binding hooks, routing metadata, or outbound payload helpers. Do not load broad api.ts, runtime-api.ts, or test-api.ts barrels for incidental setup.
• If a bundled plugin parser is the contract under test, load the narrow module that owns that parser or promote a small public artifact. Avoid pulling a full extension barrel just to parse a target id.

Intent

• Keep shared test helpers aligned with the same public/plugin boundary that production code uses.
• Avoid drift where core test helpers start reaching into bundled plugin private files by path because it is convenient in one test.