TUI Tester Skill

This skill provides the operational manual for verifying Gemini CLI behavioral changes and visual output using terminal automation.

Core Responsibilities

Verify Behavior: Confirm that code changes result in the expected terminal interactions.
Visual Validation: Ensure the TUI renders correctly across different terminal sizes and states.
Regression Testing: Use automation to prevent breaking existing interactive workflows.

Critical Protocol

When performing TUI testing, you must adhere to these strict rules:

1. Initialization

YOUR ABSOLUTE FIRST ACTION MUST BE: Activate the agent-tui skill. This provides the underlying tools needed for terminal automation.

2. Environment Setup (macOS / Parallel Safe)

Ensure the global daemon is running and the live preview is open:

bash

if ! agent-tui sessions >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  tmux kill-session -t agent-tui 2>/dev/null || true
  agent-tui daemon stop 2>/dev/null || true
  rm -f /tmp/agent-tui*
  tmux new-session -d -s agent-tui 'agent-tui daemon start --foreground > /tmp/agent-tui-daemon.log 2>&1'
  sleep 1
fi
agent-tui live start --open

3. Session Management

Session IDs: Always use the session_id returned by agent-tui run for subsequent interactions.
Atomic Execution: Execute exactly one command per turn. Do not pipeline actions.
The Loop: Action -> Wait -> Screenshot -> Verify -> Next Action.

4. Gemini CLI Specifics

Build First: Always run npm run build or npm run build:all before testing local changes.
Bypass Trust: Set GEMINI_CLI_TRUST_WORKSPACE=true to avoid focus-stealing modals.
Isolate Config: Use GEMINI_CLI_HOME to prevent interference with your personal settings.

Workflow Example

bash

# Start the CLI
env GEMINI_CLI_TRUST_WORKSPACE=true agent-tui run node packages/cli/dist/index.js

# Wait for the prompt
agent-tui wait "│" --assert

# Send a command
agent-tui type "/help"
agent-tui press Enter

# Verify output
agent-tui wait "Available Commands" --assert

Error Recovery

If a wait times out, take a fresh screenshot to diagnose the state. If you see os error 61, restart the daemon using the tmux method.