/flow-next:qa — live-app real-user QA pass Skill

/flow-next:qa — live-app real-user QA pass

flow-next's review surface today is all static: impl-review, spec-completion-review, quality-auditor, code-review. Nothing drives the running app like an unforgiving real user. /flow-next:qa fills that gap — it drives the deployed app (via fn-51 flow-next-drive), files structured P0/P1/P2 findings with evidence, and ends with a YES/NO ship verdict emitted as a proof-of-work receipt.

Augments, never replaces. QA is the cheap first live pass — the app already runs on the dev's machine during work, so run an initial agentic pass over the complete build before a human opens the PR. Like everything in flow-next it reduces human work agentically and surfaces problems to humans; it does not stand in for CI/staging QA or manual QA, which still happen downstream. Findings are advisory: they ride the draft PR + the bug-memory track, and the human reviewer + the land gate decide.

Two entry points, one skill. Run it user-invoked (you remember to), or wire it into the autonomous build loop as the optional pipeline.qa pilot stage (default off; flowctl config set pipeline.qa on). When on, /flow-next:pilot inserts a qa stage at the all-tasks-done juncture — one live pass over the complete build, just before make-pr (plan → plan-review → work → qa → make-pr). The stage is evidence-aware (it leans on what work already verified) and autonomy-safe (SHIP/NA/BLOCKED advance; NEEDS_WORK still advances to the draft PR and surfaces its findings — QA never hard-blocks the loop). See docs/ralph.md and flowctl.md (pipeline.qa config row).

Prerequisite - /flow-next:prime gates the recommendation. Prime's QA-readiness line is the upstream signal for turning pipeline.qa on: it recommends enabling this stage ONLY when the repo reaches operability tier 3 AND the DR-core prerequisites pass (seeded data, documented dev login, a drivable surface, readable runtime evidence). If prime reports "QA stage would fail here" or "not applicable to this shape", the app cannot be driven yet - fix the named prerequisites (or leave the stage off) rather than wiring in a stage that BLOCKs every run.

The differentiator vs spec-less QA tools is the spec is the source of intent: flow-next derives test scenarios directly from the spec — acceptance criteria → scenarios, R-IDs → coverage, boundaries → what NOT to test, decision context → expected behavior. The host already encodes intent instead of reconstructing it. The QA discipline (P0/P1/P2 taxonomy, evidence rules, session hygiene) is a lean borrow from Ray Fernando's running-bug-review-board skill (Apache-2.0 — credited in CHANGELOG); flow-next stays lean (no 18-reference port, ≤500-line skill cap).

Read workflow.md for the full phase-by-phase execution (discover → derive → prepare → execute → file → verdict).

The hard rule — PASS is forbidden from source inspection

QA must NEVER mark PASS (SHIP) by reading source code. A live-app QA pass is the gap that all other flow-next review already covers statically. The verdict rests on captured evidence from the running app — screenshots, console dumps, observed state — never on agent narration, never on "the code looks correct", never on inferring behavior from the diff. If no live app is reachable (no deploy or no driver), the outcome is BLOCKED (could not verify), not PASS. This rule is load-bearing — it is what makes the skill a real-user QA pass rather than a second static review.

Preamble

CRITICAL: flowctl is BUNDLED — NOT installed globally. which flowctl will fail (expected). Define once; subsequent blocks (here and in workflow.md) use $FLOWCTL. Subagents that run in fresh context fall back to the repo-local copy:

FLOWCTL="${DROID_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}}/scripts/flowctl"
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL=".flow/bin/flowctl"

Pre-check: Local setup version

Compare .flow/meta.json setup_version to the plugin version; on mismatch, escalate once per plugin version. Fail-open throughout: a missing jq, .flow/meta.json, or plugin manifest silently continues.

SETUP_VER=$(jq -r '.setup_version // empty' .flow/meta.json 2>/dev/null)
PLUGIN_JSON="${DROID_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}}/.claude-plugin/plugin.json"
PLUGIN_VER=$(jq -r '.version' "$PLUGIN_JSON" 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
VERSION_ACK=$(jq -r '.version_ack // empty' .flow/meta.json 2>/dev/null)
if [[ -n "$SETUP_VER" && "$PLUGIN_VER" != "unknown" && "$SETUP_VER" != "$PLUGIN_VER" ]]; then
  if [[ "${FLOW_RALPH:-}" == "1" || -n "${REVIEW_RECEIPT_PATH:-}" \
        || "${FLOW_AUTONOMOUS:-}" == "1" || "${ARGUMENTS:-}" == *mode:autonomous* \
        || "$VERSION_ACK" == "$PLUGIN_VER" ]]; then
    echo "Local setup v${SETUP_VER} differs from plugin v${PLUGIN_VER}. Run /flow-next:setup to refresh local scripts." >&2
  else
    echo "FLOW_SETUP_ASK ${SETUP_VER} ${PLUGIN_VER}"
  fi
fi

