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deepseek-harness/docs/adr/0013-property-based-testing.md
Tianyi Cui 2f6d3b8539 test: property-based tests for protocol-shaped code (RFC 001)
Adds fast-check + one tests/properties.spec.ts per protocol-shaped package
(llm/BlockAssembler, session, tools/schema DSL, agent-loop scheduling). The
tools suite includes the RFC 001<->005 composition property (generated args
satisfying a spec pass validateArgs), closing the validator/InferArgs drift
risk from ADR 0011. Loop properties are deterministic (settle on agent/status,
no sleeps).

The BlockAssembler suite found a real bug on first run: a duplicate block-end
at the same index overwrote an already-flushed block, so the streamed prefix
disagreed with final blocks(). Fixed (first close wins, matching the existing
straggler rule) + regression test. Graduates RFC 001 -> ADR 0013.
2026-06-14 00:06:25 +08:00

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# ADR 0013: Property-based testing for protocol-shaped code
Status: accepted (2026-06-14)
## Context
Example-based tests pin the cases we thought of. The harness's core is protocol-shaped — chunk streams, event logs, schema conversion, inbox scheduling — where the input space is combinatorial and the interesting bugs live in interleavings nobody wrote an example for. The motivating evidence: a `streamBlocks` ordering bug once survived 100% line coverage of the happy paths. Per-file 100% coverage proves every line ran, not that every interleaving is correct.
## Decision
Adopt `fast-check` (a root devDependency) with one `tests/properties.spec.ts` per protocol-shaped package, generators tuned for *realistic-but-adversarial* inputs (not uniform noise) and `numRuns` kept so the suite stays well under ~10s locally. Failures print a reproducible seed.
- **dsh-llm / BlockAssembler:** arbitrary chunk streams (valid + malformed: duplicate indices, stragglers, missing block-start). Invariants: `flushReady()+flushRemaining() ≡ blocks()` in order; the streamed prefix is always a prefix of final `blocks()`; partial count ≤ distinct indices; re-assembly idempotent.
- **dsh-session:** arbitrary event logs. Invariants: `deriveMessages` deterministic; replay-from-seed identical; seq strictly monotonic; non-message events never affect derived history; derived content is decoupled from the log.
- **dsh-tools:** arbitrary `SchemaSpec`. Invariants: JSON Schema `required` equals the `required:true` keys at every level; conversion total; **and the RFC 001↔005 composition** — generated args satisfying a spec pass `validateArgs`, and targeted corruptions (dropped required key, non-object top level) are rejected. This closes the validator/`InferArgs` drift risk from ADR 0011.
- **dsh-agent-loop:** arbitrary send schedules against a never-exhausting adapter, driven through the `agent/status` settle signal (no wall-clock sleeps). Invariants: no message lost; turn numbers strictly increase; status transitions stay on the legal machine.
## Consequences
- Generator quality is the value lever — the generators bias toward small index pools and short strings so collisions and interleavings are common.
- **It already paid off:** the BlockAssembler stream found a real bug — a duplicate `block-end` at the same index overwrote an already-flushed block, so the streamed prefix disagreed with final `blocks()`. Fixed (first close wins, matching the existing straggler rule) with a dedicated regression test.
- A property flake from a timeout is a finding, not something to retry away. The loop properties are deterministic by construction (settle on `agent/status`), so a hang is a real defect.
- Property tests supplement, not replace, the example tests that pin specific branches for the 100%-coverage gate.