Persistent test-context widget for the Qt client, seeded at launch
Table of Contents
This page is a capture in the deferred bucket of the product backlog — a pre-sprint idea, not yet pulled into a sprint as a story.
What
With 8 worktree environments each spawning their own Qt client
instances (compass client start --colour <c> --instance-name <name>)
for manual UI testing, it's easy to lose track of which running client
is testing which feature/scenario. Add a new CLI flag (e.g.
--test-context <path.json>, wired alongside --instance-name=/
=--instance-color in
projects/ores.qt/application/src/CommandLineParser.cpp) that points
at a JSON file describing what this instance is for. On launch, the
client parses it and shows a small, floating, always-on-top widget
(not modal — must stay visible and interactive while the user clicks
through other app windows) rendering either free text or a tickable
checklist, depending on the JSON shape — e.g. \{"text": "..."\} vs
\{"checklist": ["step 1", "step 2", ...]\}. Checked items could
persist back to the file so progress survives a client restart.
Why
Manual QA across many parallel environments currently has no in-app memory of "what am I testing right now, and what's left to verify" — that state lives only in the tester's head or a separate scratch note, disconnected from the actual running instance. A seeded, persistent widget makes the test plan travel with the client instance itself.
References
projects/ores.qt/application/src/CommandLineParser.cpp— existing--instance-name=/–instance-color= options; natural place to add--test-context.compass client start --colour <c> --instance-name <name>— current launch command this would extend.