dev-tdd

## Contents

- [The Iron Law](#the-iron-law-of-tdd)
- [The TDD Cycle](#the-tdd-cycle)
- [What Counts as a Test](#what-counts-as-a-test)
- [Logging TDD Progress](#logging-tdd-progress)
- [Red Flags - Thoughts That Mean STOP](#red-flags---thoughts-that-mean-stop)
- [Delete & Restart](#delete--restart)
- [E2E Test Requirement](#e2e-test-requirement)

# Test-Driven Development

<EXTREMELY-IMPORTANT>
## Task Reframing: What Your Job Actually Is

**Your job is NOT to implement features. Your job is to write tests that prove features work.**

Reframe every task:
- ❌ "Implement user login"
- ✅ "Write a test that proves user login works. Then make it pass."

- ❌ "Fix the icon rendering bug"
- ✅ "Write a test that fails when icons render wrong. Then fix it."

**The test IS your deliverable. The implementation just makes the test pass.**
</EXTREMELY-IMPORTANT>

<EXTREMELY-IMPORTANT>
## File-Based Logging (MANDATORY)

**ALL CODE MUST USE FILE-BASED LOGGING.**

Every application you write MUST redirect output to a log file:
- CLI apps: `./app > /tmp/app.log 2>&1 &`
- GUI apps: `./app --log-file=/tmp/app.log 2>&1 &`
- Test runners: `pytest -v > /tmp/test.log 2>&1`

**Why:** Without log files, you have NO EVIDENCE of what happened. "I saw it in terminal" is not verification.

**Read the full requirements:** `@references/logging-requirements.md`
</EXTREMELY-IMPORTANT>

<EXTREMELY-IMPORTANT>
## The Execution Gate (MANDATORY)

**NO E2E TESTS WITHOUT PASSING THE EXECUTION GATE FIRST.**

Before running E2E tests or taking screenshots, you MUST complete all 6 gates in order:

```
GATE 1: BUILD
GATE 2: LAUNCH (with file-based logging)
GATE 3: WAIT
GATE 4: CHECK PROCESS
GATE 5: READ LOGS ← MANDATORY, CANNOT SKIP
GATE 6: VERIFY LOGS
THEN AND ONLY THEN: E2E tests/screenshots
```

**Key enforcement:**
- If you catch yourself thinking "let me take a screenshot" → STOP, you skipped gates 1-6
- If process is running → READ LOGS (GATE 5) before testing
- Logs come BEFORE screenshots, not after