ausboss-ComfyUI-AusBoss/docs/live_testing.md

Live frontend testing

Frontend work in this pack is proven on a real canvas: a node is created in a real ComfyUI tab, real mouse drags are dispatched, and the result is a screenshot a person looks at. Reading the code, or a test that only checks which input received a link, has let broken designs through before (three sockets stacked on one pixel passed every automated check). This is the recipe.

The pieces

• ComfyUI on http://127.0.0.1:8188 (set COMFY_URL to point the scripts elsewhere), with this repository installed or linked into custom_nodes. A changed INPUT_TYPES is served only after a full restart. Stop the test instance, then start it from the ComfyUI checkout using that installation's Python environment:

  python main.py --listen 127.0.0.1
  

  From this repository, run python scripts/run_python_tests.py with the same environment to isolate ComfyUI stubs and keep CPU thread counts bounded. Set AUSBOSS_COMFY_ROOT to the ComfyUI checkout to enable the optional core video integration checks.

• Headless Chrome or Chromium on an unused CDP port; these examples use 9334. Use a separate test profile and the installed browser executable:

  chromium \
    --headless=new --remote-debugging-port=9334 --user-data-dir=/tmp/chrome-ausboss \
    --window-size=1800,1100 --no-first-run --no-default-browser-check about:blank &
  

• scripts/dev/ — small Node scripts that talk CDP directly, with no package dependencies. Use a Node version with built-in fetch and WebSocket:

  script	does
  cdp.mjs <port> <workflow.json|-> <out.png|-> [eval.js] [waitMs]	opens/reuses the Comfy tab, optionally loads a workflow, evaluates a JS file, screenshots (a returned __clip rect clips the shot), prints the eval result as JSON
  cdp_drag.mjs <port> <setup.js> <mid.png|-> <after.png|-> [check.js]	setup.js returns {from, to, __clip} in client pixels; presses at from, moves to to, screenshots mid-drag, releases, evaluates check.js, screenshots again
  audit_workflows.mjs <port> <output-dir> [workflow.json ...]	loads every example (or selected files), exports API and loaded graphs, captures screenshots, and fails on overlaps, missing nodes, browser exceptions, or exposed AusBoss number widgets
  cdp_nav_debug.mjs <port>	navigates the tab in place and logs every CDP event, for when a tab stops answering
  cdp_hang.mjs <port>	pre-arms the debugger on a fresh tab, loads ComfyUI, and pauses to print the stack if the page stops answering

  CDP_RELOAD=1 closes the Comfy tab and opens a fresh one with the cache cleared — required after editing any .mjs, which the frontend caches hard.

Screenshot convention

An eval creates the node at pos [0, 0], sets app.canvas.ds.scale = 1 and ds.offset = [160, 230], and returns __clip: { x: r.left + 152, y: r.top + 192, width: node.size[0] + 16, height: node.size[1] + 46 } (r is the canvas element's bounding rect). A drag gives two shots: _mid, taken during the drag, and _after, the result.

Gotchas learned the hard way

• Clearing the graph reuses node ids, and the frontend's widget store hands a new node the previous node's widget values (a toggled preview came back false). Bump app.graph.last_node_id += 50 after app.graph.clear(), or set the value you want explicitly.
• A real mouse drag marks the workflow modified. The next in-place navigation raises ComfyUI's beforeunload dialog and the whole tab stops answering every CDP call, even 1+1; it looks exactly like a renderer hang. The scripts auto-accept dialogs, and CDP_RELOAD=1 makes cdp.mjs reload into a fresh tab rather than navigate the old one.
• Reset a half-finished link drag (app.canvas.linkConnector.reset()) before clearing the graph in an eval.
• The mid-drag screenshot shows the socket lit and the tooltip, not the greyed field: the field greys once the link exists, in the _after shot.
• Widget input sockets are drawn only while a link is dragged, hovered, or connected, so a "no socket visible" screenshot at rest is normal; the mid-drag shot is the one that shows where a link can land.
• cdp.mjs and cdp_drag.mjs requests time out after 25 s; the workflow audit allows 45 s. Inspect the browser's dialogs and logs when a request stops responding.
• Keep test renders and logs out of the repository; only deliberately shipped sample media belongs in example_workflows/inputs/.

What to verify for a node face

1. The face at rest (values, alignment, no clipped panel).
2. Every group disclosure open.
3. A real link dropped on every row and socket, _mid and _after.
4. app.graphToPrompt() sends the link for a linked input and the typed value otherwise.
5. Save, reload (fresh tab), and confirm links, values and hidden state.
6. The preview switch on and off where the node has one.