If the block printed a FLOW_SETUP_ASK line, before proceeding ask the user with AskUserQuestion (local setup differs from the plugin; refresh now?), offering exactly the options Refresh now, Remind me next version, Skip this run, then continue the skill whichever is chosen:

Refresh now: pause and have the user run /flow-next:setup in this session (do not run setup yourself), then continue once it finishes.

Remind me next version: record the acknowledgement so this version is not re-asked (only a later plugin version re-arms it), then continue. Run this self-contained write (fail-open: on any error, continue anyway):

PJ="${DROID_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}}/.claude-plugin/plugin.json"
PV=$(jq -r '.version' "$PJ" 2>/dev/null)
[[ -n "$PV" && "$PV" != "null" ]] && rm -f .flow/meta.json.tmp && jq --arg v "$PV" '.version_ack = $v' .flow/meta.json > .flow/meta.json.tmp && mv .flow/meta.json.tmp .flow/meta.json

Skip this run: continue without writing anything; the next invocation asks again.

Any other output (the one-line differs notice, or nothing) is non-blocking: continue.

Inline skill (no context: fork) — runs on the host agent, not a forked subagent, because the prepare phase must ask the user for undocumented facts (target URL / test account — info-only, never a confirm gate) and a forked subagent cannot ask the user back (Claude Code issues #12890, #34592). The host asks via AskUserQuestion. (sync-codex.sh rewrites any AskUserQuestion to a plain-text numbered prompt in the Codex mirror.)

Mode Detection

Parse $ARGUMENTS. The first non-flag token is the spec id (required). The value-taking caller overrides the downstream phases honor — --target <url> (Phase 3.1), --receipt <path> (Phase 6.3), and --base <ref> (§1.2 base-branch override) — must consume their operand here (both --flag value and --flag=value forms, mirroring make-pr's --base), or the operand falls through to the *) arm and is mis-assigned as SPEC_ID (Phase 1 then rejects the URL/path as "Not a spec"). They populate QA_TARGET_URL / QA_RECEIPT_OVERRIDE / QA_BASE_REF — the exact variables Phases 3.1 / 6.3 / §1.2 read. Other flags (viewport, autonomy) are reserved for later tasks; the skeleton shifts them harmlessly.

RAW_ARGS="$ARGUMENTS"
SPEC_ID=""

# The loop handles both `--flag=value` and space-separated `--flag value`
# forms via a PREV token holder. No bash positional parameters here — the
# host's argument interpolation rewrites positional tokens inside skill code
# blocks (pilot dogfood finding, 1.13.0).
PREV=""
for ARG in $RAW_ARGS; do
  case "$PREV" in
    --target)  QA_TARGET_URL="$ARG"; PREV=""; continue ;;        # Phase 3.1 caller override
    --receipt) QA_RECEIPT_OVERRIDE="$ARG"; PREV=""; continue ;;  # Phase 6.3 receipt path
    --base)    QA_BASE_REF="$ARG"; PREV=""; continue ;;          # §1.2 base-branch override
  esac
  case "$ARG" in
    --target|--receipt|--base) PREV="$ARG" ;;
    --target=*)  QA_TARGET_URL="${ARG#--target=}" ;;        # Phase 3.1 caller override
    --receipt=*) QA_RECEIPT_OVERRIDE="${ARG#--receipt=}" ;; # Phase 6.3 receipt path
    --base=*)    QA_BASE_REF="${ARG#--base=}" ;;            # §1.2 base-branch override
    mode:autonomous) QA_AUTONOMOUS=1 ;;                     # strip the literal token (see "Autonomous mode" below)
    -*) echo "Unknown flag: $ARG (reserved for a later task)" >&2 ;;
    *)  [[ -z "$SPEC_ID" ]] && SPEC_ID="$ARG" ;;
  esac
done
[[ -n "$PREV" ]] && echo "Flag $PREV given without a value (ignored)" >&2
# Secondary autonomy signal: the FLOW_AUTONOMOUS=1 env var (process-level drivers
# like the pilot stage). Either signal flips QA_AUTONOMOUS on.
[[ "${FLOW_AUTONOMOUS:-}" == "1" ]] && QA_AUTONOMOUS=1
export QA_TARGET_URL QA_RECEIPT_OVERRIDE QA_BASE_REF QA_AUTONOMOUS   # carry the resolved overrides + autonomy into workflow.md (Phases 3.1 / 6.3 / §1.2 + the preamble)

When SPEC_ID is empty, the discover phase resolves it (branch-match, or by asking the user via AskUserQuestion as an info prompt) — never silently default.

