WiFiManager/docs/TESTING.md

Testing

WiFiManager separates repeatable package checks from opt-in tests that flash a real board or join a captive portal. The normal commands never need a board, local Wi-Fi credentials, browser binary, or sibling checkout.

Clean consumer and example builds

The clean-consumer check builds a project that declares only WiFiManager. It proves the package manifest resolves DFTE, ESPAsyncWebServer, and the correct ESP8266 or ESP32 TCP dependency without a sibling checkout. The runner removes a prior local package link before each check, so dependency resolution uses the current manifest rather than a stale .pio copy.

./scripts/test.sh compile --platform esp8266
./scripts/test.sh compile --platform esp32
./scripts/test.sh examples --platform esp8266
./scripts/test.sh examples --platform esp32

CI runs these board-free checks for pull requests and pushes to the maintained branch. It intentionally does not require attached hardware, a local network, or Docker.

Local hardware lifecycle tests

The Unity suite runs portal-only firmware with no Wi-Fi credentials, MQTT, product application framework, or local profile. It verifies portal start/stop recovery, scan-cache release, and a real asynchronous Wi-Fi scan.

Use a stable serial-by-id path rather than a changing /dev/ttyUSB number:

pio device list
./scripts/test.sh hardware --platform esp8266 --port /dev/serial/by-id/usb-...
./scripts/test.sh hardware --platform esp32 --port /dev/serial/by-id/usb-...

The runner flashes the selected board, captures normal-boot serial output with the repository Bash helper, requires Unity's Tests 0 Failures and OK summary, and prints lifecycle metrics. Hardware work shares a lock with the portal contract, so two invocations cannot flash or use the same board at once.

Docker portal contract

test/portal-harness is deliberately tiny portal-only firmware, not an example or consuming application. tools/portal-hardware flashes it to one explicitly selected board, joins its AP through one explicitly selected secondary Wi-Fi adapter, then runs its HTTP and browser contract in a pinned Playwright Docker image. Docker uses host networking only to reach the already-routed portal; it never runs NetworkManager or changes host adapters.

./tools/portal-hardware doctor --client-interface wlx74da385d4165
./tools/portal-hardware run \
  --platform esp8266 \
  --port /dev/serial/by-id/usb-... \
  --client-interface wlx74da385d4165

The command refuses the host default-route adapter. If the chosen secondary adapter is already connected, require an explicit acknowledgement before it is replaced:

./tools/portal-hardware run ... --take-over-client-adapter

The fixture opens a 15-minute portal session and includes thirteen harmless custom parameters. It verifies root/bootstrap/info/status API responses, concurrent low-priority requests, every custom field and value across repeated API fetches, timeout reset, an actual async scan, a missing-route response, and desktop/mobile portal rendering with no browser page errors. It also round-trips a value containing apostrophes, quotes, backslashes, angle brackets, and an ampersand through the rendered form and parameter-save API. Screenshots, traces on failure, JSON results, and the HTML report are saved under the printed XDG state-directory artifact path.

On ESP8266, an AP+STA scan can briefly move the radio off the AP channel. The client may reconnect during that interval; the contract deliberately retries that transport interruption and still requires a reachable portal with a complete, valid scan result.

The normal browser contract catches the common regression case. When changing parameter rendering, run the opt-in ESP8266 soak as well. It performs twelve full browser renders and API fetches while the AP is active, asserting all thirteen fields and their exact values on every pass. This targets the memory-sensitive rendering failure reported upstream in issue #1787 without making every ordinary hardware run unnecessarily long:

./tools/portal-hardware run \
  --platform esp8266 \
  --port /dev/serial/by-id/usb-... \
  --client-interface wlx74da385d4165 \
  --custom-parameter-stress

For interactive diagnosis, leave the temporary client connection up and remove only that managed connection when finished:

./tools/portal-hardware up --platform esp32 --port /dev/serial/by-id/usb-... \
  --client-interface wlx74da385d4165
./tools/portal-hardware down

An optional station handoff test is deliberately separate because it connects the fixture to a real LAN. Copy the ignored template below, add local credentials, and pass it explicitly; it is mounted read-only into the test container and is never logged by the runner.

A retained session is deliberately never overwritten. If a previous up or an interrupted run left one behind, run ./tools/portal-hardware down first; that removes only the named temporary connection recorded by the tool.

cp test/portal-station.env.example test/portal-station.env
./tools/portal-hardware run ... --station-env test/portal-station.env

Refresh README media

README media is an explicit ESP32-only capture, not part of normal testing or CI. It uses the same real-board portal contract above, but records a short browser tour and stores all candidate files under the ignored artifacts/readme-media/ directory by default:

./tools/portal-hardware run \
  --platform esp32 \
  --port /dev/serial/by-id/usb-... \
  --client-interface USB_WIFI_ADAPTER \
  --capture-readme-media

Review the printed artifact directory. To keep a run somewhere more convenient, pass --output DIRECTORY. After review, promote only the approved PNG/GIF files into tracked documentation assets:

./tools/promote-readme-media \
  --from artifacts/readme-media/TIMESTAMP-esp32 \
  --replace
./scripts/check-docs.sh

The Docker renderer validates the GIF duration. The promotion tool requires the successful ESP32 media manifest, checks file types and size limits, and never copies raw video, browser reports, traces, or arbitrary artifact files. The renderer preserves the real recording but deliberately presents it at 1.25× duration and 6 fps so the README tour is readable; it does not change normal browser-contract timing. ESP8266 remains covered by the normal hardware and browser contract but does not produce duplicate README media.

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