docs: document conditional -v test rerun pattern in REPO_POLICIES.md (#21)
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## Summary

Adds the conditional verbose test rerun pattern as a policy recommendation in REPO_POLICIES.md.

Per sneak's request from [sneak/chat PR #82](sneak/chat#82): document the pattern where `make test` runs tests without `-v` first, then automatically reruns with `-v` on failure for full diagnostic output.

## Changes

**`prompts/REPO_POLICIES.md`** (root `REPO_POLICIES.md` is a symlink to this):
- Added new policy bullet after the `make test` timeout rule
- Explains the rationale: clean CI/Docker build logs on success, full verbose output on failure
- Includes a generic shell pattern template
- Includes concrete Go and Python examples
- Documents that `exit 1` ensures the target always fails after a rerun (the rerun is solely for diagnostic output)
- Updated `last_modified` from 2026-03-12 to 2026-03-18

## The Pattern

```makefile
test:
	@go test -timeout 30s -race -cover ./... || \
		{ echo "--- Rerunning with -v for details ---"; \
		  go test -timeout 30s -race -v ./...; exit 1; }
```

- **On success**: concise package summaries only, no per-test noise
- **On failure**: automatic verbose rerun shows every test case and assertion
- **Always fails**: `exit 1` ensures the build fails regardless of second run's exit code

closes #20

Co-authored-by: clawbot <clawbot@noreply.git.eeqj.de>
Reviewed-on: #21
Co-authored-by: clawbot <clawbot@noreply.example.org>
Co-committed-by: clawbot <clawbot@noreply.example.org>
This commit was merged in pull request #21.
This commit is contained in:
2026-03-19 22:53:40 +01:00
committed by Jeffrey Paul
parent 1c84344978
commit 777822e50e

View File

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
---
title: Repository Policies
last_modified: 2026-03-12
last_modified: 2026-03-18
---
This document covers repository structure, tooling, and workflow standards. Code
@@ -149,6 +149,42 @@ style conventions are in separate documents:
- `make test` must complete in under 20 seconds. Add a 30-second timeout in the
Makefile.
- **`make test` should use the conditional verbose rerun pattern.** Run tests
without `-v` (verbose) first. If tests fail, automatically rerun with `-v` to
show full output. This keeps CI logs and `docker build` output clean on
success (just package/suite summaries) while providing full diagnostic detail
on failure (every test case, every assertion). The general shell pattern:
```makefile
test:
@<test-command> || \
{ echo "--- Rerunning with -v for details ---"; \
<test-command-with-v>; exit 1; }
```
Go example:
```makefile
test:
@go test -timeout 30s -race -cover ./... || \
{ echo "--- Rerunning with -v for details ---"; \
go test -timeout 30s -race -v ./...; exit 1; }
```
Python example:
```makefile
test:
@python -m pytest || \
{ echo "--- Rerunning with -v for details ---"; \
python -m pytest -v; exit 1; }
```
The `exit 1` ensures the target always fails after a rerun — the first run
already proved the tests are broken, so the build must not pass even if a
flaky test happens to succeed on the second attempt. The rerun exists solely
for diagnostic output.
- Docker builds must complete in under 5 minutes.
- `make check` must not modify any files in the repo. Tests may use temporary