Autonomous mode (mode:autonomous / FLOW_AUTONOMOUS)

QA_AUTONOMOUS=1 (set above from the literal mode:autonomous token — stripped, same shape as plan's autonomous branch — or the FLOW_AUTONOMOUS=1 env var) means ask NO questions. This is the signal the pilot QA stage passes so the build loop can't hang on an AskUserQuestion. The workflow honors it at the preamble, before any prompt path (workflow.md "Autonomous-mode gate") — not in the post-verdict preflight, because the early phases (1.1 spec id, 1.2 base, 3.1 target, 3.2 accounts) all prompt.

Under QA_AUTONOMOUS=1:

Ask NO questions anywhere. Every AskUserQuestion info-prompt path becomes a deterministic branch: resolve from spec / config / env, else surface a limitation — never prompt.
Undocumented target URL / required accounts / no reachable local app / undetermined spec id ⇒ emit a BLOCKED qa_verdict + clean exit (the §6.3 writer), never an interactive prompt and never a hang.
Autonomy ≠ Ralph. Neither mode:autonomous nor FLOW_AUTONOMOUS activates ralph-guard hooks or any receipt-path gate — they gate question suppression only. Ralph (FLOW_RALPH=1 / REVIEW_RECEIPT_PATH) is the separate, additive signal detected in Phase A; the two compose (a pilot run may be autonomous-but-not-Ralph).

Ralph mode (FLOW_RALPH=1 or REVIEW_RECEIPT_PATH set) is detected in workflow.md §AUTONOMY — the skill is aware but not Ralph-blocked (R11). Ralph independently suppresses prompts too (Phase A), so a Ralph run is implicitly autonomous; QA_AUTONOMOUS covers the non-Ralph autonomous caller (the pilot stage).

fn-51 consumption — a read-and-drive contract, NOT a callable API

A skill is not a function. QA does NOT "call" flow-next-drive. The host agent reads fn-51's workflow + references and executes the universal driving flow itself — observe → snapshot fresh refs → act → verify → capture. fn-51 owns the driver ladder and all actuation prose; QA owns scenario authoring, evidence capture, and the verdict. Never duplicate CDP / agent-browser / Computer-Use prose here — point at fn-51's references:

Surface detection + universal flow + the web/native ladder: plugins/flow-next/skills/flow-next-drive/SKILL.md
Driver command detail (per rung): plugins/flow-next/skills/flow-next-drive/references/ (agent-browser.md, chrome-devtools-mcp.md, playwright.md, computer-use.md, …)

Per scenario, record an evidence tuple: {driver_rung, target_url, viewport, screenshot_path, console_path}. fn-51's SKILL.md (:83) explicitly defers the QA workflow — scenario authoring, bug filing, verdict — downstream to this skill; the seam is designed, QA orchestrates and fn-51 actuates.

Forbidden

Marking PASS / SHIP from source inspection. See "The hard rule" above. PASS requires captured live-app evidence; no live app → BLOCKED, never PASS.
Re-implementing driving. QA consumes fn-51 via the read-and-drive contract; it never reimplements CDP / agent-browser / Computer Use, and never duplicates fn-51's ladder prose.
Inventing findings or evidence. Every finding cites real captured evidence (screenshot / console / URL). No "I think this might be broken" without a reproduction.
Ralph-blocking the skill. QA is aware of Ralph but is not a hard Ralph-block (R11). Do NOT add a FLOW_RALPH/REVIEW_RECEIPT_PATH exit-2 guard at the top of the skill.

Workflow

Execute the phases in workflow.md in order:

discover — resolve the spec id (arg / branch-match / info prompt); pull the cognitive-aid payload.
derive — AC → scenarios, R-IDs → coverage spine, boundaries → exclusions, decision context → expected behavior.
prepare — target URL, test accounts, session hygiene, device matrix.
execute — drive the live app via the fn-51 read-and-drive contract; capture the evidence tuple per scenario.
file — structured P0/P1/P2 findings with evidence; feed the bug memory track.
verdict — YES/NO ship verdict + open P0/P1 list; emit the qa_verdict receipt.

Agent Skills: /flow-next:qa — live-app real-user QA pass

Install this agent skill to your local

Skill Files