# Terminal E2E artifacts

`zig build terminal-e2e` runs `tools/terminal_e2e.py` against the compiled `mim`
binary and writes ignored artifacts under `.zig-cache/terminal-e2e/<scenario>/`.
It is the canonical local gate for terminal rendering/input/panel/workflow slices
(NS10). Run it after `zig build`, `zig build test`, and `zig build v1-smoke` when
a change can affect terminal-visible behavior; pure protocol/headless or docs-only
changes may use cheaper checks unless their claim is terminal-visible.

The command is expected to finish in seconds on a normal development machine
(current matrix target: under 30s). A timeout or nonzero exit should be treated as
a product regression or harness bug, not a flaky benchmark: inspect the scenario
artifact directory named in the failure output.

Matrix input profiles:

- `ios-default-qwertz-space-path` means the scenario may use only letters,
  Shift+letters, and Space from the default iOS software keyboard. Shift is easy
  to reach on iOS; Esc, Ctrl, Alt, function keys, arrow keys, and symbol-layer
  punctuation should not appear in this profile. Use this for primary mobile
  workflows.
- `attached-keyboard` is allowed to cover Esc, arrows, Home/End, punctuation, and
  other physical-key aliases.

Artifact roles:

- `manifest.tsv`: stable scenario facts, hashes, bare-LF status, seen ANSI roles,
  and artifact list.
- `visible-controls.normalized.txt`: primary semantic failure artifact. It shows
  CR as `␍`, LF as `␊`, ESC as `␛`, tabs as `⇥`, and normalizes volatile temp
  paths.
- `transcript.txt`: semantic terminal grid after escape/control interpretation,
  including debug-only role markers such as `☻` for a cursor cell and `░` for
  selection.
- `screenshot.svg` and `terminal.html`: browser-viewable visual evidence. SVG
  includes color swatches for seen cursor/current-line/status/selection roles.
- `widths.tsv`: per-line semantic width report used to catch viewport overflow.
- `keystrokes.tsv`: logical user key-event count and raw byte count for scenario
  payloads. A CSI sequence such as PageDown counts as one attached-key event
  while still recording all raw bytes sent.
- `saved-files.tsv`: per-file hashes/byte counts for scenarios that assert more
  than the launched file, such as multi-file coding workflows.
- `e2e-prelude.trace` (scenario temp dir only when needed): harness-only trace
  lines consumed before raw-mode input to seed deterministic provider fixtures;
  this is not a runtime config surface.
- `raw.bin`: exact PTY bytes for low-level debugging.

Failure triage:

1. Start with the scenario directory reported by the command.
2. Read `manifest.tsv` for hashes, CR/LF status, ANSI roles, key budget, and
   artifact list.
3. Read `visible-controls.normalized.txt` for visible `␍`, `␊`, `␛`, and path
   normalized raw terminal evidence.
4. Read `transcript.txt`, `widths.tsv`, `keystrokes.tsv`, and any
   `saved-files.tsv` for semantic assertions before inspecting screenshots.
5. Use `screenshot.svg`/`terminal.html` to explain what a user would see.

Golden policy:

- Investigate before updating any expected artifact or assertion.
- Prefer semantic artifacts (`manifest.tsv`, `visible-controls.normalized.txt`,
  `transcript.txt`, `widths.tsv`, `keystrokes.tsv`, `saved-files.tsv`) for
  assertions; visual artifacts explain what a user would see.
- Updating artifacts is safe only after the change is intentional and the receipt
  names the changed UI/control-byte behavior.
- Adding a mobile scenario must preserve the `ios-default-qwertz-space-path`
  contract unless the issue explicitly targets attached keyboards.
- Bare LF in raw-mode terminal output is a regression unless a scenario explicitly
  proves a non-raw stream. Raw-mode rendering should use CRLF to avoid diagonal
  terminal skew.
- Scenario `max_key_events` budgets are regression guards for workflow burden,
  not speed benchmarks. Raise a budget only after explaining the intentional
  workflow change in the receipt.
- Generated artifacts must remain under ignored build output and must not dirty a
  clean source tree.